Title: Light

Author: Amelia Bedelia

Chapter Fourteen: Pre-Pranking

AUTHORS NOTE: Nothing to say here! But hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen: Pre-Pranking

James shook himself awake. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. His legs were tangled in the mass of bed sheets wrapped around him and nearly all of the covers were ripped in some fashion.

Quietly, he tried to stand without waking the other boys in the dormitory, but his legs were still caught. James landed on the frozen floor, now wishing he had not even tried to stand up. He managed to hoist himself onto his hands and sit back in the bed again, ripping the sheets farther to get his legs out. How he had gotten his legs that stuck was beyond him, but James knew that the house elves could replace his sheets easily.

Pulling on a shirt, James dragged an old blanket of his down to the common room, trying not to make too much noise as he bounded down the stone cold steps. He wrapped himself up and leant against the armrest of the couch. He stared at the first, eyes unfocused. I'll only sit here for a few minutes, he thought to himself, closing his eyes slowly. I can't stay here all night. I have to get back to my bed…

James shook himself awake and checked his watch. He groaned. James had fallen asleep for three hours. Although, James thought, at least I got some sleep now.

A soft thudding noise echoed throughout the room. James looked over his shoulder and smiled as Lily tiptoed, quietly, to the couch.

"Hello, James," she whispered, pulling his blanket away from him and curling herself in it.

"Hey!" James shrieked, averting his gaze to Lily, astonished. "That's mine!"

Lily laughed. "I've never heard your voice that high pitched before."

James glared at her, crossing his arms. "Well, then, you should have heard me when Sirius put plastic spiders in my bed a few years ago… Boy did he pay," he added as an afterthought.

Lily grinned. "So, what are you doing down here so early?"

James yawned, shivering. Lily noticed and, being the kind person she was, spread the blanket over both of their laps. "I had a nightmare," he said, the full force of the memory coming back to him now.

"You had a nightmare? Oh… Oh! You had a nightmare?"

James nodded. "Yes. I had a nightmare."

Lily's look of laughter immediately vanished from her face and she began scowling at the blanket as if it were the blanket's fault. "Who'd you see this time?" she asked in a whisper, barely audible.

James sighed and looked into the fireplace, not wanting to watch any of Lily's reactions. "Professor Sonetra."

If anything, her scowl deepened. "What happened?"

"Let's just say she messed up and paid the price."

Lily started to pick at the blanket, as if she were suddenly interested in it. "Is she, uh… still alive?"

James nodded. "She got a pretty long Cruciatus Curse, though. She was supposed to attack some muggles in London, apparently, and there was a hitch in the plan." James stared intently at the fire as if he was trying to remember something from long ago. Then he shrugged. "Something went wrong. Anyway, she was punished for not killing some muggles. I think there was supposed to be some mass destruction tonight and it got messed up because of her."

James was silent. And then he smiled and let out a soft laugh. "You should have seen Voldemort face. Boy was he ticked off."

James laughed a bit harder this time, but quieted down when he realized Lily was not laughing with him. "Hey, Lil'? Lily, are you all right?"

She shrugged. "I still think you shouldn't have to see these things until later in life."

He shook his head, rolling her eyes. "You're not still on about that, are you? Look, I'll deal with it. Not everyone is normal. I'm just one of those people where things – happen." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been around strange happenings my whole life, especially with Sirius as my best friend," he added as an afterthought.

Lily chuckled and James smiled. "See?" he said, turning her head to face him. "That's exactly how I'm getting through all of this – stuff. As long as I have all of you with me to keep me happy and smiling, it's no big deal. And this," he said, pointing to Lily's smile, "is worth living for."

She blushed, looking away. "So, if nobody ever smiled again, you'd kill yourself?"

James took a deep breath and leaned back in the couch, stretching. Then, after a large yawn, said, "Yep. However, I'm not worrying about that. I mean, have you looked at Sirius lately?"

Lily laughed. "You've got a point there. Bella is acting the same. You'd think they might have been a little smarter to have gone out earlier, though."

"But we were stopping them."

Lily thought on this. "Another good point."

James chuckled. "Remus and Breanna too. Our friends were just too loyal to us to stay away for so long."

Lily nodded, leaning back on James and closed her eyes. "I feel guilty now."

James laughed softly, astonished by another stroke of luck. Lily was laying – on him. James Potter! His heart sped up. "Yeah, I feel guilty too. They're the best friends we could ever ask for."

Lily smiled and James checked his watch discreetly. Three am. He just hoped no one came down for another six hours, though that was highly unlikely. "It's a little awkward."

"What?" James' eyebrows knitted together. "What's awkward?"

"With our best friends going out together. They're matches made from heaven. And we're stuck with no one."

James colored. "Yeah. No one."

Lily rolled over and snuggled into James' chest. "I'm just glad you don't have anyone either. So we can have no one together."

He smiled and ran a hand through her soft hair, trying as hard as he could to keep the blood from his face down. Midway through her hair, James froze.

"Lily," he whispered frantically.

She looked up, eyes half closed. "What?"

"Lily, I still have a girlfriend."

Her eyes seemed to open twice as fast. "You what?"

"In Hufflepuff. Elizabeth. She – shit. Lily, I – I have to go talk to her."

James made a move to get up but Lily stopped him. "James, it's too early to go anywhere right now!"

He nodded and sat back down reluctantly, but continued checking his watch.

"I can't believe I've ignored her for nearly a month. Imagine how annoyed she'll be!" James was silent. Then spoke again. "Lily, I'm not sure I want to leave the common room anymore."

