Happy April Fools Day all!
So in honor of the Marauders, here is Chapter 14!
As always – Read, Review, and Enjoy!
EDIT: For a better reading experience, all review replies and old, unimportant ANs were removed. Any questions, just PM me
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own, anything pertaining to Inuyasha nor Harry Potter. Just the ideas that pop into my mind ;)
—Year I; Part II: Chaos Bound—
"P-please... I didn't mean to – it was an accident!"
James, Kagome, and Sirius all paused at the small, feeble plea. It was the fear coating the pleading tone that really caught their attention.
The trio of Gryffindors shared a wide-eyed look.
"That voice – it sounds familiar, y'know...?" James murmured worriedly. Sirius nodded with baited breath.
Kagome, lifting a finger to her lips to signal silence, gestured at them to follow her with a wave of her hand. They tiptoed to side of the hall, clinging to the shadows as they worked their way up to the corner. They paused for a moment, waiting.
There was a shaky yelp. "I – I said I was sorry!"
A deeper, older voice answered. "Yeah, well, sorry isn't good enough. Retribution, though, will suffice plenty."
Quickly, they peered around the corner to see two upper years cornering a younger one. Specifically, sixth years from the looks of it, and they knew it was a first year.
Even more specifically: two older Slytherins and a young Gryffindor.
"Hey, that's that boy from our dorm – Peter!" Sirius hissed, eyes narrowing angrily. "We have to do something!" he exclaimed, reaching for his wand.
Kagome and James agreed wholeheartedly, also pulling out their wands.
Without another word, they all ran out into the open, like the rash Gryffindors they were.
"Hey, you ugly gits!" James shouted, pointing his wand at them, causing the Slytherin pair to whip over.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own age?" Kagome bit out scowling, also with her wand aimed at them.
Sirius let out a loud scoff. "Oh wait, don't answer – we already know! You're too scared and pathetic to do that!" he sneered.
The two sixth-years shared a look, before laughing, lowering their wands. "Oh, look, it's the Gryffindor brigade come to save their little friend," one jeered mockingly.
"What are you three going to do?" the other taunted, peering at them skeptically. "Toss a levitating charm at us? It's about the only thing you've learned so far, isn't it?"
The three shared a thoughtful look, unfazed.
"Sounds like a mighty fine idea, doesn't it?" Sirius mused out loud.
The twins gave him a pair of feral grins. "Too right you are!" they chimed back, turning their grins to the two Slytherins. "Wingardium leviosa!" they exclaimed loudly.
The Slytherins yelped in surprise as they were lifted a good fifteen feet in the air, their wands slipping from their grasps.
James lowered his wand suddenly in a taunting gesture, the boy he was levitating shouting in fear and shock as he suddenly dropped sharply. "Oops, sorry," James said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. "Never could get the hang of that spell..." he murmured almost absently.
He smirked when the Slytherin he was levitating paled noticeably.
Sirius looked over at the first-year Gryffindor just gaping at them all. "You might want to come over here," he commented through his snickers.
Peter blinked in shock, before nodding hurriedly, scurrying over once he'd gather all of his things.
"Okay," Kagome announced. "Everyone ready?" They all nodded. She looked over at the two bullies. "Don't worry, you'll be getting down in a second," she said with a placating, sweet smile, before her voice turned into a dark mutter. "Alrighty then James – now."
The two boys dropped like sacks of potatoes without a moment's notice, and their girly screams turned to groans upon impact.
"Never said it'll be gently!" Kagome called out wickedly, before turning to the others.
Sirius and James cackled. "We should probably make our grand escape right about now," Sirius suggested, head dipping to the two boys groaning, but getting up all the same.
They seemed to be decidedly not too happy, and were inching closer to their wands by the second.
Kagome and James shared a meaningful look, before they both raised their wands and muttered a spell.
"Now we can go," James said happily, taking off in a run.
"C'mon!" Kagome exclaimed, grabbing the two confused boys by the wrists. "If they want to catch us, we can't make it easy on them!" she reasoned, winking teasingly.
Sirius grinned, and started running as well. "Aside from the, y'know, creepy silent twin speak back there, what was that?"
"Jelly legs jinx," Kagome chirped. "One of our favorites we found during summer. We practiced it once we got our wands," she snickered out.
