Transfiguration had not changed at all, the work was the same, it was still shared with the Slytherins and even McGonagol was sitting at the front of the class, albeit with less lines on her face and brown hair scraped back in the usual tight bun instead of the grey the trio were accustomed to. Even her robes were exactly the same style as their 1996 counterparts. After an initial stern look and threat of detention, which Sirius expertly blagged away, the lesson commenced.

The lesson finished with nothing of note occurring, they learnt the Fexiato spell, which causes the substance of an object to change so while it appears to retain its original appearance it is actually pliable. Harry and James switched back, although it had little effect on anything and in fact the majority of the class didn't notice. James couldn't believe he had been so stupid, the whole situation was a possible wind-up for a later date staring him in the face. James had always been depressed that he didn't have an identical twin; it would be the pranksters dream. Indeed when Ron was telling him about his brothers, Fred and George (who indecently idolised the marauders), James couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Having someone who looked scarily like you opened the door to a wealth of pranks, and if only one was caught neither could be punished because most people would never be sure who actually committed the crime. James now had the ultimate prankster's accessory, and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Anyways, Harry needed a little laughter in his life by the sounds of it and what kind of father would he be if he didn't teach his son everything he knew? James continued to justify his corruption of his offspring all the way to lunch wondering what Lily would make of the whole situation.

The plan for the main meal was in motion, everybody knew their parts, the invisibility cloaks were on standby and everyone had finished perfecting their parts of the prank. This was now personal, Snape had screwed over the Potters and their friends were not going to stand by and watch him get away scot-free.

The meal started as always, large groups of people grabbing as much food as possible, the seventh year girls tutting in disgust at the first years and the boys as they piled their plates with food and started to scoff down the food in a style reminiscent of pigs at a feeding trough. All four tables where nigh on full, it had been a full day for almost all the years and it had taken its toll on the pupils. All of a sudden a shriek came up from the Slytherin table, everyone instantly turned round and the room fell into a deadly silence until a lone third year Ravenclaw started laughing. As if his laughter was infectious the whole hall started joining in, some of the students standing on their stools or running round to see what the commotion was about.

It wasn't hard to spot, at the Slytherin table Severus Snape was sporting a rather large bright pink mohecan , if that wasn't classic comedy enough he started an impromptu version of 'John, I'm only dancing" while dancing on the table, strutting about in true glam rock style. Looking up at the staff table Harry noticed that even the teachers were struggling to suppress laughter, luckily Professor Noir was not there, Dumbledore was looking not at Snape like the rest of the hall, but directly at the marauders, a smile plain to see behind his white beard and his twinkling blue eyes, he knew it was them but it looked like he wouldn't be expelling the culprits anytime soon.

Only the marauders knew the reason for this was a crowching James under the Slytherin table, completely covered by his invisibility cloak. The impromptu version of Top of the Pops meant that most people where too busy laughing to think of what was going on. Snape was giving it his all, Noddy Holder and Mark Bolan would no doubt be proud of his show.

Eventually, after Snape started a striptease to the tune of "Mama, We're all Crazee now", Professor Flitwick decided that maybe he should put an end to Snapes humiliation. He lifted the singing and dancing charms in a matter of seconds and with apparently minimum effort, however he had greater problems dealing with the mohecan which looked destined to stay for a long time to come. Not even a traditional shave would remove it; it simply grew back double the size of before. Snape was unable to cope with the continuing laughter and after yelling a few harsh words towards the Gryffindor table he ran off, probably to the Slytherin common room away from the taunts.

Harry leaned over to Sirius "What happened to the broomstick idea?" As much as Harry loved seeing his favourite professor sporting a hair do worthy of Tonks he had been looking forward to the possibility of Snape looking a pillock on a broomstick after it emerged that he was the Slytherin seeker for quidditch, and rather poor at it too. Seeing his future professor soaked to the bone after screwing up at something he represented his house at did have a certain charm for Harry, not least because he knew Professor Noir would give him stick in addition for making the house look bad. Sirius just replied simply, a subtle smile on his face "Can't have too much fun in one day, can we now Prongslet". Obviously this wasn't over; there was going to be another instalment.

