Disclaimer: Anything or any character that you recognize from HP belongs
to JK Rowling.
A/N: Hope you enjoy this piece.
Chapter 5 ~ Confusion in the Tower
"What do you mean they've grown up?" Asked Katie the following morning.
"I mean that they are finally going to start acting their age. According to James, Sirius has been moping around because they haven't been able to pull a prank since the one they pulled on us on the train." Said Lily as she finished combing her hair.
"If this is so, you know what this means?" Said Emma with a twinkle in her eyes.
"It means that after putting up with their pranks for six years, now we can turn the tables on them." Squealed Katie happily.
"Can you imagine what is going to happen once the whole school finds out about this?" Said Lily.
"Oh Lord! They certainly have a lot to pay for don't they? It would be like Christmas has come early to Hogwarts." Chuckled Emma.
"Oh, let's not tell anyone, let's just keep it between us for now, make it our little project. The rest of the school will eventually figure it out." Excitedly said Katie, jumping onto her bed.
"Katie, you're acting as childish as they do. Stop jumping on your bed, you're going to hurt yourself." Chided Lily.
"Yes mother."
"So girls," cut in Emma before any dispute issued, "what should we do? It seems that we have some planning to do."
"Let's get through the day before we start any planning, tonight would be soon enough. Tomorrow is Saturday so we have plenty of time to plan." Said Lily as they walked toward the door.
"That's right! Sunday would be perfect to pull it off. James and Sirius will have Quidditch practice, which means that Remus and Peter will go along to watch. We'll have the whole morning to prepare and by the time they return we'll be all set!" Said Katie as she followed Lily.
"Well it seems that we have the time, now the question is, what are we going to do?" Responded Emma as she closed the door behind them.
"Can you believe that she actually called us childish?" Said and indignant James as he snapped shut his trunk.
"Just because we like to have fun and live to the fullest doesn't mean we're childish!" Protested Sirius.
"I think that she meant that we were acting childish not that we were childish. There's a difference." Said Remus trying to soothe the tempers of his two friends, which could be as bad as his during a full moon.
"I'm sure that she didn't mean that we looked childish either, after all, she could not dismiss the fact that there have been several girls around specially those who always seem to follow you everywhere you go." Soothed Peter following Remus lead, he had reason to know how strong his friends' tempers could be.
"I suppose, but still, she didn't have to make plain her skepticism. I'll show her, I'll be the best Head Boy this school has ever had, make her swallow her words then." Grunted James.
"Yeah, and I'll join the committee and show them all what I can do!" Roared Sirius.
"Ok. Now that we have established how determined you are, can we go down to breakfast? I'm hungry!" Said Remus.
"So am I. I think I'll go down and chose seats for us, and when you are ready after determining how grown up you are then you can join me. Coming Remus?" Said Peter walking toward the door.
"Yeah."
"Ok, we're going, gees!" Exclaimed Sirius.
"So what have you girls planned for this weekend?" Remus asked politely as diner got underway.
"We have some stuff to do, you know 'girl stuff' " Said Katie.
"Oh, right." Responded Remus, he clearly didn't want to know what this 'girl stuff' was supposed to be.
"We are going to practice, that Quidditch Cup is our!" Exclaimed an exuberant Sirius.
"Will you calm down, you remind of my two nieces when they are told that they are going to the circus." Said James as he saved his cup from being pushed by Sirius elbow.
"Is that all you boys will be doing this weekend?" Asked Lily as she looked at them.
"Yep." Responded four voices in unison.
"But Remus and Peter aren't in the team, why are they going to the practice?" Asked a curious Emma.
"We're going to watch, then we'll fly around for a bit. We'll be back in time for lunch." Replied Peter.
"Hmm. You better return to your room and shower when you're done then. I refuse to sit by a group of sweaty guys as I eat." Said Katie, turning up her nose at them.
"Yes Your Highness, and I expect you want us to shave and primp ourselves up as well." Sarcastically said Sirius glaring at her.
"No, I'm not asking that, just that you tidy up a bit before coming down to eat. The smell of sweat can be very nauseating at times you know."
"Ok, we'll tidy up a bit before coming down to lunch." Intervened James as he noticed Sirius getting ready to start an argument.
"Thank you."
James woke up early on Saturday morning. He looked out the window and saw a sunny day greeting him, and the tree branches gently swaying from side to side because of the gentle breeze. [Perfect] He thought, [Great day for Quidditch Practice] He quickly gathered his clothing and ran to the restroom; making a lot of noise as he went, which woke up his roommates.
"James!" Grunted Sirius. "Could you be any louder? I couldn't hear you while I was sleeping."
"Will you lot get ready? We have practice, remember?" Yelled James from the restroom.
