DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter, the characters or anything related to it. However, we do own our imagination as well as our OC.

"I have major prankster's block," whined Sirius, looking completely devastated by that fact. Numerous rolls of parchment were piled up in his lap, and let me assure you they were not homework. While the raven-haired boy was playing with the papers his friends were laughing at him openly.

"It's not even a word," said James, not even trying to contain the huge grin playing on his lips.

"It is," muttered Sirius defensively, making his famous pout. But, to his misfortune, that facial expression caused another surge of laughter. He looked at his friends with an utterly comical look of disappointment and misery written on his face.

"Since when?"

"Since now!" growled Sirius, resembling an extremely infuriated dog at the moment. The other boys shot him a questioning look, wanting to voice their doubts of Sirius' mental health but he silenced them with one gesture. "It's the firstday of classes and we haven't come up with one single prank!"

"So…?" before Sirius had a chance to snap back the talker continued untroubled. "At least you haven't made anyone cry today. Really, we must mark it in the calendar as a new holiday!" Remus' answer was sardonic to say at least, yet playful sparkles were dancing in the depth of his eyes. Of course, he didn't mean even a word he said. Deep down he knew Sirius was right with this one and even him being a Prefect didn't change a thing. Or rather as his friend would say – especially him being a Prefect didn't change a thing.

It was like a ritual to them; every year they had to come up with a frolic at the first day of classes. One single day and one single prank defined their whole year. One could believe that a particular birthday was that day; for others it was New Year, and some would say it was a superficial and dumb thing to believe at all. But still, to them that one prank meant the world and no matter what the circumstances were they never would, could, forget their tradition.

That's why they ended up sitting in the dormitory at 4 p.m. And it really did mean something. Usually at this time Remus would be sitting in the library doing all the homework they had or simply reading for pleasure, hidden from his noisy (and nosy) friends. James and Sirius judging their love to Quidditch would be practicing to the upcoming game – which was probably in two months. And Peter, poor always forgotten little Peter, would be either sitting on a bench watching his friends play or trying to do a potions essay but unfortunately failing rather miserably considering his poor knowledge of the subject.

Even if they didn't have all those chores to do, still they would linger in the corridors talking or messing around in The Common Room, their Dormitory being the last place on earth they would end up before midnight. But special means times call for special measures and that occasion could easily be called exceptional.

When they came there all eyes set upon Sirius who usually had the entire plan prepared before he even thought about it. Only this time it was different. He was sitting there completely devastated by the fact of being incapable of thinking up any prank that would make sense. That means any prank at all. He just looked at his friends desperately, whining all the time, and practically not doing a thing. Now, two hours later they were still stuck at exactly the same spot they were from the start. Meaning: not having even the slightest idea what to do.

James on the other hand was thinking about all the pranks they had put in action before and trying to recall any reasonable back-up plan, realizing, utterly broken, that they never had any. Always having at least ten ideas at once they never once bothered to write down unused ones as they surely could not have been good enough.

When it comes to Remus, he was sitting on his bed, extremely quiet, and that was definitely not a good sign. This time of the year was one of the few when he actually was helping his friends to prepare the pranks to be ideal. Usually he was standing out of their way, scolding them whenever the idea might have been harmful for their surroundings or praising them if the conception turned out to be another success and show of their brilliance.

Yet now, Remus was so deep in thoughts that his friends were beginning to worry. For a moment they were trying to catch his attention but with no visible effect. Sirius was muttering something about that whenever needed Remus did nothing but space out. But, of course it meant nothing more just simple completely harmless teasing.

"If you want to have anything done can you all just shut up?" The golden-haired boy didn't even bother to fix them with a look and the dormitory suddenly was wrapped in dead silence. Not even one whisper was uttered and breaths seemed to stop just in case they would be a bother. It was as if someone had pressed mute because still both Sirius and James were making absolutely disarming faces to each other, a wide range of expressions, ranging from looks of desperation to utter amusement. Remus meanwhile started to write down a plan that had occurred all of the sudden in his head.

It seemed almost unreal. In a split of second it all became crystal clear. Everything – what they needed to do and how it all should be done. It seemed almost foolish that they had such a hard time when an oh-so-simple plan was within their reach. Okay, perhaps it was not entirely easy since it would cost them another sleepless night and most definitely a big amount of planning. As well as a difficult research that they did not exactly have time for. Well, all those unfavourable circumstances did not seem to seem to be a big threat – just another challenge and an interesting one. And they loved challenges.