She laughed and pulled the blanket around her neck, curling into a small ball and resting back on James' muscular chest. "Relax. Talk to her during breakfast. Teachers will be able to watch the whole thing and make sure nothing gets out of hand."

James' head bobbed up and down in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am."

"Lily?" James whispered. "Why exactly were you doing down here this early? You weren't waiting for me or anything, were you?"

She smiled, eyes closed. "No, I had a nightmare, too."

"Of what?" he asked.

Her breathing seemed ragged. "M-my parents."

James nodded and stroked her cheek softly, calming her. "Things like that may happen," he said. "Try to think of it as a good thing whenever you see your family. Be happy to still have them in your dreams."

"I can't, James. I can't when all I see of them is their bodies. They don't have a soul left. Voldemort is there - laughing. Then Petunia comes up to me and points a finger," Lily said, holding up her own finger, replaying the dream. "'It's all your fault, freak. You killed Mum and Dad.'"

James shook his head but continued running his hand along Lily's cheek. "You didn't kill them, Lily."

She nodded, pulling the blanket higher, wiping small tears away. "I'm trying to tell myself that. Really, I am, but there is just something in the back of my mind that keeps coming back to haunt me. And Petunia tells it to me personally."

She was silent. "So, what will you tell Elizabeth?" she asked, obviously trying to change topics.

"It all depends, really. I'll let her do most of the talking. And by the time she's finished, I'm betting I'll be a single man once again." James gently traced Lily's hair behind her ear and continued, following the pattern. "Maybe I could talk to her in front of McGonagall's office. She'd never let anyone use violence in hallways. Or even raise their voice, for that matter. What do you think, Lily? Lily?"

James glanced down at Lily. Her lips were formed in the shape of a gentle smile and rhythmic breathing emitted from her lungs.

James smiled at the small figure. Craning his neck slightly, he kissed the top of her head. "Sleep tight, Lily Evans."

^^^^^^^ Remus ^^^^^^^

Remus yawned and rolled over, checking the clock.

Seven o'clock? Who would automatically wake up at this ungodly hour! Remus crawled out of bed, feeling he had no drop of sleep left in him, and dressed quietly. He stepped out of his dormitory and closed the door softly behind him, even though he knew well enough that no one would wake up even if he had broken a vase.

Dodging the squeaky steps he knew by heart, Remus ended up at the bottom of the staircase, jaw dropped. Quickly regaining the use of his feet, he stepped over to James and Lily, snuggling quite closely on the couch.

"James!" Remus hissed, shaking him awake softly. With a small jolt, James looked up, eyes wide.

"Wha - " he looked around the room, glanced up at Remus, and finished, staring down at the sleeping beauty in his arms. "Remus – what time is it?" James asked groggily, heating up in the face.

"It's seven," he said. "And you're damn lucky Sirius didn't come down here before me!"

James yawned and patted Lily's shoulder a couple of times. "Come on, Lils, wake up. Morning time," he said as she stirred.

"No," Lily mumbled, rolling into James' chest again, hiding her face from view.

James blushed as Remus gave him a questioning glance. "Lily, get up. Others are going to come down soon." James looked from her to Remus helplessly. Then he grinned. "Lily! Up now – Sirius is coming down with a camera!"

She sat straight up, frightening both Remus and James. Her hair flew left and right as her gaze swept throughout the room frantically. "Where is he?"

James laughed. "Lily, he's not here. I just said that to wake you up. Or else he will come down with a camera."

Lily groaned and fell backwards, landing in James' lap. "Then I still have time to sleep."

James rolled his eyes, chuckling. "No, you don't." She did not move. "Don't make me push you off."

She smiled, eyes closed. "You wouldn't. You can't hurt a girl."

James raised an eyebrow. It bothered him, though, that she was one hundred percent correct. So instead, he raised her head off his lap and stood, placing a pillow in his previous spot. Turning around, James spotted Remus with his arms crossed and a small smile threatening to come out.

"What's that about?" he asked once Lily had fallen asleep again and they were out of earshot up in their dormitory.

James rolled his eyes, falling back on his bed, trying to hide the shredded sheets. "We both woke up in the middle of the night. Nothing important. We just fell asleep."

Remus laughed. "All right, James. I believe you."

"No you don't," he said, failing to hide a yawn.

There was a sharp rap on the door. "Come in," Remus hollered.

Breanna and Bella stepped inside, dragging Lily behind them. James stared, aghast, at the trio. "Do you normally wake up this early?" he asked.

Breanna hopped over to Remus' bed and gave him a kiss, smiling. "We weren't tired," she said.

Bella nodded as she kneeled down next to Sirius. "Sirius," she whispered in his ear. "Rise and shine," she murmured.

There was a stirring movement and, miraculously, Sirius sat up, grinning.

The other boys' jaws dropped straight to the floor. "He lives!" James yelled, staring agape at the couple as Lily made her way to James' bed.

Bella shot him a small glare and turned back to Sirius, grinning. "Hi," she muttered, blushing slightly.

Lily and James turned their heads to look at the other and rolled their eyes.

Sirius kissed Bella. "Good morning," he replied, grinning.

And, as if in another world, she started to giggle, batting her eyelashes slowly at him. Lily leaned over and whispered in James' ear, "I've never ever seen her do that with a guy before. She must really be taken with Sirius."

James nodded, agreeing. "He's the exact same."

There were a few minutes of small talk filling the room as Peter woke.

Lily looked at James, eyes wide, and pointed discreetly at the bed sheets, trying not to attract anyone else's gaze.

"Your nightmare?" she asked.