"But it's so early! I thought we were meeting at the pitch at 7:30, is barely 6!" Whined Sirius.
"You might as well get up, you know that you won't be able to go back to sleep after all the noise he made." Said Remus as he pulled back the curtains from his bed.
"How can he sleep through it all?" Asked Sirius as he looked toward Peter's curtained bed.
"He puts cotton in his ears. He said that someone among us snores, I think that he was hearing himself snore, because I haven't heard you two snore and I don't snore." Replied Remus as he started to get his things together.
"Who snores?" Asked James while he was walking out of the restroom.
"Peter. Did you notice the girls last night? They were acting very strange, they got really secretive after we returned from dinner." Commented Sirius as he started to get up from bed. Remus had gone into the restroom.
"Do you reckon they're planning something?" Asked James as he walked up to Peter's bed. "Peter, wake up! You have to get ready." He said, shaking Peter awake.
"I'm awake." Groggily said Peter.
"They are planning something, I have a feeling that they are, but, what?" Pondered Sirius.
"Who is planning what?" Asked Peter as he tried to stop yawning.
"The girls, Padfoot here thinks that they are planning something." Responded James.
"Of course they are planning something. They are planning on how to fix their hair, what color should they paint their nails, what are they going to wear this weekend, what." Remus was saying as he reentered the room but was soon interrupted by Sirius.
"Ok, ok, we get it, don't know why I asked now." He mumbled as he made his way to the restroom.
"How do you know that's what they are planning?" Asked Peter.
"I asked last night if they had plans for this weekend and Emma said that they were going to be doing some 'girl stuff' I didn't ask what exactly, because frankly I don't want to know." Said Remus as he walked to his trunk and put away his pajamas.
"I suppose that after living with four sisters you get a pretty good idea of what 'girl stuff' can be." Smiled James as he got his Quidditch robes and his broom out from his trunk.
"Exactly!" Exclaimed Remus as he sat on his bed getting ready to wait for the rest to be done.
"Why do we care for what they're up to anyways." Asked Peter as he leaned on the wall next to the restroom, waiting for Sirius to come out.
"I don't know; Sirius started it." Joining Remus as they waited.
"What did I do?" Said Sirius as he opened the door. "I didn't start anything."
"We were just saying that you were the one who started the discussion about the girls' activities." Said Remus as he stretched upon the bed.
"I was just curious." Said Sirius, walking to his trunk and dumping his pajamas, then he started to look for his robes and broom.
"You should try being a little more organized, how can you find anything in there?" Commented James as he watched Sirius looking through his trunk.
"I don't care about organization!" Scoffed Sirius as he finally found his robes. He took out his wand and whispered "Vaporus" immediately steam started to come out from the tip of his wand and with it he started to steam press his robes while his friends watched in amusement. "There, I'm ready." He said once his robes were pressed.
"So am I." Said Peter as he walked out of the restroom.
"Finally, let's go. We'll stop by the Great Hall to grab a couple of bites and from there to the pitch." Said James, walking out of the room.
"Right!" Three voices said as the rest following him out.
"They just left! I saw them leaving the common room." Reported Katie to her friends as she came in bouncing into the girls' dormitory.
"Hopefully they will leave about the same time tomorrow. What we need to do today is to memorize our scrip so we know what we're doing, and also practice the charms to make sure that we have them right." Said Lily from the window enclosure where she was sitting.
"Let's go to breakfast, then we'll return here. Nobody will bother us, Amanda and Gabrielle always leave before we wake up and they barely return during the day, they prefer to go to Professor Mysticity's office. I don't see why they're so into Divination, it's just rubbish in my opinion." Said Emma from her chair in front of the dresser.
"They are as bird-witted as Professor Mysticity." Responded Katie.
"Well we better get down, we have a lot to do this morning, and after the boys return from practice we won't be able to do much." Said Lily standing up and walking to the door.
"You are right, let's go." Said Katie.
"I'm coming." Emma followed.
The rest of the day was uneventful around Hogwarts. The boys practiced throughout the morning and the girls stayed in their room making plans. The afternoon was no different; the boys were seen in the common room doing some class work, playing chess and joking among each other. This behavior surprised the other occupants of the tower; usually the Marauders were seen planning new pranks and playing tricks on someone or other, they were never quiet and didn't bother doing much class work, but this time it was different. Some thought it was a wager, see how long they could go without pulling a prank, others thought that they were just trying to make everybody feel safe from them and then they would do something. But no matter what they thought, everybody looked at the foursome with wary expressions waiting to see what they would do next.