"Isn't that against the rules...?" came Peter's hesitant voice.
Sirius snorted and whirled on him with incredulous eyes. "Is that really what you're worried about after what we just did?"
Peter shrank, flushing. "N-no," he muttered meekly. "Uhh, thanks, by the way..." he added hurriedly.
Kagome smiled sweetly at Peter, shoving away the faint, instinctive urge to wrap her fingers around the poor boy's throat. "Hey, us Gryffindors gotta stick together, yeah?" she said, shrugging it off as nothing before turning to Sirius to slap his arm playfully. "And stop it Sirius – it's not nice to scare little kids no matter how much fun," she chided, eyes glittering as she wagged an admonishing finger his way.
Sirius merely snorted at her, smirking as they turned the corner. "That's funny, coming from you. I distinctly remember you doing exactly that our first night here..." he recalled flatly.
Kagome just snickered.
James was waiting for them, and just as they passed, he threw a couple of dungbombs as hard as he could down the hall. Kagome high-fived him just as she passed.
A few seconds later, strings of curses were let loose.
The four first-years let out a loud laugh.
James must have managed to overhear them talking earlier. "And don't worry - Sirius scares most people on a daily basis," James quipped cheekily, grinning at Peter as he jogged alongside them. "I mean – look at his face! And we have to wake up to that in the morning! And don't forget his name - Black? That just sounds evil."
Sirius twitched, and turned to glare from over his shoulder. "I wouldn't be the one talking about faces mate – I've woken to yours quite close a few times – I thought me Mum was finally the death of me and I was in hell!"
"Hey!" Kagome said petulantly. "Don't say that!"
James grinned at his sister standing up for him.
"He's my twin – and we look sorta alike. Are you saying I'm ugly too?" she demanded, sending a rankled stare her friend's way.
James' face fell. "Of course..." he muttered dryly.
Sirius looked startled. "What? No!" he exclaimed quickly. "Besides – twins or not, you look nothing like that git!" he told her, jerking a thumb at James, though his grin took out the sting from the statement
Peter looked between them all, and shook his head slowly. "They're crazy..." he muttered to himself under his breath, thought admiration was clear as day in his eyes.
Only Kagome was able to hear him, and she grinned.
Oh, it was certainly true enough.
—o—o—o—o—
"Would you mind if... if I sat with you guys?"
Two heads rose at the timid, small voice. They blinked at the sight of Peter Pettigrew standing before them in the common room with an imploring look and an armful of books. His bag swung precariously from the crook of his elbow by a single strap.
Kagome turned, just to make sure, and shot a questioning look at her usual study partner.
Remus shrugged, and smiled kindly at Peter, waving him over. "There's plenty of room," he murmured wryly.
Kagome smiled to herself, knowing she was watching what would be a long termed bond form, something so much more meaningful and special than any mere friendship.
She could only hope it wouldn't end as it did before...
After the prank, Remus began to hang out with Kagome more often, which of course meant he also hung out with Sirius and James more often as well. They boys welcomed the sandy blond firstie into their little circle, though they weren't very fond of his studious ways. They clicked despite that: his shy, yet ultimately dry sense of humor won them over, and Remus added to the sense and brains clearly lacking in the mix.
Peter shuffled over, and Kagome grimaced when his books began slipping out of his grip. "Careful," she muttered warningly, standing to help. She grabbed a few, and helped him settle at the table.
Peter's face was beet red by the time he sat down, muttering a 'thanks' in embarrassment. There was a moment of silence, before he asked. "You guys are really good in Transfiguration, right?" he asked hesitantly.
The pair blinked at him, before shrugging modestly. "Do you need some help with the assignment?" Remus asked politely, voice gentle.
Peter hesitated, before nodding quickly. "I'm having a little trouble with that, and the practical too..." he confessed.
Kagome smiled at him, "Yeah, the practical always gets me too," she remarked wryly. "I'm sure we can help you on the theory front. For the practical, we'll get James – he's a natural. I always ask him to help me, and you know him. Loves showing off," she said jokingly.
Remus snorted, gave out a mock-pained sigh of exasperation. "Must we inflate his ego more?" he murmured wryly.
Kagome snickered and Peter giggled.