James nodded, yawning. "They're all shredded. The house elves will have to bring me new sheets."

Then finally, Sirius stood up, hugging Bella tightly. "Sorry, but you're going to have to leave now. I know you want to stay and watch me get dressed, but sadly James has to get dressed as well."

Playfully, Bella punched him on the shoulder and exited the room with Breanna and Lily close behind.

Ten minutes later, The Marauders trudged down to the common room, yawning.

"I haven't been awake and dressed at seven since…" James thought. "Well, a long time," he finished.

The group of sixth years traveled to the Great Hall. There were a few early risers from other tables, but none that anyone seemed to know.

"Peter," Breanna said, talking from across the table, "I think we should work on our project in Defense against the Dark Arts after lunch today."

Peter nodded, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. "Yaa, fure," he said, spraying crumbs all over. He swallowed. "How long?"

Breanna shrugged, picking at her food. "I don't know, maybe three hours, four, possibly."

Peter, stuffing another piece of toast in his mouth, choked. "Free frours? Fou er foking!"

"No, I'm not joking," she said back, calmly wiping pieces of toast from her face. "It'd be good to get a head start instead of leaving everything until the end. Now, I say we continue working on finding information, maybe create an outline of sorts, or - "

James groaned, paling slightly. Everyone's heads turned to look at him. "What's up, James?" Sirius asked, eyebrows creased.

He pointed across the room. Elizabeth strolled through the doors, walking over to the Hufflepuff table, sitting alone.

Lily chuckled. "James hasn't talked to her in over a month," she informed the table.

"Shut up, Lily," he muttered, running a hand nervously through his hair.

Remus pulled out a velvet bag from his robe pocket. "Three galleons she cries and breaks up with him," he said, dropping three golden coins in the bag.

Sirius raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Dream on, Moony. The girl clings to any guy! She wouldn't break up with him!" Sirius pulled out the remains of James' money from the night before at Hogsmeade. "I bet… Uh, 4 galleons, 12 sickles, and 7 knuts that Elizabeth doesn't care James ignored her and they're still going out by tonight."

Peter dropped some silver coins in the bag. "Three sickles Elizabeth hates your guts and never wants to see you again – no crying from her either," he added, swallowing the rest of his pumpkin juice.

James laughed. "Going out on a ledge, are you, Peter?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What on earth are you doing, making bets on a girl?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as if it were obvious. "We make bets all of the time on girls and when one of us has to 'talk' to them. Whoever guesses right gets all of the winnings in the bag."

Breanna looked thoughtful as she leaned over to whisper something in Lily's ear. Lily nodded and stood up, bending across the table and whispering in Bella's ear who, in turn, nodded as well.

They each pulled large amounts of money from their pockets and counted it together. Satisfied, Bella dropped the coins into the now bulging bag. "Seventeen galleons, 3 sickles, and 4 knuts Elizabeth forgot all about you."

James raised an eyebrow. "Taking a risk there, you know. Sirius knows girls like the back of his hand. You sure you wanna do this?"

Bella ignored the comment about Sirius and other girls and nodded. "We're positive."

James shrugged and stood up. "Wish me luck."

Lily smiled. "Good luck, Jamsie."

He walked slowly to the Hufflepuff table as if he were walking to his own funeral. Cautiously, James tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder. She spun her head and her golden curls hit her face. "Hi, James," she said, smiling.

James swallowed. "Look, Elizabeth - "

"It's Liz now," she said, patting the bench for him to sit down. Carefully, James lowered himself into the seat.

"Er – Liz – We have to talk."

She nodded, encouraging him to go on. Ignoring the adamant stares from his friends, James pressed on.

"Liz, I'm sorry I was, uh, ignoring you the past month. I got caught up in some other – stuff."

She nodded. "It's all right, I understand. I mean, you and Lily Evans – who would've thought? But I think you two make a great couple," she said, patting his leg. "No hard feelings here."

James stared, astonished. And then laughed. "Oh, you – no. No! Lily and I – we're not – I mean - "

"Really, it's ok! I understand! After Christmas, it was clear you did not like me much anymore. And, honestly," she blushed, "I kind-of found someone else."

James pinched himself on the arm. Hard. "Some – someone else?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "He's really nice, like you. But you two are just…" She glanced at James, trying not to hurt him. "You both are just different," Elizabeth finished, hopefully.

James nodded, not understanding what he was hearing. "So, you're – uh…" James sought for words, but could not find any. Soon a strong hand gripped his shoulder.

"Excuse me," the deep voice boomed.

James spun around in his chair. "Er – hi."

Elizabeth stood up clutching the person's hand.

James stood as well and held out his hand. "Uh, hello. I'm James - "

"Potter, I know." He eyed James suspiciously, scowling. "My name's Charles. Head Boy," he explained, pointing to his badge and James nodded. "What are you doing over here when your table," Charles pointed, "is on the opposite side of the room?"

"Uh, I was just going to, er…" James pointed to his house table as well and managed to croak out a soft, "Goodbye," as he walked away.

His friends all seemed to be jumping on him the second he got back. "So?" Sirius asked, eyes shining. "What happened? Who wins?"

James smiled and sat down. "Sorry to say it, but the girls win."

Sirius groaned and flopped down into his seat hardly seconds before his eyes glinted devilishly. "Wait a minute. She – she really forgot about you?"

"And she has a new boyfriend already," Bella piped up, pocketing some coins.

James raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "And how do you know this already?"

She grinned. "I saw them kissing in the hallway a week or so ago."

James laughed, mixing up his food on his plate. "You could've warned me, you know. So that I didn't make such a fool out of myself, thinking she would be pining over me!"