While everybody took note of the Marauders' behavior, nobody gave a thought to the one from the Sirens. It seemed that a switch in personalities had occurred, the girls were now acting the way everybody expected the Marauders to act. They were secretive, their work left undone, and were sitting at a corner of the room talking in whispers. Nobody noticed this change however, everybody was just too busy keeping an eye on the boys.
The next morning was as sunny as the previous day. The boys woke up early once again to take advantage of the fair weather. But as they practiced, three students were making last minute plans in the Gryffindor tower.
"All right, remember now, the charm will only work for 15 minutes so you'll have to get them out of the room fast. We all know what we need to say, so let's get our wands and start getting ready." Said Lily as the girls entered the common room after breakfast.
"But are we going to do about the rest of the Gryffindors? Some will want to use the tower." Said Katie as she sat at one of the chairs flanking the fireplace.
"We'll be using the Confundus Charm and we can use some repelling spells to keep then away for a while." Responded Emma as she followed Katie's example.
"It's lucky we'll be using a bathrobe because I'm not taking my clothes off." Exclaimed Katie.
"You don't need to, the robe is big enough to cover the whole body from neck to toes, besides, they don't need to see anything they just have to think that you're not wearing anything." Said Lily.
"Oh, I can't wait to see their faces, I just hope they won't have a heart attack." Chuckled Emma.
" Well, we have to get ready. Come on." Urged Lily as she walked toward the stairs.
After a very excruciating session, the boys walked into the Gryffindor tower to clean themselves up.
"I believe I have almost perfected that move, don't you think?" Asked James as they came to the painting of the Fat Lady. "Moonlight rendevous." Said James and the painting opened to reveal the entrance to the common room. " I think I just need to practice it a little more."
"I think it's fine as it is, if you over practice it you're going to take the spontaneity out of it." Replied Remus as they started to climb the stairs. They really weren't paying much attention to their direction after six years they knew their way around Hogwarts quite well.
"I think it's just the turn that needs a bit of practice, the rest is just fine." Wheezed Peter as he followed his friends.
"That's what I think as well, I think the turn needs more work." Replied James as he turned to look back at his friends.
"I think the turn is fine, but whatever you want. We know that when it comes to Quidditch, you have to have it perfect and our opinions are superfluous." Said Sirius.
"James has always been a Quidditch freak, remember that week in our second year as we waited for the results of the team tryouts? I thought my mind would become unhinged by just seeing him so overexcited." Said Remus.
"Oh Lord! I remember, and then the team had to go and make him Captain last year, I think they are starting to regret their choice." Said Peter.
"You can say that again, I don't remember the time when I didn't feel so exhausted from practice." Said Sirius.
"If you don't mind! I don't like being talked about as if I wasn't here." Grunted James as he opened the door to a set of dorms.
They entered their room and started to get their things together to change out of their sweaty robes, as they were about to change they noticed something strange.
"Is it just me or are the walls moving?" Whispered Peter.
"They're not moving; they are changing color." Said Remus.
"Were we hurt during practice? I don't remember getting hit by a bludger." Replied Sirius.
"I don't remember getting hit either, but I'm getting dizzy." Said James.
"Let's close out eyes and sit for a while, maybe it will pass." Advised Remus.
"Good idea!" Said James as the rest made their way to stand by a bed, "let's close our eyes. Has everyone closed their eyes?" When he received three positive responses, he said: "all right, let's sit." Four thuds were heard as they all fell to the floor.
"Ouch!"
"How.?"
"What.?"
"Huh?"
The four boys immediately opened their eyes and looked down on a bare floor. No beds, no trunks, no rugs, nothing was around them.
"Where did the beds go?" Asked Sirius as he started looking around.
"Not just the beds but our things as well, where are they?" Said James.
"This is starting to get weird." Said Remus.
"Uh, guys?" Tentatively said Peter.
"Yeah." The others turned to look at him and saw him pointing to the ceiling. The boys looked up and surprised gasps were heard from them.
"How did they get up there?" Said Sirius as they saw the four-poster beds, trunks, nightstands, books, everything standing up side down above them.
"Maybe we should ask how did we get up here, there is no way somebody could've charmed everything in a matter of seconds, I mean, it took us a couple of hours to do the same thing to the Slytherin common room." Said James as he looked toward the door.
His friends noticed he was looking at something and turned to see what had caught his attention.
"Do you reckon we should try getting out?" Said Sirius as they all looked at the door.
"We can try, I'm assuming that only the room is enchanted and that once we're out everything would turn back to normal." Said James as he carefully got up.
"No charm is permanent, our room should be back to normal sooner or later." Said Remus as he also started to get up.
"Well, I don't want to wait." Said Sirius.
"Oh no!" Moaned Peter.
"What?" Said the other three in unison.