After a moment, Kagome sat back in thought while she watched Remus help Peter, wondering what Peter would have added to their group. Sirius and James, they were the crazy ones that usually came up with the ideas and Remus acted as the balance, cleaning up their pranks and putting common sense before the craziness to make sure they wouldn't have as great of chance of getting caught.
Well, she would find out sooner or later.
Halloween was only a couple weeks away, after all.
—o—o—o—o—
Sirius slammed a hand across the table. "We have to figure something out! We have to make a name for ourselves, and this is the perfect opportunity! We will not squander it!"
Kagome and Remus glared at Sirius. "Shhh!" they hissed collectively.
Just then, Madam Pinch poked her head out from a random row of bookcases to glare at them warningly.
"I swear, keep going on like that and you're gonna get us kicked out of the library, and I'm only halfway done with the Transfiguration essay!" Kagome went on, whispering sharply as she waved her parchment wildly for emphasis. "And squander? Really?" she added on incredulously, just for good measure.
Sirius' eye twitched, and he leveled her with a glare. "Well, if you'd stop going to the library so much, I wouldn't have to even step in here to find you guys!" he shot back in disgust, albeit this time a little more quiet. "And I heard someone use it, so..." he drew out, trailing off sheepishly.
Remus and Kagome snorted. It figured – the only thing surprising was him actually using it right...
"Why do you think we come here so often anyways...?" Remus remarked sarcastically, setting his quill to the side. They won't be able to do any work now. The werewolf settled a pointed look on the two boys. "Cause it's fun?"
Sirius pouted and James scoffed. "Well, you two are book huggers..." he trailed off suggestively, leaning back in his chair arms crossed. "Sirius is right – Halloween is coming up and we need to do it big. We've been doing little things, but dungbombs in the class and a few charms here and there will only go so far."
Kagome groaned, covering her face. "You two are so bloody dramatic!" Her tone was filled to the brim with exasperation. "It's only our first year – the world will not end if we don't manage to pull a record book prank!" she muttered, and went to go over her essay.
James and Sirius stiffened, sitting up straight. Even Remus was staring at her wide eyed.
"So, we're not gonna do a Halloween prank...?" Peter began timidly, speaking for the first time.
Kagome went still, and her head snapped up to look at him, at all of them, thoroughly scandalized. "What?" she blurted out, incredulous. "No, of course we're doing a Halloween prank! Have you gone completely nutters?" she exclaimed loudly, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm just saying that it's not that big of a deal if it's not as legendary as we'd like it to be!"
"Okay that is it!" came a sharp reprimand from right behind Kagome, startling her. "I will not allow you hooligans come into my library and yell about like some party! This is a sanctuary for people to actually do some work and read in peace! Out! All of you, out!" Madam Pinch waved at the hurriedly.
The five children scrambled immediately, the face she was making at them as she shouted more than enough to get them to hustle.
They stood outside the library, their arms filled with their bags and the books and pieces of parchment they hurriedly grabbed. For a moment, silent encased them as they just stood there.
Sirius was the first to break the silence, despite the frantic look to stop James sent his way upon seeing his mouth open and grinning smugly. "...And you said you didn't want to be kicke-"
"Finish that sentence and you will regret it," Kagome cut in, eye twitching dangerously despite her cheeks burning red.
Sirius' mouth shut with a sound click.
"Let's just... go," she gritted out, and stomped away.
Remus pouted as they meekly followed. "Hooligans," he muttered. "I can't believe she called me a hooligan..."
—o—o—o—o—
They were walking down the hall when it happened.
A certain poltergeist suddenly careened through the wall, scaring poor Peter so bad that the shy first-year jumped and let out a startled scream. The poltergeist however paid no heed, merely cackling as he went on his merry way. "Filchy Filch cannot catch me! No, no, no he cannot!"
Sirius and James shared a wild grin, but Kagome's eyes lit up, flickering from Peter before trailing after Peeves as his laugh continued to echo within the castle.
Maybe Peter offered inspiration for pranks, acting as the muse for the group... Maybe that was what he added to the Marauders…
"Hey, James, have you talked to Nick recently?" Kagome asked absently as she began to grin, having seen him talk to the Gryffindor ghost more than once.
James looked over at her, confused. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "Why?"