Lily laughed. "Pining over you? James, please. Think about it – not everything revolves around The Marauders! You're too full of yourself," she said in finality.

James shrugged, picking at his food again. "So, what are we planning on doing today? And ideas?" he asked, looking up.

There was silence. James grinned, mischievously, answering his own question. "I've got a thought, but it might be awhile to come into effect."

Sirius' ears perked up. "Prank?" he asked, excited.

James nodded. "Remember on Monday, in Defense against the Dark Arts how you were telling me about those moving pictures you make?"

Bella reddened at the thought of the pictures. Those same pictures James was talking about had been the cause for the termination of their friendship in the beginning.

Sirius' head bounced up and down energetically. "Yeah, and?"

"And I say you use this little talent of yours to, oh, I don't know. Possibly humiliate Snape a bit?"

A smile spread across Lily's face. "James, you are a genius."

James stuck his nose in the air arrogantly. "Of course I am."

Lily punched his shoulder playfully and stood from her spot. "Are you all coming to help plan it out?" she asked, gesturing towards the door.

With grins plastered on their faces, they rose from their spots and headed back to the boys dormitory.

"Now," Sirius said, pulling out his pad of paper that drawings were piling out of and pulling out a sheet or two, "I draw something…"

Everyone glanced around the room, hoping for someone to have an idea as to what he should draw.

"Uh…" James ran a hand through his hair. "You could paint Gryffindor things on there and we can put them in their common room," he suggested.

Remus shook his head. "Nah, we've already done that twice before. How about making a mural in the Great Hall?"

Bella let out a loud, "Ha!"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with that?"

"If you're thinking pictures in their common room are unoriginal, then what, pray tell, is the difference between that and the Great Hall? You need something new!"

Remus seemed a bit taken aback by Bella's outburst, but saw her reasoning and nodded, agreeing.

The Gryffindors spent the next ten minutes in deep thought. No one said anything, but instead waved aside old ideas, attempting to create new ones.

Breanna grinned. "Guys," she whispered, her eyes darting back and forth at the hopeful faces, "I have an idea."

Sirius' face glowed. "Well, don't keep us waiting – dish us the dirt!"

Breanna nodded, thinking things through in her head. "Well, first, we're going to need the Slytherin password - "

"I can get that," Lily said.

James cast her an odd glance. "You sure? I mean, you might have to lie and - "

"As if I've never done that before!" Lily said, her face determined and eyes flashing dangerously. "I can get the password," she repeated.

James nodded and looked away.

The others glanced back and forth at the two, expecting something more. Breanna continued. "Soonest we could do this, I reckon, is Wednesday. And we're going to have to act at night as well."

"We always do," Remus pointed out.

"James, we'll need your transfiguration skills. Bella, we're going to need your help with some of the creative ideas and finishing spells. Sirius, you can use this prank for your drawings. Remus, Peter, and I will help with finishing touches and whatever you guys may need help with."

"Hold on," Sirius cut in, eyebrows raised. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to know what it is we're doing to them before we plan out who is in charge of what!"

Breanna grinned. "Ok, here's what we do…"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Why are there Mondays?"

Lily's drooping eyelids skittered over to Sirius' thoughtful face. "Are you joking or do you really want an answer to that?"

Sirius nodded. His eyes widened in curiosity. "I mean, if we didn't have Monday's, then we wouldn't have to start our lessons on a bad first-of-the-week day."

"Sirius, honey," Bella replied, calmly, "if we didn't have Mondays, Tuesdays would be Mondays and they'd be just as bad."

He blinked. "But Tuesdays aren't Mondays. They're Tuesdays."

"No, if you got rid of Mondays, Tuesdays would take their spot in the first-of-the-week."

Sirius blinked again and then rolled his eyes. "Jeez, you're analyzing this way too much, Bella. I just had a simple question!"

James let out a hardy laugh, causing others to join in around him. "Sirius, that isn't a 'simple question,' as you put it. Incidentally, it requires thinking which no one really likes to go on a Monday morning!"

"See, there it is again!" Sirius pointed out, his loud voice bouncing off the walls of the Great Hall. "If we didn't have Mondays, then you would be able to think and answer my question!"

"Let it go," Remus said hoarsely over Sirius' booming voice. "No one's in the mood for your mind games today."

"See?" Sirius repeated, ignoring Remus' fruitless attempts at quieting him. His eyes sparkled. "Now, you would be in a mood for mind games on other days – except for Mondays!"

"Shut up!" Breanna hollered, dropping her fork with a clattering noise, shattering the sudden silence. "Sirius, I don't think we're ever in the mood for you mind games!"

His jaw dropped at her sudden outburst. "Miss Breanna!" he said, in mock astonishment. "I am offended."

Remus laughed nervously, lacing his fingers through hers and pulling her against him. "Relax, she's kidding around with you."

"Am I?" she hissed, glaring daggers at him.

Remus' eyes darted back and forth between the pair, his face paling. "Er – Breanna, are you ready to get to class?"

She turned in her seat and focused her glare on Remus. However, he didn't seem to be affected by it. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Breanna's formerly tensed shoulders dropped and her eyes shifted back to their normal, soft color.

Sirius knew not to take anything she said to heart. Recently, insults have been rolling off her tongue and her aura oftentimes gave off a radiation of irritation or distress. Remus was the only person, it seemed, who knew how to calm her down. They all figured this was some sort of phase Breanna was going through, what with her parents found murdered and such. At least, that's what they hoped it was: a phase – just a phase.