Just one little question here… - How to make it all work?

Without even bothering to raise his eyes from the paper the golden-haired boy started to give orders for the others to follow. "First of all Peter, go to the 3rd floor and count how many armours there are. We need thirty-two pieces, so if there won't be enough look for some nearby." Without even a word Wormtail sprinted out of the room, overly excited since it was not so often he had got a thing to do just by himself. Others must have thought it was silly order to obey, yet he did not seem to mind it at all. For him it meant that his friends had some faith in him to actually depend on him in any way, no matter how small. Right now in his head there was no place for food, only the current mission seemed to be important enough to be present in his thoughts.

Back in the room Remus continued to tell his friends what to do and it was not such an ordinary sight. Especially not when it came to their prankster life. He was in charge of the whole escapade and for once he did not seem to mind. "You two should go to the Transfiguration Section of the library and see if you can find something useful there. Oh, and on your way Sirius, please, go and catch up with Peeves and tell him that he might be of help tonight." He seemed to be done yet there was still something left in the hook.

"And where is your part in the whole plan?" asked James on their way out.

"I'll stay here and prepare the rest and then join you in the library to see how the preparation's going," Remus replied smoothly. It seemed to be fair enough as the two boys left the room without any other word, heading for the East Wing.

It was not a challenge for Sirius to find Peeves the Poltergeist as anywhere the first years were he could be easily found. This time was not different and the shouts sounding evidently much louder in one of the corridors soon led him to the ghost.

Peeves had already accepted the four's superiority over him and as talking with a master of mischief was much more appealing than harassing a bunch of absolutely harmless eleven-year-olds the Poltergeist saw no objection in following Sirius to the first empty classroom they could find. "Peeves, are you still up to torment our dear Filch a bit?" Sirius decided to start the conversation as innocently as he could, just to whet the ghost's appetite. And exactly as he expected a mischievous spark appeared in the coal-black eyes. "Then, here's what you've got to do…"

The chubby boy was walking through the portrait hole holding a bunch of sketches. Although it seemed to take terribly long for the boy to come back, or so Remus thought, it could not take any minute less. For once Peter had actually taken the initiative to put down on a piece of paper all of the armours that would be needed. He knew that there was absolutely no possibility for him to remember every dark corner of Hogwarts where those not so useful pieces of rusty iron were put. Moreover, they didn't exactly plan to get caught and working with the light on was not exactly wanted. Therefore, a map of their working area might have been handy.

"I think we deserve a hefty dinner," said James some time later in their dormitory, grinning brightly and stretching. At once, every one of them was reminded of a certain nagging feeling in their stomachs that could be nothing more than hunger. It was true: they hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast and that was ages ago. How Peter had not whined about being hungry all that time would remain a mystery forever.

True, the time flew by quickly in times like those when they were too preoccupied to bother themselves with anything unconnected to their task. It was not too often either, when such important events occurred, but when they did they were always celebrated properly later on. After a well-organized prank it was always a feast for them.

But right now every one of them was hungry and felt the same ping of excitement that always appeared before an extremely interesting or difficult prank. And that one met both qualities mentioned before. Moreover, it looked as if it would be by far their best achievement.

The supper on the first day of classes never seemed to change, all students happily chattering about everything that was about to come, their hopes and joys of the upcoming school year. The first years were jabbering with sparkling eyes, still taking in the beauty of their new home, talking endlessly about all those new teachers, courses they were to take up… It was always the same; still wide-eyed the children were watching everything with interest and listening to all exciting stories of Hogwarts. And those stories seemed to never end. Every once in the while one of those eleven-year-olds would point at the four boys sitting by the Gryffindors' table, looking at them completely awed by all those histories they already had heard. Everybody was asking themselves when they would finally see one of the pranks which that four was so famous for.

Yet presently the boys were too excited and caught up in talking to pay any attention to the surrounding. The vision of the following morning was almost delightful. Enough for James to nearly overlook Lily walking by no more than ten inches from his back and discussing something vigorously with her friends Isabelle Barnes and Angelica McLean. And again the black-haired boy was suffocating as his breath forced itself back to his lungs at the beauty of the girl.

Then Sirius' voice interrupted his thoughts, "Hi there, Lily, Isabelle… Angelica," he added hesitantly, as he wasn't sure if she wouldn't make any nasty comment. "We were just talking about our vocational adventures. Care to join?" he finished with a huge grin on his lips and pushed James aside so hard, to make some sitting space on the bench, that the poor boy almost fell.