Kagome's grin widened, taking on an evil edge. "I just came up with the perfect prank, but first..." she turned and just ran off. "Hey! Hey Peeves! Can we talk to you for a sec?" she called out sweetly.
James and Sirius shivered. "Oh, Merlin," the curly haired boy muttered. "It's that tone..."
James nodded, agreeing. "Well, at least we know we have our legendary prank..." he offered weakly.
Sirius stilled, and began to chuckle lowly. "Ah, you're right. It's much more comforting to be on the plotting side and not the receiving end when she uses that tone..." he said, and shook his head. "Those poor sods..."
"Never know what'll hit em," James concluded, now grinning. "This is gonna be a good Halloween!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist.
Remus and Peter was standing behind them, staring at the back of their heads incredulously before sharing a look edged with a hint of fear.
Just what have they gotten themselves into...?
—o—o—o—o—
It took them many promises and assurances and their month supply of dungbombs, but they managed it.
The end result was Peeves' manic cackles echoing loudly throughout the halls for anyone unfortunate enough to hear. But that wasn't all – it was a foreboding sound, filled with eagerness and an underlying excitement. It was a sound that meant nothing good; meant to send chills down peoples' spines and turn their blood to ice.
A third-year Ravenclaw overheard and shivered, before rushing away. "Good business doing with you firsties! Good business indeed!" Peeves exclaimed with a wild grin, laughing as ominously as he was madly.
Sirius and Kagome shared an eager grin.
—o—o—o—o—
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Nick was saying, shaking his head, which kept on flipping over and over.
James shrugged, and once again said in an enticing voice. "It'll only take a few minutes of your time, and you get a month free of Peeves' trouble-making. You have to admit, it's a pretty sweet deal."
Nick looked between James, Remus, and Peter, suspicious. "You never said how you got him to agree..."
James stiffened slightly, but otherwise held onto his charming smile. "Oh, my sister and Sirius took care of that. Probably just promised a few favors," he said offhandedly.
Nick hummed, thinking nothing of it. "Oh, a month of not chasing Peeves," he said wistfully. "It's like a dream come true – a month of peace..." He laughed happily. "It shouldn't be very hard to convince the Baron either, with that on the table..."
The three boys had to hide their smirks.
Yeah, a month of peace alright...
After that though, chaos will be free to ensue...
—o—o—o—o—
"Happy Halloween!"
James jumped at the scream right in his ear, and let out a startled yelp when someone started tickling his sides. "B-blimey Kagome! Stop it!" he attempted to growl out.
It only came out as peals of laughter though...
Kagome grinned impishly. "Naaah," she drew out wickedly as she kept on tickling him. "I think you like it."
"Gahh!" James shouted, before drawing up enough willpower to tackle her to the ground.
Kagome laughed as they fell back off the couch.
"Oooh, fist fight?" someone asked eagerly.
Still laughing, the pair looked up to see Sirius, Remus, and Peter grinning at them, eyebrows cocked. Sirius' grin turned eager, and he looked over at Remus and Peter. "Three sickles on the girl," he said jokingly.
Peter snickered.
Remus snorted, shaking his head. "Sucker's bet mate – sucker's bet," he remarked teasingly, peering at James.
Said boy pouted. "Heeeey!" he drew out, "I could totally take her!" he huffed, indignant.
Kagome snickered. "Doesn't mean you will," she shot back.
James started twitching, and shoved at his sister gently. "It's no fair when you know..." he huffed unhappily
Kagome merely pressed quick peck on his cheek, to which James groaned in disgust. "Ka-gome!" he whined, just as a couple of fourth-years passed by, cooing at him.
"Awh, that's so sweet..."
Peter burst out laughing. Remus' shoulders were shaking silently. Sirius quickly brought up his arm to smother his snickers at James' red face.
He failed. Epically.
Kagome only grinned at her twin. "That's right – show off your sensitive side. Girl's love that kind of stuff," she said teasingly.
James pouted.
"I hate you..."
Kagome sat back with a sigh and a contented smile. "Awh, no you don't," she chirped out. "So what's for the agenda today?" she wondered, looking at the boys.
They all grinned.
"Oh, you know," Sirius began casually, checking out his nails nonchalantly. "The usual – jinx a few people, throw in some charms for good measure." He looked up and smirked. "The usual."