"So," Breanna muttered from across the table, "any luck with the Slytherin password yet, Lily?"

Shocked by her sudden change of voice, Lily's eyes widened and she nodded slightly. "Tomorrow night there is a prefect meeting. There's a file where the passwords to each house are written every time they're switched. I'll just have to knick it for a bit to get their password and then I can put it back."

James snorted into his drink.

Lily turned slowly, narrowing her eyes at him. "Something you would like to share with the group?"

James shrugged, swallowing the Pumpkin Juice. "I just don't know if you can actually steal something as a Prefect and walk away with a clear conscience."

"I can," she hissed venomously, "and I will."

James shrugged again, looking away. "You're always perfect, though, how can you just steal something?"

Lily seemed taken aback by this comment, her anger dissolving. "Perfect? James, I'm far from perfect."

He turned back to her, ignoring the stares from fellow Gryffindors, now joining the table. "Well, you're damn close, then."

Her sparkling eyes seemed to be locked with his, inches from the other's face. That was, until someone decided to interrupt the fragile moment.

"Sirius – guys! We've got three minutes to get to class!" Peter hollered, pointing to the watch that was cutting off the circulation to his chubby hand.

James pulled away and scooped up his bags, pretending nothing had happened, leaving Lily to ponder over her confused thoughts alone.

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

"Mr. Lupin, could you attend to the bathrooms? It is, really, very grotesque what everyone is doing to them, especially with Moaning Myrtle. She has frightened all of the girls away from one of the bathrooms, therefore leaving everything in there useless!"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Kiara, are you saying that you're giving me permission to go into the girls bathroom to clean it up? Wouldn't you rather have a girl for that, and I'll do the boy's bathroom?"

She considered this statement, nodding slowly, allowing her thin, blonde hair to fall past her shoulder in front of her. "You're a very bright young man, Remus. Elizabeth - "

"Liz," she said automatically, staring at the Head Boy, smiling.

"Pardon me. Liz," she corrected, turning in her chair at the head of the long table. "I will put you on duty for cleaning the girls bathrooms. Remus takes the guys bathrooms, Severus, I daresay you could handle the Prefect bathrooms, am I correct?"

He nodded slightly, his gaze unmoving from the table.

Lily crossed her arms, shivering. This was one of the worst places to be in the middle of winter: the room for Prefect meetings. She had on pants, a thick sweater, and her school robes, yet her lips seemed to be turning blue from the lack of a fire in the room. She might have even ditched the meeting this month, but the thought of a prank on the Slytherins overpowered the chill sweeping throughout the room.

"Look, Kiara, I think we've got this all planned out. Do you think we could leave early? I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like a turkey in a freezer," Lily said, trying to leave as soon as she could.

Snape gave a derisive laugh. "You kept quiet longer than I had expected, Evans."

Lily glared at him. "Shut up, Snape."

"I happen to agree with Lily on this matter," the Head Boy, Charles, said, sitting up in his chair, ready for any type of fight between the two. "I second the move to end the meeting. All who agree, raise their hands."

Lily rolled her eyes at his professionalism and stuck her hand in to the air.

Charles' eyes roamed the room, counting the hands. "Majority rules," he said, standing on his feet. "You all are now dismissed to further any other activities."

Lily stood slowly, next to Remus, and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to get the folder. You shoo everyone out and stand guard at the door – pretend I've already left, ok?"

He nodded imperceptibly and walked toward the door, behind the last of the Prefects. Lily bent down, slightly, behind a chair, watching everyone leave.

The door closed with a loud bang and Lily immediately stood back up in her original position, striding quickly over to the file cabinet. There was only one and it kept records of what happened through the year. At the beginning of the next summer, the cabinet cleared itself out automatically, all except for the single folder with the passwords.

Lily pulled open the top drawer and ran her fingers along the tabs until they reached the last folder. Smiling, she slid it out of its place.

Lily attempted to flip the top side over, but the sides glued together.

Her happy mood dropped. She tried prying her fingers into the folder and ripping it open, but it would not budge. She flipped it over, looking at the other side and then back to the front again. However, this time, there were five small, red dots.

Lily rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air. "Everything just has to have a damn password, doesn't it?" She placed each of her fingers of her right hand and thought.

"Hogwarts," she tried.

A bolt of pain spread through her fingers and up into her hand, causing it to go numb for a few moments. Lily swore colorfully and put her hand back on top, hoping to find the right password this time.

"Uh… Gryffindor."

Another sting. She pulled her hand away, cradling it in her arms. "That was stupid," she muttered. "They wouldn't password protect a folder to all of the house passwords, and name it after only one of the houses.

There was a soft knock on the door and Lily spun around, expecting the worse, but sighed in relief once she saw Remus' face in the doorway.

"What's taking so long?" he whispered, closing the door behind him.

"It's password protected," she muttered, giving her hand a shake.

Remus nodded, thinking. "Did you try Founders Four?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, questionably. "And why on earth would you think it'd be that?"

He shrugged. "Sounds like something Dumbledore would make up."

Lily nodded, believing him and put her hand back on the folder. "Founders Four."

She screeched and pulled her hand away in pain for the third time.

"What happened?" Remus asked frantically, his eyes wide in concern.

Lily glared at him as he recoiled in fear. "Oh, did I forget to mention? Every time I say the wrong password, I get zapped!"

Remus held back a smile – but just barely. "How about Unity?"

Lily looked out of the corner of her eye. "Are you sure? If you're not, then I'll get hurt again!"

Remus rolled his eyes and snatched the folder from her grasp, placing his own fingers where Lily's fingers used to be.