"The walls; look at the walls."
The others turned to look at the walls and saw them moving around, then the walls started to close upon them, changing colors as they moved closer.
"That's it, I'm getting out!" Exclaimed Sirius.
The four boys ran toward the door, but no matter how hard they pulled or how many times they turned the knob, the door wouldn't budge.
"This cannot be happening!" Whined Peter.
"Damn!"
"Open, you piece of ****!"
"Let's calm down! Where are our wands?" Said James as he started going through his pockets.
"Ugh! I had forgotten about that." Exclaimed Sirius.
"Here." Remus had found his wand and approached the door. "Alohomora" The door didn't open.
"Now what?"
"Let's all try it at once."
"One, two, three."
"Alohomora!" The door opened.
"Quick, go!"
Once all four were outside, they looked into the room, everything was back the way it should be.
"That was creepy."
"I'm not going back in there."
"Do you think it's over?"
"Let's calm down, we'll go to the common room and try to figure out what has happened." James said in a soothing voice even though he was feeling perturbed.
The boys made their way to the common room, but once they reached it something made them stop at the entrance.
"Aaaahhh!" A scream was heard through out the room. The boys turned to look at the three girls sitting on one of the couches, all three were looking at them.
"How dare you?" Said a shocked Lily.
"What?" The boys asked, they clearly had no idea what she was talking about.
"Maybe you should take a look at yourselves." Said Emma who was trying to keep a straight face. Katie was openly giggling.
The boys turned to each other and noticed that their clothing had turned transparent, as a result the only thing that was covering them was their underclothes, except for Sirius.
"Sirius!" Gasped James.
"Well, I don't like to wear anything underneath whenever I practice, it is more comfortable this way." Replied a blushing Sirius as he tried to cover himself.
The girls were now laughing and the boys knew they had something to do with what had happened to them.
"What did you do?" Asked James as the others were trying to make their clothes visible once more.
"Just getting even for all the tricks you've played on us." Smiled Lily.
"Well, ha-ha-ha, now can you please make our clothing visible again?" Urged Remus.
"Sorry, it will last for at least 12 hours, there is no counter curse, and don't bother to change it won't help you." Said Emma.
"We cannot stay like this!" Said Peter who clearly didn't want anybody looking at his stripped boxers.
"I don't mind." Said Sirius with a mischievous smile, the others turned to glare at him.
"Oh, no you don't." Said Katie as she pointed her wand to Sirius, instantly a pair of red boxers and an undershirt appeared on Sirius.
"Hey, how come he gets a top?" Complained James.
"Because I want him to." Said Katie as she crossed her arms.
"One question, why did you wait until now to get even with us? You could've done it earlier." Asked Remus.
"Because now you haven't been able to come up with any new tricks and you've given up on them." Said Emma.
"Oh right! Rub it in my face why don't you?" Pouted Sirius.
"I'm assuming that it's all done and nothing else will happen." Said Peter as he warily looked at the girls as they nodded yes to him.
"If we could've know how crafty and tricky you were we would've asked for your help long ago." Said Sirius.
"We can talk all about it later, it's time for lunch and I'm ravenous." Said James.
"You are not going into the Great Hall like that!" Said a scandalized Lily.
"Why not?" Asked Sirius.
"You're indecent that's why!" Exclaimed Katie.
"Well, it's your fault we're like this, we are hungry and I'm not going to miss my meal." Said James.
"Couldn't you wait until we send an elf with a tray for you?" Asked Emma.
"No we're hungry." Said Remus.
"Oh, be reasonable, you are going to create a stir if you walk into the Great Hall like that, it won't take long for an elf to get here with a tray." Said an exasperated Lily, she didn't know what else to say to make them stay in the tower.
"We are tired, hungry and it's already late if we don't go now we're not going to get anything to eat, I don't know about you but I want to get something to eat soon." Replied James.
"Well, I refuse to sit by you, I will not be part of this scene." Snapped Katie.
"Fine!" Said the boys as they walked toward the painting.
"And keep away from us, we want to enjoy our meal." Said Katie getting out behind them.
"Oh, so you don't want us near, do you?" Said Sirius with a wicked smile gracing his lips.
"What are you up to?" Said Katie looking a little apprehensive.
"Tell you what, I'll stay here in the tower if you give me a kiss." Smiled Sirius.
"Are you crazy? I'm not coming anywhere near you." Said Katie as she tried to keep some distance from him.
"Ah, but I'll make worth your while." He said rapidly walking after her.
"You keep away from me." She squealed and giggling ran down the corridor.
"Ah sweetheart, don't run away." Yelled Sirius as he ran after her. Moments later the rest could hear squeals of laughter, it seemed that Sirius had reached his target.