Before Lily had any chance to protest Isabelle had already given a positive answer and was dragging them to sit with the boys. For redhead it appeared to be hell and she was damn sure that any person in the school knew it, let alone Isabelle. Therefore, there might have been quite a lot of bad consequences for the delinquent later on. Angela for her part really did not mind sitting with the mischievous four, laugh at their jokes and talk for some time. Although, she knew that a fight awaited them after leaving such an interesting company. But to tell the truth she didn't care all that much. And as long as she would remain silent and it would be just between Lily and Isabelle their friendship would survive.

As the talk went on, they came to enjoy the others company so much that boys actually lost their track of time and forgot about their duties for the night and about practice they needed before the upcoming prank. That one talk absorbed them so much that even Lily was civil while talking to James, and that was kind of achievement on his part. But of course the charm couldn't last forever.

"So, what's the prank for tonight?" Isabelle didn't know how much chaos she would cause by asking that particular question or she might have never done it. Or at least not that loudly. Suddenly the whole good spirit of the evening just vanished. Those students who were sitting most closely to them passed the question to their neighbours and soon dead silence fell upon the whole table.

All eyes were now fixed on the four as they waited, breaths drawn-in, for the answer. No one had ever dared to ask such a question; the prank for the beginning of the year was kept a secret until the very moment of "performance". Yet the curiosity took over the students and they remained silent instead of doing what they had always been doing in situations like that – and that meant protecting their fellows.

Since their first year at Hogwarts the four was famous. No student could say that they didn't care about the boys and their mischief, you could either like them or not. But you just couldn't stay indifferent. Of course, the Gryffindors took the four boys in with open arms, making no complaints and protecting them from the teachers every time, no matter whether the prank was aimed at them or the students of other Houses. It was a great solidarity that bounded them, all the Gryffindors. It made them feel strong as a unity and well taken-care-of as individuals. And shy voices of objection, if there ever were any, were soon drowned in the atmosphere of general approbation.

The four boys were instantly reminded of where they should have been and what they should have been doing. They felt stupid and irresponsible, if one could feel bad about making no trouble. What were they thinking?! They had barely three hours left and they were sitting here, jabbering and laughing, instead of working. But how to get out of the Great Hall unnoticed? With all those eyes on them and the silence it was impossible. Suddenly a way out appeared. Isabelle pulled out "The Daily Prophet" out of nowhere and began to read aloud. If there was any topic more interesting than the four's pranks the girl had just raised it. At the same time all the Gryffindors started to talk. With raised voices and shining eyes students tried to shout down their colleagues to express their opinions. Crimes of Lord Voldemort bothered and outraged everyone highly those days. Nothing was going to stop the discussion anymore.

Sirius had to admit that Isabelle knew what she was doing. The girl was witty and, damn, he liked that. Only thanks to her they could leave without being noticed. "And about the prank, Izzy," he bent down to her ear and whispered, "You're going to find out soon enough."

The girl turned to shoot him a surprised look but all she managed to see before he left was a huge grin playing on his perfect lips.

Even though on the outside Sirius was smiling, internally he was already counting up their lost time and planning how to make up for it. Schematically they already had known what their positions would be and their tasks too. Somehow it wasn't as simple as that, not at all. They all had to use the spells they never even encountered before, let alone used them. Moreover, they still had to worry about both teachers and Mr. Filch to interrupt them. And if that happened it would all be gone, both their fun and looks of surprise they wanted to see on students' faces. Since they would be simply priceless.

Both Sirius and James were going through every single spell again, James fighting and failing miserably to stop thinking of a certain redhead. No matter how hard he would try to throw her face out of his mind he simply could not even though he knew he should have. What if she thought it was just another one of his idiocies he made? Didn't she see he had already done everything for her, was willing to change, yet he saw no reason to do it since the girl would not give him a chance. No, that was definitely not the right time to think of Lily Evans.

They had been working hard, that's true, but the atmosphere was full of excitement and hope. Smiles never seemed to leave their faces; jokes were told and laughed at. They hadn't didn't noticed the passing time until the old wooden clock in Gryffindors' Common Room tolled 11 p.m. The boys shared a quick glance as if saying: adventure, here we go. Just quiet 'good lucks' were uttered and off they went, each to their task.

