Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. All characters belong to a woman with a great imagination and determination, capable of creating this world that is the center of so many stories.
Sins of Angels: Thanks to all reviewers! Sorry this has been so long in coming, I wasn't in a happy enough mood lately to write a chapter like this. But I had fun, so I hope you will too! Enjoy.
Chapter 32 – Of Holidays and Pranks
Lily was awaken the next morning by a screaming Sirius. She jumped out of bed and burst into Remus's room, seeming small due to the extra bed on the floor. Sirius was tied to it and was no longer screaming, but laughing.
After ten minute's worth of explaining, Lily understood the events to go as such.
James and Remus got up an hour before everyone else. So they needed a good way to start the day.
Instead of actually going for a run or something, they tied Sirius to his bed. Very tightly, just in case he could hit them after they did what they did next.
They decided to give him a cold shower. A very cold shower.
Sirius was still sitting, his hair dripping wet, on the cold bed. But that wasn't the end.
After the bucket of water, they told him he needs to leave, they're under attack.
And that's when he noticed he was tied down.
And started laughing.
Lily just listened carefully throughout the whole thing. A smile played on her lips every time she looked at Sirius, who was trying to undo his foot straps.
"Is it safe to assume you haven't told him about the fact that his hair is bright green?" she whispered. The two boys nodded.
"Remus here has this thing muggles call hair dye or something? It turns your hair different colors," James said, whispering so Sirius wouldn't hear him.
"But why don't you use magic? We're all of age here."
"Because, Lily dear, muggles have such great pranks!"
"Right!" Sirius said, finishing off the ropes. "I'm off to take a bloody warm shower, thank you very much."
The boy stalked off to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Remus laughed quietly while James just grinned.
A scream was heard from the bathroom, entirely too high to be Sirius. However, it was him that came out of the bathroom at full speed, launching himself at James in a frenzy of anger. Remus jumped out of the way, and James sprang off the bed in time, so Sirius landed in the middle, face down.
"Run!" James yelled, bolting for the door. Remus ran after him. Lily just stayed, moving hair out of her eyes. Sirius rolled over, sat up in the bed, looked around the room, and finally looked at Lily. It was at that point his determined anger gave way to laughter.
"What?" Lily asked cautiously, knowing full well that some would consider her pranking territory.
Sirius just laughed again, this time falling sideways on the bed and rolling onto the floor. Lily now became concerned. She stood up hurriedly and dashed to the bathroom, where she looked at herself in the mirror and screamed.
On her forehead, in red and green marker, were the words "Happy Christmas!" She screamed again, and went out the bathroom door, bolting down the stairs where James and Remus went.
In fact, they we hiding behind Mr. Lupin's chair. Mrs. Lupin came in with a cup of hot chocolate, and smiled happily at Lily.
"So glad to see you're in the spirit, dear," she said soothingly. Lily touched her forehead.
"Yeah," she said quietly while James smiled innocently and Remus laughed quietly. Mr. Lupin also had a smile on his face.
"I think, perhaps, it was unintended?" he suggested. Mrs. Lupin looked to her son and nodded. She moved over to Lily.
"Come, dear, I think you'll find I have just the stuff for Magic Markers," she said and gently ushered Lily away. James and Remus began laughing loudly.
"Really, boys, the young lady? I doubt she's been around you while you play jokes on people."
"That's just it, dad," Remus said, smiling widely. "She hasn't. And it's not like we do anything permanent."
At that moment, Sirius stumbled down the stairs. His hair was still bright green, and he scowled as he saw James and Remus.
"This bloody color won't wash off! What the hell did you do to me? Oh, sorry, Mr. Lupin."
"Quite all right, Sirius. I daresay I wouldn't stop there if I were you. Is this one of your muggle things, Remus?"
"Dad, you'll ruin the fun!" Remus exclaimed as Mr. Lupin raised his wand and took away Sirius's dye. The handsome boy grinned and turned towards the stairs as Lily came down, not looking very forgiving.
"Whose bright idea was this?" she asked seriously. Remus stood up, and James followed.
"Well, it was mine," Remus said, smiling.