A/N: Hope you enjoy this piece.
Chapter 5 ~ Confusion in the Tower
"What do you mean they've grown up?" Asked Katie the following morning.
"I mean that they are finally going to start acting their age. According to James, Sirius has been moping around because they haven't been able to pull a prank since the one they pulled on us on the train." Said Lily as she finished combing her hair.
"If this is so, you know what this means?" Said Emma with a twinkle in her eyes.
"It means that after putting up with their pranks for six years, now we can turn the tables on them." Squealed Katie happily.
"Can you imagine what is going to happen once the whole school finds out about this?" Said Lily.
"Oh Lord! They certainly have a lot to pay for don't they? It would be like Christmas has come early to Hogwarts." Chuckled Emma.
"Oh, let's not tell anyone, let's just keep it between us for now, make it our little project. The rest of the school will eventually figure it out." Excitedly said Katie, jumping onto her bed.
"Katie, you're acting as childish as they do. Stop jumping on your bed, you're going to hurt yourself." Chided Lily.
"Yes mother."
"So girls," cut in Emma before any dispute issued, "what should we do? It seems that we have some planning to do."
"Let's get through the day before we start any planning, tonight would be soon enough. Tomorrow is Saturday so we have plenty of time to plan." Said Lily as they walked toward the door.
"That's right! Sunday would be perfect to pull it off. James and Sirius will have Quidditch practice, which means that Remus and Peter will go along to watch. We'll have the whole morning to prepare and by the time they return we'll be all set!" Said Katie as she followed Lily.
"Well it seems that we have the time, now the question is, what are we going to do?" Responded Emma as she closed the door behind them.
"Can you believe that she actually called us childish?" Said and indignant James as he snapped shut his trunk.
"Just because we like to have fun and live to the fullest doesn't mean we're childish!" Protested Sirius.
"I think that she meant that we were acting childish not that we were childish. There's a difference." Said Remus trying to soothe the tempers of his two friends, which could be as bad as his during a full moon.
"I'm sure that she didn't mean that we looked childish either, after all, she could not dismiss the fact that there have been several girls around specially those who always seem to follow you everywhere you go." Soothed Peter following Remus lead, he had reason to know how strong his friends' tempers could be.
"I suppose, but still, she didn't have to make plain her skepticism. I'll show her, I'll be the best Head Boy this school has ever had, make her swallow her words then." Grunted James.
"Yeah, and I'll join the committee and show them all what I can do!" Roared Sirius.
"Ok. Now that we have established how determined you are, can we go down to breakfast? I'm hungry!" Said Remus.
"So am I. I think I'll go down and chose seats for us, and when you are ready after determining how grown up you are then you can join me. Coming Remus?" Said Peter walking toward the door.
"Yeah."
"Ok, we're going, gees!" Exclaimed Sirius.
"So what have you girls planned for this weekend?" Remus asked politely as diner got underway.
"We have some stuff to do, you know 'girl stuff' " Said Katie.
"Oh, right." Responded Remus, he clearly didn't want to know what this 'girl stuff' was supposed to be.
"We are going to practice, that Quidditch Cup is our!" Exclaimed an exuberant Sirius.
"Will you calm down, you remind of my two nieces when they are told that they are going to the circus." Said James as he saved his cup from being pushed by Sirius elbow.
"Is that all you boys will be doing this weekend?" Asked Lily as she looked at them.
"Yep." Responded four voices in unison.
"But Remus and Peter aren't in the team, why are they going to the practice?" Asked a curious Emma.
"We're going to watch, then we'll fly around for a bit. We'll be back in time for lunch." Replied Peter.
"Hmm. You better return to your room and shower when you're done then. I refuse to sit by a group of sweaty guys as I eat." Said Katie, turning up her nose at them.
"Yes Your Highness, and I expect you want us to shave and primp ourselves up as well." Sarcastically said Sirius glaring at her.
"No, I'm not asking that, just that you tidy up a bit before coming down to eat. The smell of sweat can be very nauseating at times you know."
"Ok, we'll tidy up a bit before coming down to lunch." Intervened James as he noticed Sirius getting ready to start an argument.
"Thank you."
James woke up early on Saturday morning. He looked out the window and saw a sunny day greeting him, and the tree branches gently swaying from side to side because of the gentle breeze. [Perfect] He thought, [Great day for Quidditch Practice] He quickly gathered his clothing and ran to the restroom; making a lot of noise as he went, which woke up his roommates.
"James!" Grunted Sirius. "Could you be any louder? I couldn't hear you while I was sleeping."
"Will you lot get ready? We have practice, remember?" Yelled James from the restroom.