The group finally left the great hall and headed off to Gryffindor tower. If they were going to get accused of being involved in the teatime activities it would not be until morning, leaving a full night for fun and games before the almost inevitable detentions started coming their way. Harry hoped it wouldn't involve cleaning hospital bedpans or quills that left lasting scars.

It was Sirius who suggested going to the room of requirement for some good old fashioned duelling. Remus and Lily agreed, if only for them to brush up on their skills when the inevitable attack occurred. The trio of course where used to this, it was like a miniaturized DA with the exception that this time everyone got on and it was highly unlikely anyone was going to grass on them. Maybe that wasn't true, the rat was there, but at least they could hex him this way and pretend it was all an accident.

The room was set out exactly as it was for the DA, the same blue cushions on the floor and bookcases along the wall while on the opposite one the foe glass and sneakoscope could be found next to an assortment of interesting looking weaponry, which would have to wait until a later day to be used. Tonight would be about using your wand to the best possible effect. James was first to speak "I say me and Harry start with a little duel, just to see where we stand."

Harry laughed at his father "Bring it, James"

"I will do"

Harry and James stood at opposite sides of the room, their wands held firmly in their right hands. After the niceties of bowing and addressing your opponent the duel began, Harry let James make the first move.

"Stupefy" James yelled, Harry used his quidditch reflexes to calmly step out of the way, he knew he could walk this if he wanted to but something inside of him was holding back, he couldn't hurt his dad, he had waited so long to meet him it would be wrong.

"Expelliarmus" Harry cried out, it wouldn't hurt anyone that spell, but unfortunately James had stopped it with a blocking spell and came back with a jelly legs curse that had no effect; Harry had successfully conjured a shield charm using protego. James was getting frustrated, usually he would have walked it by now but Harry was good, and he could tell his son was definitely holding back and he didn't want that. He wanted all or nothing. It was time to go out with the big guns; if he refused to hurt James surely he wouldn't mind taking it out on something he could transfigure. He would play to his own strengths; and James was the king of transfiguration.

"Aspinatra!" James yelled, pointing his wand not at Harry but at one of the weapons behind him. James wasn't sure where he had learnt this spell, it was probably an obscure paragraph while looking up a prank, but he had always wanted to use it. The spell hit one of the axes on the back walls and immediately started wriggling and becoming green in colour; it untangled itself out of the holders on the wall and made it down to the floor.

The snake started moving towards Harry, fangs bared it started to rise up but soon lost interest in Harry and made it's way over to Lily who was sitting on one of the cushions reading a book on counter-curses totally oblivious to the duelling boys next to her. 6 years in a boarding school had taught her how to cope with noise, and being near the maruaders usually meant after a while you could cope with anything. James looked panicked, he had visibly paled as he saw the snake move towards Lily, "Stupefy" he yelled, pointing his wand directly at the snake, it had no effect, the stunning spell must obviously not work on snakes, maybe it was only for humans, James couldn't remember. He tried a few more stunners, a reducto and finite incantarum but nothing worked.

Harry looked at where the snake was heading, "Oi! Get away from my mother" he hissed at the snake. Everyone in the room looked at Harry at that moment in time, he knew why, he was speaking parseltonge again, partially accidently. He didn't think, he just wanted the thing to get away from his mother before it could cause any damage. The snake turned round and started returning towards Harry, yellow eyes staring straight into his.

"And why would I do that?" It asked, Harry thought to himself, sod the parselmouth connection, the reason the snake is the symbol of Slytherin is probably because they are the same arrogant shites.

"You would do that because otherwise I would hex you into oblivion, now leave before James over there destroys you". The snake looked directly at Harry but appeared to have no objections, Harry thought hard about an escape route from the room, maybe a pipe to the forest. Then he spotted a small hole in the wall, so did the snake as it disappeared from the room.