Kagome snorted, shaking her head. "I thought you said today was critical to our future – that we needed to make a name for ourselves..." she trailed off, baiting him.
Sirius paused, and slowly looked over to glare at her. "Cute," he muttered flatly, before waving a hand in James direction. "You go ahead and explain; your sister's being mean to me..." he muttered, pouting as he made his way over to one of the comfy chairs.
Kagome snickered. "Love you too, Sirius," she said, winking.
Sirius huffed and looked away.
If you looked close enough, you could see that the tips of his ears were red.
"Try growing up with her," James muttered, smirking at her indignant grumble, but shook his head and did as Sirius asked. "For now, we'll only do little things during the day. Tonight," he went out, grinning evilly.
"Tonight will be the grand finale..."
—o—o—o—o—
By the end of the day, the five Gryffindors were exhausted.
They spent the day, charming people's quills as they walked by, only to hear them scream minutes later when they reached into their bags.
Before they had Charms with the Ravenclaws, Kagome and Remus spent ten minutes before class, pretending just to talk to each other while those donning blue and silver passed by, getting their books jinxed with a spell Remus found.
When the time came to crack open their books, many Ravenclaws were panicking when they pulled out their Charms texts disguised as random tomes on how to sing badly, or how to knit multicolored socks.
Kagome's favorite was when a first-year girl opened her text only to reveal itself as a trashy romance that read itself out loud – the poor child blushed so heavily as she snapped the book so fast and chucked it away before you could utter 'Merlin!'
It also wasn't hard to recruit Peeves to do them another little favor.
Actually, the poltergeist was quite happy to go around dropping fake spiders and dungbombs on random Slytherins.
Peter's prank however, was one of the highlights of the day, really...
—o—o—o—o—
"Did you bring it?"
Peter looked up at James eager whisper, and the boy smiled widely, nodding eagerly.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, yellow dust floated gently in the air, before settling over the plants.
Slowly, the vines started to move.
They slithered, moving like snakes. One vine crept on the ground, before rising behind an unsuspecting Gryffindor.
James saw, and his eyes widened in terrified mortification. "Crap," he moaned, wincing.
Kagome and Sirius looked over, and also cringed.
Lily was minding her own business, tending gently to her plant, when suddenly she felt her left shoulder being tapped. She paused and looked over, expecting to see the Professor or maybe a fellow classmate.
But no one was there.
Blinking slowly, she shrugged lightly to herself, chalking it to her imagination.
Lily turned back to her plant, only to feel another tap on her right shoulder. She looked over once more, only to see nothing again.
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, knowing she didn't imagine it this time.
Someone was definitely messing with her...
Slowly, warily, she turned back to her plant. A quick glance across the Greenhouse told her it wasn't Potter or Black; Potter, for some strange reason, had buried his face into his hands and, she suspected, was most likely whining about something or another. Black and Kagome were conversing, their faces a bit frantic, but they were nonetheless occupied.
So, she merely waited, pretending to return to the task at hand.
Just as she expected, she felt another tap on her left shoulder. She turned to the right this time, and swiftly, only to see a vine hovering behind her.
She froze, watching as the vine stopped short as well, as if caught red handed.
Which was ridiculous of course, since it was a bloody vine.
But then vine slowly tilted to the left and the right, as if it was waving to her.
Lily could do the only thing she could think of.
She screamed.
Lily's scream acted as the catalyst, as screams and startled shouts alike erupted from the greenhouse as every student realized their plants were moving.
While the Professor tried to calm them to no avail, girls were making their escape from the Greenhouse, not bothering to listen as their vines moved of their own accord.
Most boys were too prideful to run away – no, they tried using every spell they've learned yet to stop the vines advances, panicking when they failed epically.
Most vines, if the first years took the time to notice, were actually very friendly. One girl who was too shocked to move had a vine playing gently with her hair.
Kagome was ignoring the chaos to play with her vine, and was losing to it in a peculiar display of a thumb war. Remus' vine was cuddling him, brushing against his legs akin to a cat; the poor werewolf torn between staring down at the plant in disbelief, or at Kagome in blatant incredulity. Peter's vine merely draped around him, lazily poking at his sides in occasion.