"Unity," he stated clearly. A slight glow emitted from the sides of the folder and Remus smiled, pulling out the single sheet containing the passwords to each house.

Lily stood aghast. "Why the hell is it that I had to go through pain three times while you took a wild shot and got in?"

Remus chuckled softly and scanned over the sheet. "The password's Parseltongue."

Lily nodded, massaging her hand. "Let's go back."

-----------------------------------James-----------------------------------

"Hey, Lily!" James said, enthusiastically, bounding off the Common Room couch. "Did you, uh," he glanced around the room and lowered his voice. "Did you get the password?"

She glared as hard as she could at James and brushed right past him, leaving Remus snickering where she used to stand.

"You'll have to forgive Lily, there," he said, smiling at her mood. "She had a bit of an unexpected turn after she found the password folder."

Sirius glanced at the two and let out a half smile. "What'd you do, Lily? Did you get the password?"

"Oh, we got the password, alright!" she yelled at him, holding her limp hand. "Well, at least one of us got it."

James shook his head and pulled Lily's hand into his lap. He pulled out his wand and slowly examined each mark on her hand and cured each individually, using as much time as he could, just to be able to hold her hand. "What happened, Lily?" he whispered, looking away from her face and focusing on her hands as his face colored slightly.

"The damn folder was password protected! In addition, to open it, you had to put your hand on the cover and say the password. Well, of course, if you get it wrong, it sends a shock through your hand! Pleasant, I think not," she grumbled.

Remus sat down on the floor in front of the fire, smiling. "Lily's only annoyed because she was shocked three times, while I, myself, guessed once and got it on my first try."

"But you also gave me a suggestion for a password and I was the one who got hurt by your wrong guess!"

Breanna laughed loudly. "Calm down, Lily, it wasn't his fault. You're overreacting way too much."

Lily glanced at her cautiously and decided to say nothing. It was not worth the trouble to start a fight with Breanna at this hour. "Go ahead, Potter," she said, softly.

James' stomach clenched. She had called him Potter – not James. "What?" he asked, his voice raspy.

She pulled her hand away, crossing her arms and looking into the fire stubbornly. "I said, 'go ahead.' Laugh, now. I wasn't smart enough to get the password. You were right this morning, thinking I wouldn't be able to."

James shook his head, disbelieving. He reached up to her face and touched her cheek, turning her vision to meet his. "Do I look like I'm laughing?"

She swallowed and shook her head, closing her eyes.

"I think what you did tonight was brave of you, to take all of that pain for Remus!" He allowed a small smile here to show that he was joking around a bit.

Lily chuckled as well, holding out her hand for James to finish patching up. "Thanks."

Again, he laughed. "For what?"

Playfully, Lily slapped him on the shoulder.

The group around them stared at the two with blank faces. All except for Sirius, however.

"Ha!"

All heads turned towards Sirius and each raised an eyebrow.

"I, uh," he smiled mischievously, "I gotta go to bed. Good night, Bella," he said, kissing her sweetly on the lips and running upstairs.

The remaining Marauders glanced at each other nervously and quickly followed Sirius' example.

"'Night, Breanna!" Remus called over his shoulder as James kissed Lily's hand and Peter waved to the girls.

They stared, dumbfounded. "Since when did Sirius go to bed before he was forced to?" Bella asked, breaking the silence among them.

"He didn't finish fixing my hand!" Lily complained, holding her limp hand.

"Remus didn't give me a kiss goodnight," Breanna pouted, jutting out her bottom lip.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sirius smiled smugly as his other roommates ran into the room not more than five seconds after him.

"I knew you'd follow me," he said.

James breathed heavily from his hurried run up the stairs. "Well, we knew you were planning something in that pea-sized brain of yours. What's up?" he asked, sitting on his four-poster bed.

Sirius shined his all-too-familiar up-to-no-good smile. "You're in love."

James rolled his eyes. "Would you get over that?" James pleaded, falling back into the comfort of his own bed. "I don't love her. And the joke's not getting to be funny anymore, Padfoot."

Sirius shook his head full of hair. "No, James. Before, yes, I was joking around. Now, I'm not. You're in love with Lily Evans."

Remus and Peter said nothing, keeping still.

"Sirius, you're mental. I don't love - "

"Don't even try telling me you don't love her, because it's written all over your face. I'm your best friend, you'd think I might know a little bit of something about you in return," he said, smiling.

James sat up, though not looking in Sirius' direction.

"You're all over the girl. The small things that you're doing make it so obvious, Prongs. Helping her just now? She could have done that herself – but you stepped in anyway. You're in love with her, James!"

James breathed in, held his breath, and sighed out, long and low. "So what if I am?"

Sirius let out a whoop of laughter, thrusting his fist in the air as Peter and Remus relaxed and sat on their own beds. "You do love her?"

James nodded, running a hand through his already messy hair. "She's all I can ever think about, Sirius. It's driving me crazy. She's driving me crazy."

Sirius laughed again, rubbing his hands together. "Wait until Bella hears about this."

James' eyes widened in horror. "No, Sirius, no! If you tell anyone else, I swear, I will hurt you and won't ever rest until I do."

Sirius nodded, smiling. "Relax, only joking. This may only be repeated among fellow Marauders," he said, glancing at the others in the room. "Understood?"

Everyone nodded and James sighed, relieved. "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I would do without you."

Sirius shrugged. "But you could tell us how long you've been trying to keep it a secret from us."

James smiled. "A week, give or take a day," he said. And grinned widely. "There's one other thing I haven't had a chance to tell anyone, but since you know how I, uh, feel and all…"

Remus nodded encouragingly. "What is it?"