The following morning started just as peacefully as ever. Nothing in the castle indicated that that particular Friday would be different from any other. The building seemed to be completely abandoned since there was absolutely nobody in the corridors. It was quite an extraordinary sight for a place where more than a thousand people lived. The only odd thing in the picture was a group of boys slowly heading towards the corridor on the fourth floor completely undisturbed by the fact that they were actually late. They were had been up all night but their tiredness didn't seem to be overwhelming enough to prevent them from talking vigorously. Suddenly they were interrupted by another voice.

"Hi boys," exclaimed Angela walking quickly toward them. "I guess we're not having Transfiguration today! The entrance to the class is blocked! Someone has put a giant chessboard there and the chessmen won't let anybody in."

"A giant chessboard?" asked James with fake disbelief in his voice. "Who could have done such a thing?" He was having great difficulty suppressing a laughter that was building up in his throat, yet somehow he managed to keep up a straight face. "What are we going to do then?" He couldn't help but wonder if Filch would be the one to clear up the mess they had caused.

"McGonagall has sent me to Dumbledore's Office. She said he would know what to do.," Tthe girl most definitely wasn't affected about not having the most demanding class of all in the tiniest bit. They were silent for a moment then Angela looked around and whispered to the boys, "You did a great job, you know? I'm really impressed. Who would have expected that even old McGonagall wouldn't be able to cope with a little prank," she grinned brightly and headed downstairs.

The boys shared a quick glance then ran towards the crowd that surrounded the effect result of their full -night's work. As they were approaching, excited whispers rose among the group of students and barely anyone could stay quiet. The four was welcomed with many pats on the shoulders and several cheers that accidentally escaped someone's mouth.

Professor McGonagall stood closest to the chessboard, looking quite helpless; and, from time to time, casting stern looks towards the loudest students. She could not help but throw an accusing look at the pranksters yet she did not take any action though it was completely obvious for her too who were the authors of the said prank. It was a miracle in fact that she did not send Remus a resentful look since he was a prefect and he should have known better than to help his friends with breaking the rules. And to think that the first week of classes was not yet over!

The chessboard looked even more majestic in the daylight. Two rows of chessmen stood firmly on their places, swords crossed so as not to let anyone pass. The four boys were immensely proud of themselves. Just to think that during one night they had managed to achieve so much!

Suddenly a passage appeared in the crowd of students and Albus Dumbledore came through it to stop by Professor McGonagall's side. All whispers fell silent at once and everyone's eyes fixed on the tall figure.

The headmaster moved his glasses up his nose and bent a bit to have a closer look at the giant chessboard. "Well, well, well," he murmured after a while. "We have a really nice piece of Transfiguration here, I must say. The one who made it must be a very talented wizard."

Professor McGonagall shot him a surprised look. "Albus, I don't think it's the right time to dwell upon the abilities of whoever have done this," she said, but the headmaster only smiled in reply. "We cannot allow ourselves to neglect the rules and let some pranksters bring chaos into the school life without any punishment! I can't imagine what would –,"

"Minerva," the headmaster interrupted her calmly. He was still smiling lightly as if he was having the most pleasant conversation ever. "I absolutely agree with you in the case of punishing the principals of that… inconvenience, yet now I would recommend us all to think of a way to get into the classroom." He turned to face the students, who were still looking at him wide-eyed and silent. "Has anyone any idea?"

A murmur could be heard as everyone started to discuss what to do. Only four boys who were standing in the first line in front of the headmaster didn't say a word. They were looking at him intently as if searching for a verdict in the expression on his face. When Dumbledore noticed it he smiled more widely. His bright blue eyes seemed to say: You have had your chance. Now let the others try their strengths too. Reassured, the boys remained quiet.

"Maybe to pass through we have to win the game?" said a hesitant voice from the back of the crowd.

"Excellent, Miss Barnes!" exclaimed Dumbledore cheerfully and waved his hand at Isabelle to come closer. The brunette moved to push through the mass. As she got closer Sirius couldn't help but smile.

"Now," said the headmaster. "Can you play chess?" The girl just nodded.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You might not be aware of it, but this story is actually a co-written one. As Carol has to work on her NaNoWriMo novel, tonight I'm in charge of publishing the new chapter and therefore writing this note. Again, Danielle, thank you, thank you, thank you for putting up with us!

I hope you liked it and if you did, press the grey review button below. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.

Take care everyone,

Sonia.