James' vine thought it would be funny to snatch his glasses away, and the young Potter laughed good-naturedly as he jumped and tried to get it back.
Sirius in particular was laughing in glee, getting tickled silly by his vines.
Some, however, were not so lucky.
One pile of vines shot out and wrapped around the foot of a Hufflepuff boy, who, not too long ago, was hacking at the plant in boredom. It hefted him up, leaving the boy to hang upside down and yell for help.
Another vine wrapped around another girl like a boa constrictor, leaving her immobile.
Suffice to say, it took the poor Professor half an hour to return the plants to normal, and gather all children back in to greenhouse with profuse assurances they would not attack again.
—o—o—o—o—
By the time the Halloween feast came around, everyone was hyper aware on alert, bodies thrumming with anxiety, as if expecting the food to come out and attack them.
They had thought of it, of course, but none of them knew any spells that could do that just yet, never mind how they would even get access to the food.
Maybe they could use the house elves…?
Twenty minutes into the feast, though, people began to relax as it seemed nothing else would happen.
That would be their last mistake, for just not even a minute later, a low thrum reverberated from somewhere within the castle.
At first, it went ignored or unheard over the talking. But it steadily became louder and louder and eventually, someone noticed.
The Great Hall calmed, silenced into a hush as the sound became louder.
It was a moment before someone spoke. "That... it sounds like screams," a Ravenclaw fourth year remarked warily, just as confused as everyone else.
Well, mostly everyone else.
"Look! The table!" someone called out, drawing the student's attention.
Everyone looked in front of them, and startled murmurs spread like wildfire when they realized the plates and utensils were gently vibrating.
The murmurs turned frantic as the vibrations increased with the screams.
And suddenly, just like that, a strong gust of wind flushed through the Great Gall, cancelling out the fires.
Boys yelped and girls screamed as the Great Hall was doused in darkness, the only light coming from the faux moon up in the ceiling, casting an eerie glow.
"Bloody hell," James whispered eagerly. "This is turning out better than I thought!"
Kagome snickered evilly. "And the best part isn't even here yet..."
Students were pulling out their wands, casting lumos. The Professors stood, assuring the students and trying to prevent a panic.
It wouldn't matter in the long run anyways, as the screams suddenly increased in an ear splitting crescendo. The vibrations were so strong, forks and goblets were knocked off the tables.
The screams turned into wails, and suddenly, the whole room stilled just as a ghostly horseman rushed through the Great Hall doors.
The horse cantered in casually, nickering. The man, donning a wispy cloak, cast his ghostly gaze on each and every one of them as the pair strode across the hall, halting only once they reached the head table.
He said only one word.
"Boo."
And it began.
Suddenly, the Great Hall was being filled. Screams and shrieks broke out as numerous ghosts rushed in from every nook and canny.
They flew into the room in a crazed frenzy, yelling, shouting the classic eerie boos every once in a while coupled with shaky, ominous 'oooo's, passing through various students.
It was pandemonium, and the five first-year Gryffindors were enjoying every freaking minute of it.
Kagome chuckled evilly, eyes alight with glee.
"How much longer?" her brother asked eagerly, eyes bright.
"Just a few more minutes, for good measure," she snickered out, and James cackled along with her, causing people around them to jump.
"Kagome, have I ever told you how much I loved you?" came Sirius' hushed whisper, eyes wide with wonder. One would think he was in a candy store…
Kagome shook her head amusedly. "Nope, not that I know of," she murmured cheekily.
She started in surprise, letting out a shocked 'eep' when a pair of arms wrapped around her in a bear hug. "Well, now you know!" Sirius exclaimed, watching the 'festivities' with fervor. "This is the best Halloween ever," he said honestly.
Kagome grinned. "Hey, it was a team effort you know!" she reminded him, nudging. "Though, I think it'll be hard to top today," she murmured, ignoring the other students screams.
Remus leaned over, hearing them. "I think we'll be able to figure something out," he remarked wryly, looking pointedly at Sirius' crazy grin.
Kagome laughed but couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly.
A few minutes passed by before the ghosts began to fade out just as quickly as they came. As the ghosts took their leave, silence reigned in the Great Hall, everyone too stunned to move or speak.