James looked away, smiling at the wall. "I kissed her."

"You what?" Sirius yelled, standing up. "When? And you're not going out? What is wrong with you, man?"

"It was over winter break," he said. "I was just leaving to come back here, and her parents were watching so I just – I kissed her. Even if it was an act, best three seconds of my life."

A goofy smile spread across his face.

"And, if I'm not mistaken, I'd say it was your first, as well," said Remus.

"Of course it was his first! He didn't kiss her before that, did he?" Sirius asked.

"That's not what I meant, you git," Remus said, looking over at Sirius. "I meant that was his first kiss." He stared directly at James now. "Ever."

He nodded, feeling giddier than he had in his whole life, finally feeling, in a way, free.

"What the – James, are you serious? First kiss – ever?" Sirius asked, his jaw dropped.

"Why's that such a surprise?" James replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Considering nearly every girl I've talked to has had a chance to slip into the conversation that they were snogged senseless by you, mate, I'd most likely believe 'em. Not even to mention you never told me otherwise!"

"Unless all of those girls lied, leaving James in an awkward spot," Remus said, ignoring Sirius' last comment.

"Why would they do that?" Sirius asked.

"To win a bet," James answered, the smile plastered to his face. "The rumors after that spread like wildfire. None of the other girls I dated wanted to be known as the girls who never kissed me, so they lied as well. Pathetic world, isn't it?"

Sirius shook his head. "Prongs, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Would you have honestly believed me?" James asked, smiling slightly.

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You could have at least tried to convince me. But what really bugs me," he said, "is that Remus somehow knew this, and no one else did!"

It was Remus' turn to shrug. "I have my ways?"

"How so?" James asked, raising an eyebrow, suspiciously.

Remus laughed. "Don't worry; I never spied on you. It's just, you never kissed in the hallways or whatnot. I figured you'd be like Sirius when it came to dating."

"Hey!" Sirius shouted indignantly.

"Hey, yourself," Remus muttered, smiling. "But that's beside the point. What matters is that we, even though no one else may, believe you."

James nodded. He pulled his pillow up to his face and grinned into it, muffled laughter seeping through the threads.

Sirius and Remus just stared.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%) Breanna (%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

"Quiet!" Lily hissed menacingly, tiptoeing along behind several pairs of feet. "It's the two in the morning – not two in the afternoon!"

"Lily, if you don't quiet yourself down, we're going to get in trouble. Now, if you don't mind, could we get on with our prank, perhaps?" Breanna whispered.

Lily flipped her hair over her shoulder and in Breanna's face, looking away. "Fine, then. Are we almost there?"

Sirius shook his head. Amateur pranksters, he thought. "Quiet," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Bella stopped in mid stride and held a hand to her heart, mouth left hanging open. "Do mine ears tell the truth? Sirius Black, telling others to be quiet?"

James rolled his eyes. "We're going to get caught if you girls don't shut your traps!"

Lily glared at him. "I beg your pardon, but we 'girls' do not have 'traps,' as you call them. They are called mouths and we will close them when we want to!"

Bella laughed silently to herself and slipped into the shadows behind the knights in the hallway. Who knew when Mrs. Norris might appear suddenly?

"Alright, we're here," James said quietly, pointing to a bare stone wall.

Lily stepped forward. "I want to open it!"

James bowed down low, allowing her to walk past him. "Do the honors, milady!"

Lily nodded, clearing her throat. "Parseltongue."

Remus clapped softly as a door concealed in the stone slid away. "Nice work, Lily, I knew you could do it!"

She narrowed her eyes at him quickly and stepped inside the chilly room.

Breanna began pointing out jobs and positions. "James, you start working on transfiguring the chairs and tables. Sirius, Bella, you two work on the layout on the walls. You need to make it look as realistic as you can. Let's see… Lily, you can manage all of the sounds and maybe set an alarm to cause everything to begin happening after we've left."

She glanced around the room and grinned. "Peter, Remus, I just had another idea." She began pointing up at each dormitory staircase and described her thoughts. "You two go up to the boys' staircase and I'll head to the girls' dormitories."

For the next hour, the Gryffindors worked in silence, correcting each other now and then. At a quarter till four, Lily began shooing everyone out of the Slytherin common room.

Breanna laughed the whole way back to their dormitories. It was the first time in a week she had felt at peace. The thought of her parent's death was wiped clear from her mind. She was in her normal, peaceful mood and everything seemed right in the world.

"Mission accomplished," she muttered, running down the hallway, laughing.

AUTHORS NOTE: Yes, bit of a cliffhanger! Not much, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter until you find out what exactly their prank is! And I didn't have this chapter betaed so BEAR WITH ME on the mistakes here!

REVIEW SECTION:

Lucky­_719: Yes, you were the first to review! :) And I understand what you're talking about with all those interruptions! ::shakes head:: parents… Thanks for reviewing!!!

Vamperfly: Ahh… Nice idea! ::laughs:: Thanks for reviewing!!!

Angel Flower: Hey! Uh, which story is it you want the title for? But thanks for reviewing!!!

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Thanks! And I love the whole Bella/Sirius relationship – very fun to write! :) And you'll have to wait until the next chapter for the prank… ::grins:: Thanks for reviewing!!!
Hermione101888: Thank you! Glad you like the Sirius/Bella scene! That was one of the best to write. Thanks for reviewing!!!

Icemint: Yes, everything is all better now. Until I decide to add another twisted mess up… ::thinks:: hmm… But thank you for reviewing!!!

