A/N: Well, lovely time for chapter two, and sorry about the wait. Also, the chapters are rather short at the moment, but they should be getting longer as we go along. The POV has changed slightly, and will make rounds every chapter, probably. ((The first was in Sirius's, this one is in James's, and the next one is in Peter's, I believe, but I'd have to check. It's all third person, though, so it should still make perfect sense.))

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, would I really write fanfiction? ((Yes, I would. I just don't. Own Harry Potter, that is.))

What It Takes

I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Prank 2.

"Snivellus".

Sirius was getting really annoyed at that Severus Snape; James could tell by the set of his jaw and the slight twitching of his left eyebrow. Besides the random angry growls that escaped him, of course. Those were a bit of a give away as well.

The Slytherin boy was goading Sirius again, and James had to admit that it was a bit annoying. Really, he thought, Sirius has been a Gryffindor all year--you'd think he'd just let it go already. So he's a Black and a Gryffindor! I mean, he's not really much like the rest of his family, so why is it such a big deal. No, stupid, you know that.

Sirius was a pureblood wizard, with generations and generations of 'unspoiled' wizarding anscesters to back up his name. That was important to many of the old wizarding families, and especially Sirius's. The Blacks were a very old, prestigious family, and well known for all of them being in the Slytherin house at Hogwarts. Personally, James thought Sirius was well-shot of that bunch, they were all snotty, stuck up blood purists with nothing but ancestry and contempt in their heads. But Sirius's mum was fairly unhappy with him over the whole thing. Fairly unhappy being an understatement.

Remus caught James's eye shyly, nodding his head toward where Sirius looked about ready to explode. "You little--" Sirius was yelling, "you leave my family out of this, Snape! Leave them out or I might have to ask about your family! I heard your mummy was in the hospital the other weak with an unknown ailment. The only person she ever talks to is your father, right? I wonder what he--"

Snape's fist came swinging at Sirius's taunting face, and James felt his stomach plummet as Sirius's expression flashed into a triumphant smirk and he swung right back. Remus gasped and Peter squeaked, but James blew out a sigh. Sirius was always picking fights with Snape.

"Sirius!" he called, "Sirius, stop it! Come on, we've got better things to do. Do you want another detention with McGoogles?"

But Sirius didn't stop. He and Snape were going at it like there was no one else around. There was nothing for it but to drag him out. Too bad neither Remus nor Peter would be much help, Sirius in full battle mode was something you didn't want to fight. The one time he had tried that...James shuddered even as he dove into the fray and grabbed the nearest arm, pulling sharply.

Luck was with him, it was his friend's. With another tug he managed to pull Sirius away from the greasier boy, then turn him around to glower at him. "Sirius Black, quit falling to his level. You know he does that just to--"

"What is it, Potter, afraid to get in a little trouble? You're nothing more than a momma's boy, and your mum isn't even here."

James glared around his friend. "Shut your mouth about my mum, Snape."

"Or what? You're not going to do anything."

"Maybe not, but maybe so."

"You know," the other boy remarked seemingly off-handedly, "you don't look much like your father, Potter. No, not much at all."

"Are you suggesting," James ground out, not noticing how his grip tightened around Sirius's forearm, "that my mother whored herself?"

"Very good, Potter, that is exactly what I am suggesting."

"Why you--" the sentence never got finished as both James and Sirius tackled the Slytherin to the ground and began to pound their fists into his face. James smiled savagely as his fist connected harshly with the other boy's jaw, and Sirius's with his ugly, overlarge nose. What was that thing anyway? It didn't resemble any other nose he'd ever seen, all hooked and greasy and nasty looking with those stupidly flaring nostrils-- James joined the sadistic beating of the nose. The nose was probably the most annoying thing about Severus, it was always sniffing and sniffling around while he whined to Professor Slughorn anytime any one of them stepped so much as a toe out of line!

James pulled himself away with another snarl, and took Sirius with him. "Quit talking about my mum, Snivellus."

He led his three friends away, fuming. None of them talked until they passed through the portrait hole and into their Gryffindor commonroom, where Sirius collapsed laughing onto a couch. James blinked stupidly at his friend, knowing he should be used to the sudden flipped personalities of the Black heir, but knowing at the same time that he probably never would be. It was Remus, though, who asked the question.

"Sirius," he quieried quietly, "What are you laughing about? You and James are going to be in major trouble when McGonagall finds out about this."

"B-but," Sirius gasped, "that was so perfect! Where did you come up with it, James? I mean, Snivellus? It's an ingenius description of him!"

"Well, you see," James said, a bit embarrassed, "I was thinking about, you know, how much I hate his nose."

"Yeah," put in Peter, "It's so big."

"And ugly--" Sirius adds.

"And hooked--"

"And greasy--"

"And it's got that funny shaped thing on the end--"

"And it's just so nasty looking!" Remus finished up, grinning despite himself.

"Well, yeah," James grinned, "That's what I was thinking."

They all fell about laughing on the couch and on Sirius, a heap of laughing boys enjoying a private joke, one that would follow them throughout the years.

Mischief Managed.