After a moment, Sirius climbed up to stand on the table, gathering everyone's attention. He looked around at them all, taking in their dumbfounded faces, before blatantly giving them the widest, smuggest, shit-eating smirk to be seen and a deep bow to boot.
James and Kagome snorted in laughter at him, but stood as well to join him, bowing.
At Kagome's insistence, Peter scrambled up to take his place beside James. Remus never got to chance to protest when the twins pulled him up, and he blushed heavily before quickly bowing.
"Thank you, thank you very much!" Sirius exclaimed, grinning wildly. "We hope you enjoyed the show – courtesy of – of –" he paused, as if for dramatic effect, but in reality he was searching for a credible name.
Because, of course, to make a name for themselves, people needed to know what to call them.
Too bad he didn't realize that earlier.
James and Kagome shared a look, and she just knew by the realization dawning on his face that James discovered the name that would define their group for the next seven years. "The Marauders!" the two twins pitched in.
Sirius face lit up, and his grin widened without breaking a stride. "And as such, the Marauders wish you a-" he paused, giving them a meaningful look.
"Happy Halloween!" they all cheered with enthusiasm, laughing together.
Up with the Professors, most were stunned. Hagrid's shoulders were shaking in suppressed laughter; that is, until he couldn't help it anymore and just let his deep, booming laugh to echo into the hall. Minerva's face mimicked a tomato, her body shaking in anger.
But it was Dumbledore's reaction that took the cake.
The wizard stood, gathering everyone's attention. The five Gryffindors stopped and looked up anxiously, knowing without a doubt they were going to be punished.
It would be totally worth it though…
That is, until, Dumbledore smiled serenely at them and gave them a round of applause.
It broke the student's silence – some were laughing, some were gushing about how awesome what just happened was.
"Twenty-five points to Gryffindor – for a tickling, impressive display of Halloween spirit!"
Words- 5,246
Aahh, gotta love Halloween. 'snickers'
So there goes my hope of doing a couple months per chapter, tossed right out the window. At least it seems that I can keep it to one month a chapter. Ten or so chapters per year, depending if I include summer scenes, isn't really what I wanted. My hope is I'll keep it short the next couple years, or we won't be seeing any Siri/Kag romance for a while… 'pouts'
Anyways, here's a few shout-outs for the people whose ideas I used in this chapter:
darksilvercloud for suggesting encounters of the ghostly nature.
Tenshi 'Gome for the idea of a Slytherin run-in.
Chibisemo for Peter interactions.
LoneWolfSage and kitsune-miko-witch for more prank scenes.
Mirabar for the awesome idea of a plant attack. I lol'd all the while as I wrote that scene ;)
ShadowCrawlerCiel for the idea to show how Lupin and Peter got roped in with the Marauders.
And again to ShadowCrawlerCiel, darksilvercloud, LoneWolfSage, and Venas for the idea to show how the Marauders came to be.
And of course, ArmyWife22079 for her never ending inspiration and help on this story. Cause, let's be honest, I'd be a right mess and lost without you ;)
Hopefully, I got them all lol. If not, my apologies and my thanks to all that I failed to mention!
Till laters!
RainLily^^
A big huge honking thanks to all those who read, alerted, and fav'd this fic, and to these awesome reviewers!
Greeen-eyed beauty, Sammy-hell-bitch, kagome midnight fox, ArmyWife22079, Tenshi 'Gome, Valleygoat, lady Sesshomaru-sama, LoneWolfSage, CrescentMelody, kakashixangela, darksilvercloud, dragonfly13339, SasoLOVE111, jkl, kagome13cdj, JollyLoser, Magykrider, KagHieiLuver, animefanlover1, ObsidianFrost, WraithReaper, CroOkedTwiSted. Avulocard21, xXKillorbeKilledXx, sublimemagnolia, sailorjennifer, cranberry391, Scrawny Scrivener, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, xXiforeveriXx, Midoriori, AnisRocks, west, cadaverific-jellyfish, hermonine, animelver14, Joldino-Sidestreaker, Maxeyn, TsukiyoTenshi, Venas, InfiniteWhiplash, Mimiru, CrazyMikoHanyouKagamineRin, InuTrickster, Nameless Fable, Bunny.W.K, ShiTsukisama