"And I did it," James said, grinning. He walked over to Lily. "It was just some innocent fun, Lily."
"Right," the young witch said, her mind already working overtime. "Innocent fun. Sure."
The three boys exchanged glances. They would have to be on their guard. Lily Evans had never pranked anyone, but she had too much potential for comfort.
"It's Christmas Eve, everyone!" Mrs. Lupin exclaimed, coming down the stairs with food. "And that means the feast!"
"Mum, do we really have to have twelve foods on the table?" Remus groaned.
"It's a family tradition, Remus, and I will uphold it. Now you just stay out of the kitchen and don't make too much of a mess in the house."
The teenagers left the room. Lily sat down on the sofa and began to scribble something, which she hid from the three boys, claiming it was "girl stuff" and that they couldn't see.
A shadow was outside the window. As James glanced at it, it was gone. He blinked. What was that?
He shook it off as Lily stood up hurriedly and went to her room. After a meaningful glance, the three boys huddled together.
"So? What do you think?" Sirius asked James, nodding towards the stairs.
"Lily? I think she's probably racking her brains for a comeback around now."
"What do you think she'll do?" Remus asked. He reached under the table carefully and pulled out a manual from Zonko's. He flipped it open to a random page.
"Well, does she really have the nerve to turn us into pigs?" he asked, pointing at the incantation and the result on the page.
"Moony, mate, you'd be surprised," James said and glanced at the window. There it was again, that shadow. As he blinked, it was gone. "Remus, do you gnomes?"
"Only two, and they went on vacation. Why?"
"I…nothing. I think I'm seeing things."
"Don't forget, Prongs, there's always that forest behind the house. Rabbits and deer come to our lawn all the time."
"Right," James said, shaking his head. But it didn't look like a deer, did it?
"So the pigs theory is out. How about," Remus said, flipping through the book again. He stopped on a page displaying a boy with orange skin. "Does she know the incantation for that?" he asked, a bit worriedly. The boys glanced at eachother.
James started to shake his head when his back suddenly became very, very cold. He jumped up and pulled at his shirt, discovering it was wet. He turned towards the stairs, where Lily was holding a plastic ice cream cone.
"What is that?" he said, surprised, still trying to limit contact between his shirt and his back. Remus jumped up as well, and Sirius wasn't far behind. Lily just grinned.
"This, my dear friends, is what I call revenge," she said and held out the plastic ice cream threateningly. James laughed a bit, sounding nervous.
"A plastic ice cream cup?" he said mockingly. "Really, Lily, you have to do better than that."
She just grinned. He grin sent shivers down the spines of the three friends. "So you say," she said quietly, and pressed the button.
Out of the seemingly harmless ice cream cup sprayed a jet of very cold water, showering the boys and making them yelp in discomfort. Lily ran up the steps.
"Should we follow her?" Sirius asked.
"Of course!" James said.
"What if it's a trap?" Remus pointed out. James laughed.
"Moony, she used all her water. There's no way that little thing holds any more than what we have on us!"
After they came to that conclusion, the three Marauders bounded up the steps hurriedly. As they came into the hall, they were met not with water, but with-
"Paint? You're putting paint in it?" James yelled, covering his face with his hands as the neon red paint showered him. The two boys behind him groaned, as their hair became red and Lily laughed.
After two minutes of straight spraying, the paint turned blue. Sirius noticed this, and complained.
"You're enchanting muggle objects!" he protested. Lily stopped, looking hurt.
"And here I thought you three would recognize a Zonko product!" she said and started again, the paint being bright pink. The three groaned and dived back down the stairs, Lily trailing them happily.
The paint stopped as they reached the landing. The shadow was in the window; only it wasn't a shadow anymore. The dawn light cast an eerie effect on the creature.
The laughing died as Mr. Lupin sprang out of his seat. A dish shattered in the kitchen and Mrs. Lupin went after him.
The creature broke the window. The paint-soaked boys saw who, and what, it was and gulped.
"Run!" Mr. Lupin called to them. "Run now, for Merlin's sake!"
Sins of Angels: Well, I hope I did a good job with the pranks and all. Any guesses to who's at the window? Just curious whom you guys think it is.