Sezzie: "DUDE! How rude!" ::laughs:: FUNNY!!! :) And, no, I don't think I would ever criticize myself! And, yes, now I see the dude thing is going to be a problem… Thanks for reviewing!!!

UpDaTe: Uh… ::shakes:: Alrightie, don't kill me… ::steps away:: But thanks for reviewing!!!

Lexie02: Thanks!  And thanks for reviewing!!!

Kantomon: Yes, the replays – I can see Sirius doing that plenty of times. :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Elisabeth Celebros: WOW! Long review! And yes, I hadn't been planning on the "losing weight" bit for Sirius until the moment I was writing it and it just seemed to fit! :) YAY!!! I LEFT YOU SPEECHLESS! ::claps:: And both chapters have met your approval! And you'll find out the prank when everyone else does! ::laughs evilly:: Thanks for the ideas and for reviewing!!!

MagHarts: Awe! Thanks! :) And thanks for reviewing!!!

Ktsprstr78: ::laughs:: "the GROSS Remus-Breanna scenes." You're funny! "EW" And, yes, I'm gonna try to add more Matrix-type stuff. We seem to have lost a bunch of that now that the two groups are together now, haven't we? Need to fix that… Thanks for reviewing!!!

James-Padfoot: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

United Losers of America: HOLY GUACAMOLE!!! LONG REVIEW! :) You get the longest review award! ::laughs:: And, uh, I'm sorry. I don't really want you to die… :( I'd lose a reviewer! ::laughs:: No, really, thanks for reviewing!!!

John Hoshei: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!

John jkljfa;l: Hmm… I'm sensing a connection between this and the previous review… :) And, yeah, I messed up the Amos-Cedric thing there. Wasn't paying attention! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Lily Among the Thorns-89: Yes, they're together! ::laughs:: Thanks for reviewing!!!

MarauderLuver4-ever: I like your ideas! And ohmigosh I'm SOOOOO sorry I haven't had a chance to read your stories! I read part and then had to stop and I never got back to it! I'll have to go back! Thanks for reviewing!!!
ElegyStar: Thanks! :) And thanks for reviewing!!!

Star*: Glad you like the chapters so long! :) And I think I'll keep Light as the title. Thanks for reviewing!!!

Starblaze: Yeah, I almost thought about having Bella run off and then end the chapter there. :) Aren't you glad I didn't??? Thanks for reviewing!!!

Wes: Hey! I dunno bout the name. ::shrugs:: I think I might keep it Light. But you hafta have your sister review too remember! Thanks for reviewing!!!
Fairydustdanzer2: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Sour-Peach: Yeah, Lily was kinda angry there a bit, isn't she? But aren't you glad I updated now??? :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Circe-Asteria: It's ok! :) All's good! ::laughs:: I forgive you! Thanks for reviewing though!!!
Sunglasses At Night: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Shell25: Thanks! And I'm glad you like the length! :) Hopefully they'll stay this long for awhile! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Shayley Rain: Yeah, glad you liked the couples getting together! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Snowlily: Thanks! And you have a good point. ::thinks:: Uh, yeah, I kinda forgot about that whole aspect… I'll figure something out though, do not fear! AMELIA TO THE RESCUE!!! ::flies off:: Thanks for reviewing!!!
Phoenix281: I'm so glad you like these types of stories now!!! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!
Mistress del Mare: Yeah, I LOVE his character! SO much fun to write!!! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Silver_Mist***: Don't worry! The chapters will stay the same length! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Rainy Day Parade: YAY!!! I'm on another favorites list!!! ::grins:: Thanks for reviewing!!!

~allie~: Thanks! I don't know when I'll update Steps but it may not be until I finish this story. Thanks for reviewing!!!

TriGemini: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Trash Bazooka: Whoa! Is that German you used? ::stares awed:: impressive! Yes, very sad. And I'm planning on hopefully having Peter in the next chapter, maybe. But I dunno about the foreshadowing aspect. A lot of the other stories have that, but I don't really want my story to be predicted and common like the others as much, so I may or may not add some! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Oobergoober: Thanks! :) And thanks for reviewing!!!

Islandgirl4: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Jen: I actually don't need any more beta readers, but, honestly, I don't think I'll really be using them much anymore because otherwise it'll take too long to get the chapters up. I used beta readers earlier because I had my chapters prewritten and they're not anymore. :( But thanks for offering and thanks for reviewing!!!

Izzy-bh: ::laughs:: During your class!!! :) That's smooth! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Lily*James: "It was just getting to the good part." :) Funny! Thanks for reviewing!!!

VoldemortsIllegitimateChild: Until the greasy hair git sings! :) I do too! Yes, yes, I shouldn't have had Bella run away, but it added EXCITEMENT and DRAMA. Though I did have them together in the end! Can you believe I was about to stop there after Bella ran away, though? That would've been EVIL! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Tapaidh Sidh: Yes, I loved that part where they went back and forth between Bella and Sirius. That was so funny to write! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Trashcan: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!
BLuegero: ::laughs:: "i love u amiellia even tho thts not ur name-a lalalalalalala" You strange little child… :) And NO I won't add LFO to the chapter!!! It would be Relient K. ::nods:: All-time favorite right up there next to Something Corporate! ::grins:: "ms pickity pick pick pick damn i need a life." ::stares:: You are so weird… And STOP counting down the minutes!!! ::shakes head:: I give up… Thanks for reviewing though!!!

NEXT CHAPTER: You'll find out what their prank is and maybe there'll be some L/J fluff… ::shrugs:: We'll see!

Thank you ALL so much!!!

Yours truly,
Amelia Bedelia