"But it's so early! I thought we were meeting at the pitch at 7:30, is barely 6!" Whined Sirius.
"You might as well get up, you know that you won't be able to go back to sleep after all the noise he made." Said Remus as he pulled back the curtains from his bed.
"How can he sleep through it all?" Asked Sirius as he looked toward Peter's curtained bed.
"He puts cotton in his ears. He said that someone among us snores, I think that he was hearing himself snore, because I haven't heard you two snore and I don't snore." Replied Remus as he started to get his things together.
"Who snores?" Asked James while he was walking out of the restroom.
"Peter. Did you notice the girls last night? They were acting very strange, they got really secretive after we returned from dinner." Commented Sirius as he started to get up from bed. Remus had gone into the restroom.
"Do you reckon they're planning something?" Asked James as he walked up to Peter's bed. "Peter, wake up! You have to get ready." He said, shaking Peter awake.
"I'm awake." Groggily said Peter.
"They are planning something, I have a feeling that they are, but, what?" Pondered Sirius.
"Who is planning what?" Asked Peter as he tried to stop yawning.
"The girls, Padfoot here thinks that they are planning something." Responded James.
"Of course they are planning something. They are planning on how to fix their hair, what color should they paint their nails, what are they going to wear this weekend, what." Remus was saying as he reentered the room but was soon interrupted by Sirius.
"Ok, ok, we get it, don't know why I asked now." He mumbled as he made his way to the restroom.
"How do you know that's what they are planning?" Asked Peter.
"I asked last night if they had plans for this weekend and Emma said that they were going to be doing some 'girl stuff' I didn't ask what exactly, because frankly I don't want to know." Said Remus as he walked to his trunk and put away his pajamas.
"I suppose that after living with four sisters you get a pretty good idea of what 'girl stuff' can be." Smiled James as he got his Quidditch robes and his broom out from his trunk.
"Exactly!" Exclaimed Remus as he sat on his bed getting ready to wait for the rest to be done.
"Why do we care for what they're up to anyways." Asked Peter as he leaned on the wall next to the restroom, waiting for Sirius to come out.
"I don't know; Sirius started it." Joining Remus as they waited.
"What did I do?" Said Sirius as he opened the door. "I didn't start anything."
"We were just saying that you were the one who started the discussion about the girls' activities." Said Remus as he stretched upon the bed.
"I was just curious." Said Sirius, walking to his trunk and dumping his pajamas, then he started to look for his robes and broom.
"You should try being a little more organized, how can you find anything in there?" Commented James as he watched Sirius looking through his trunk.
"I don't care about organization!" Scoffed Sirius as he finally found his robes. He took out his wand and whispered "Vaporus" immediately steam started to come out from the tip of his wand and with it he started to steam press his robes while his friends watched in amusement. "There, I'm ready." He said once his robes were pressed.
"So am I." Said Peter as he walked out of the restroom.
"Finally, let's go. We'll stop by the Great Hall to grab a couple of bites and from there to the pitch." Said James, walking out of the room.
"Right!" Three voices said as the rest following him out.
"They just left! I saw them leaving the common room." Reported Katie to her friends as she came in bouncing into the girls' dormitory.
"Hopefully they will leave about the same time tomorrow. What we need to do today is to memorize our scrip so we know what we're doing, and also practice the charms to make sure that we have them right." Said Lily from the window enclosure where she was sitting.
"Let's go to breakfast, then we'll return here. Nobody will bother us, Amanda and Gabrielle always leave before we wake up and they barely return during the day, they prefer to go to Professor Mysticity's office. I don't see why they're so into Divination, it's just rubbish in my opinion." Said Emma from her chair in front of the dresser.
"They are as bird-witted as Professor Mysticity." Responded Katie.
"Well we better get down, we have a lot to do this morning, and after the boys return from practice we won't be able to do much." Said Lily standing up and walking to the door.
"You are right, let's go." Said Katie.
"I'm coming." Emma followed.
The rest of the day was uneventful around Hogwarts. The boys practiced throughout the morning and the girls stayed in their room making plans. The afternoon was no different; the boys were seen in the common room doing some class work, playing chess and joking among each other. This behavior surprised the other occupants of the tower; usually the Marauders were seen planning new pranks and playing tricks on someone or other, they were never quiet and didn't bother doing much class work, but this time it was different. Some thought it was a wager, see how long they could go without pulling a prank, others thought that they were just trying to make everybody feel safe from them and then they would do something. But no matter what they thought, everybody looked at the foursome with wary expressions waiting to see what they would do next.