The group, excluding Ron and Hermione, stared at Harry making him feel uncomfortable, they wouldn't know what he said but surely they'd trust him?

"Your a parselmouth?" Asked Remus blandly, Harry was unsure weather this was because Remus was a tolerant person bearing in mind his condition or because he was in deep shock and calculating his next move.

"Erm, yeah, comes in handy though. I just told that snake to piss off and it did so, it was a cocky ghet though". The marauders where still staring, mouths slightly open.

"Oi, you lot, Harry isn't evil if that's what you are thinking." Ron jumped to his friends defence, "last time I know he used parsletongue he saved my sister in the process."

Remus finally said something "Well, I am not going to hold it against you, I just find it fascinating you can speak it, most people will never hear it in their lives."

Harry smiled "I didn't know it was a big deal until second year, I discovered I could do it by accident. I set a boa constrictor on my cousin at the zoo by accident."

Sirius laughed "So, let me get this straight, you can talk to snakes and they tend to obey you?"

Harry shrugged "I don't know, I haven't come across enough snakes to know if they always obey, I've only spoken to three".

Hermione choose this moment to provide the relevant information, she was sat on the floor next to Lily reading a dusty old leather bound book. "You will be able to Harry, you speak the language and the nature of the snake is to obey whoever speaks to them." She didn't even look up as she said this, nothing would surprise her anymore.

"So, which one of you 2 can speak it" Peter asked, staring between Lily and James. It was the first time he had joined in a conversation in ages, he could pick up on the hostility against him and didn't want to provoke any more violence from Ron.

"Well, it isn't me, I'm a muggle born, so it must be you James" Lily said in a tone of voice trying to work it out. Parseltongue was a rare gift but hereditory, if she hadn't got it James must have, but she was sure that it would have emerged before now if he could. Harry answered the question though.

"Neither of them. I don't want to go into it though, I got it by accident."

No one objected to leaving this topic of conversation well alone, Harry was obvious feeling awkward about it. The group taught each other a few more hexes, the trio taught the marauders the cutting curse, a silencing charm (if your opposition can't speak they can't perform most sorts of magic) and a rather complex illusion charm Hermione picked up, by the end only Lily had learnt all three. The rat had learnt none. In return the Marauders' taught the time travellers some decent spells for pranks, including one to make trousers see through, another which would make the person speak exactly what they were thinking at that moment in time and a little charm which meant the victim would be unable to pick anything up or touch anything. It was the magical equivalent in covering them in grease. The trio paid particular attention to the latter 2, they could be handy in a duel.

The group continued until ridiculously late on in the night, well past curfew. They had to sneak through he corridors without the cloak (it was a squeeze with just the trio, there would be no way to get all 8 under it), using only the map to help them avoid prowling members of staff. When they finally got to Gryffindor tower they all went straight to bed.

Most of the group fell straight asleep upon reaching their beds, with the exception of three. James was secretly gloating to himself about how great his kid was a defence while Peter was nursing the cuts from the number of times he got cut by rogue curses in the course of the night, this made Sirius wonder. The red-headed boy's reaction to him when they first walked in and now this. Ok, Peter was clumsy, but not clumsy enough to lose a pint of blood from a little duelling session between friends. Even Lily and James were being significantly colder to him since the trio arrived on the scene. There was something he wasn't being told and this thought infuriated him. Everyone who had been to the future, and Lily too for some reason, showed dislike towards the weakling Peter. Sirius noted this down in the back of his mind for future reference.


Hello!

And welcome to chapter 16. Just a few notes

I'm buzzing about the reviews, cheers y'all. ViviBlack, you are sorted.

I will update as soon as I can, but to manage that I will have to survive past today. The family are coming back from Ibiza and I've got explain how in the space of a week I flooded the house, caused the electrics to crackle, knakered a good few floorboards, turned grilling sausages into a flame thrower and somehow managed to make my sisters school uniform grow mildew...this could be interesting. Has anyone got a spare bedroom so I don't have to face them? They are not due back for an hour; I can escape...(shit)