"Prongs! Wake uppppp! It's Christmas!"

"Five more minutes, Padfoot."

"Aguamenti." Remus said lazily from beside Sirius, and a jet of ice cold water drenched James.

"What was that? I am already up!" James yawned and started towards the bathroom.

"Are you all ready?" Peter called from the doorway. This was the scenario in the Gryffindor Fifth- year boys' dormitory on Christmas.

**Fifteen minutes later, Gryffindor Common Room**

"Lily, why are you so excited?" Marlene asked her best friend, Lily, who was sitting beside her.

"Wait and watch, Marley." Lily grinned maliciously.

"Here comes my cousin and his cronies." Lily's head snapped up on hearing this. Luckily, Potter hadn't spotted her.

They could hear them talking:

Sirius: "Woah! Who gave me so many presents? My parents don't even bother to send me a piece of parchment!"

Remus: "I guess atleast someone has gifted me a bar of chocolate.. I am running low."

Peter: "Dear someone, please give me a new quill. Snape trod on my old one."

James: "I need a new broomstick servicing kit.."

The Marauders reached the heap of presents at the base of the Christmas Tree and sat down. Lily straightened, and saw them unwrapping their presents. On top of James' pile was a large box, he curiously opened it: there was no note. He reached into the box, pulled out a single toffee, curiously observed it, and popped it into his mouth. He offered the box to the other three, who also did the same. Slowly, all of the presents belonging to the Marauders lay unwrapped.

Initially, nothing unusual happened. But when James tried to speak, he could not open his mouth. His teeth seemed to have been cemented together. He looked around, and saw Remus and Sirius desperately trying to talk, and Peter trying to wrench his mouth open. On a couch at the far end of the common room, sat his cousin Marlene and her best friend, Lily, who was laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes. Marlene kept on looking from the Marauders to Lily, clearly confused.

Lily got up, grabbed Marlene's hand, and stopped in front of the Marauders. She said, "That will keep your big, fat mouth shut, Potter. This is what you get for annoying me. And I assure you, the Teeth- Cementing Charm was a complex one. Took me three days to master it. Another thing, don't think yourselves to be the only pranksters in this castle." Realisation dawned upon Marlene's face, and she too burst out laughing. They walked away. Marlene even waved jovially at them.

The Marauders had eyes as wide as saucers, and they somehow managed to get up and visit Madam Pomfrey. She had a tough time trying to figure out the spell which had been used, and when she did, the four boys had hands aching from conversing by writing. For Sirius, he had written more than all the lines he had to write in countless detentions.

That was definitely the worst Christmas the four boys ever had.