While everybody took note of the Marauders' behavior, nobody gave a thought to the one from the Sirens. It seemed that a switch in personalities had occurred, the girls were now acting the way everybody expected the Marauders to act. They were secretive, their work left undone, and were sitting at a corner of the room talking in whispers. Nobody noticed this change however, everybody was just too busy keeping an eye on the boys.
The next morning was as sunny as the previous day. The boys woke up early once again to take advantage of the fair weather. But as they practiced, three students were making last minute plans in the Gryffindor tower.
"All right, remember now, the charm will only work for 15 minutes so you'll have to get them out of the room fast. We all know what we need to say, so let's get our wands and start getting ready." Said Lily as the girls entered the common room after breakfast.
"But are we going to do about the rest of the Gryffindors? Some will want to use the tower." Said Katie as she sat at one of the chairs flanking the fireplace.
"We'll be using the Confundus Charm and we can use some repelling spells to keep then away for a while." Responded Emma as she followed Katie's example.
"It's lucky we'll be using a bathrobe because I'm not taking my clothes off." Exclaimed Katie.
"You don't need to, the robe is big enough to cover the whole body from neck to toes, besides, they don't need to see anything they just have to think that you're not wearing anything." Said Lily.
"Oh, I can't wait to see their faces, I just hope they won't have a heart attack." Chuckled Emma.
" Well, we have to get ready. Come on." Urged Lily as she walked toward the stairs.
After a very excruciating session, the boys walked into the Gryffindor tower to clean themselves up.
"I believe I have almost perfected that move, don't you think?" Asked James as they came to the painting of the Fat Lady. "Moonlight rendevous." Said James and the painting opened to reveal the entrance to the common room. " I think I just need to practice it a little more."
"I think it's fine as it is, if you over practice it you're going to take the spontaneity out of it." Replied Remus as they started to climb the stairs. They really weren't paying much attention to their direction after six years they knew their way around Hogwarts quite well.
"I think it's just the turn that needs a bit of practice, the rest is just fine." Wheezed Peter as he followed his friends.
"That's what I think as well, I think the turn needs more work." Replied James as he turned to look back at his friends.
"I think the turn is fine, but whatever you want. We know that when it comes to Quidditch, you have to have it perfect and our opinions are superfluous." Said Sirius.
"James has always been a Quidditch freak, remember that week in our second year as we waited for the results of the team tryouts? I thought my mind would become unhinged by just seeing him so overexcited." Said Remus.
"Oh Lord! I remember, and then the team had to go and make him Captain last year, I think they are starting to regret their choice." Said Peter.
"You can say that again, I don't remember the time when I didn't feel so exhausted from practice." Said Sirius.
"If you don't mind! I don't like being talked about as if I wasn't here." Grunted James as he opened the door to a set of dorms.
They entered their room and started to get their things together to change out of their sweaty robes, as they were about to change they noticed something strange.
"Is it just me or are the walls moving?" Whispered Peter.
"They're not moving; they are changing color." Said Remus.
"Were we hurt during practice? I don't remember getting hit by a bludger." Replied Sirius.
"I don't remember getting hit either, but I'm getting dizzy." Said James.
"Let's close out eyes and sit for a while, maybe it will pass." Advised Remus.
"Good idea!" Said James as the rest made their way to stand by a bed, "let's close our eyes. Has everyone closed their eyes?" When he received three positive responses, he said: "all right, let's sit." Four thuds were heard as they all fell to the floor.
"Ouch!"
"How.?"
"What.?"
"Huh?"
The four boys immediately opened their eyes and looked down on a bare floor. No beds, no trunks, no rugs, nothing was around them.
"Where did the beds go?" Asked Sirius as he started looking around.
"Not just the beds but our things as well, where are they?" Said James.
"This is starting to get weird." Said Remus.
"Uh, guys?" Tentatively said Peter.
"Yeah." The others turned to look at him and saw him pointing to the ceiling. The boys looked up and surprised gasps were heard from them.
"How did they get up there?" Said Sirius as they saw the four-poster beds, trunks, nightstands, books, everything standing up side down above them.
"Maybe we should ask how did we get up here, there is no way somebody could've charmed everything in a matter of seconds, I mean, it took us a couple of hours to do the same thing to the Slytherin common room." Said James as he looked toward the door.
His friends noticed he was looking at something and turned to see what had caught his attention.
"Do you reckon we should try getting out?" Said Sirius as they all looked at the door.
"We can try, I'm assuming that only the room is enchanted and that once we're out everything would turn back to normal." Said James as he carefully got up.
"No charm is permanent, our room should be back to normal sooner or later." Said Remus as he also started to get up.
"Well, I don't want to wait." Said Sirius.
"Oh no!" Moaned Peter.
"What?" Said the other three in unison.
"The walls; look at the walls."
The others turned to look at the walls and saw them moving around, then the walls started to close upon them, changing colors as they moved closer.
"That's it, I'm getting out!" Exclaimed Sirius.
The four boys ran toward the door, but no matter how hard they pulled or how many times they turned the knob, the door wouldn't budge.
"This cannot be happening!" Whined Peter.
"Damn!"
"Open, you piece of ****!"
"Let's calm down! Where are our wands?" Said James as he started going through his pockets.
"Ugh! I had forgotten about that." Exclaimed Sirius.
"Here." Remus had found his wand and approached the door. "Alohomora" The door didn't open.
"Now what?"
"Let's all try it at once."
"One, two, three."
"Alohomora!" The door opened.
"Quick, go!"
Once all four were outside, they looked into the room, everything was back the way it should be.
"That was creepy."
"I'm not going back in there."
"Do you think it's over?"
"Let's calm down, we'll go to the common room and try to figure out what has happened." James said in a soothing voice even though he was feeling perturbed.
The boys made their way to the common room, but once they reached it something made them stop at the entrance.
"Aaaahhh!" A scream was heard through out the room. The boys turned to look at the three girls sitting on one of the couches, all three were looking at them.
"How dare you?" Said a shocked Lily.
"What?" The boys asked, they clearly had no idea what she was talking about.
"Maybe you should take a look at yourselves." Said Emma who was trying to keep a straight face. Katie was openly giggling.
The boys turned to each other and noticed that their clothing had turned transparent, as a result the only thing that was covering them was their underclothes, except for Sirius.
"Sirius!" Gasped James.
"Well, I don't like to wear anything underneath whenever I practice, it is more comfortable this way." Replied a blushing Sirius as he tried to cover himself.
The girls were now laughing and the boys knew they had something to do with what had happened to them.
"What did you do?" Asked James as the others were trying to make their clothes visible once more.
"Just getting even for all the tricks you've played on us." Smiled Lily.
"Well, ha-ha-ha, now can you please make our clothing visible again?" Urged Remus.
"Sorry, it will last for at least 12 hours, there is no counter curse, and don't bother to change it won't help you." Said Emma.
"We cannot stay like this!" Said Peter who clearly didn't want anybody looking at his stripped boxers.
"I don't mind." Said Sirius with a mischievous smile, the others turned to glare at him.
"Oh, no you don't." Said Katie as she pointed her wand to Sirius, instantly a pair of red boxers and an undershirt appeared on Sirius.
"Hey, how come he gets a top?" Complained James.
"Because I want him to." Said Katie as she crossed her arms.
"One question, why did you wait until now to get even with us? You could've done it earlier." Asked Remus.
"Because now you haven't been able to come up with any new tricks and you've given up on them." Said Emma.
"Oh right! Rub it in my face why don't you?" Pouted Sirius.
"I'm assuming that it's all done and nothing else will happen." Said Peter as he warily looked at the girls as they nodded yes to him.
"If we could've know how crafty and tricky you were we would've asked for your help long ago." Said Sirius.
"We can talk all about it later, it's time for lunch and I'm ravenous." Said James.
"You are not going into the Great Hall like that!" Said a scandalized Lily.
"Why not?" Asked Sirius.
"You're indecent that's why!" Exclaimed Katie.
"Well, it's your fault we're like this, we are hungry and I'm not going to miss my meal." Said James.
"Couldn't you wait until we send an elf with a tray for you?" Asked Emma.
"No we're hungry." Said Remus.
"Oh, be reasonable, you are going to create a stir if you walk into the Great Hall like that, it won't take long for an elf to get here with a tray." Said an exasperated Lily, she didn't know what else to say to make them stay in the tower.
"We are tired, hungry and it's already late if we don't go now we're not going to get anything to eat, I don't know about you but I want to get something to eat soon." Replied James.
"Well, I refuse to sit by you, I will not be part of this scene." Snapped Katie.
"Fine!" Said the boys as they walked toward the painting.
"And keep away from us, we want to enjoy our meal." Said Katie getting out behind them.
"Oh, so you don't want us near, do you?" Said Sirius with a wicked smile gracing his lips.
"What are you up to?" Said Katie looking a little apprehensive.
"Tell you what, I'll stay here in the tower if you give me a kiss." Smiled Sirius.
"Are you crazy? I'm not coming anywhere near you." Said Katie as she tried to keep some distance from him.
"Ah, but I'll make worth your while." He said rapidly walking after her.
"You keep away from me." She squealed and giggling ran down the corridor.
"Ah sweetheart, don't run away." Yelled Sirius as he ran after her. Moments later the rest could hear squeals of laughter, it seemed that Sirius had reached his target.