"It comes down to this." Sirius said darkly, his eyes flicking back and forth between his friends. The Common Room was quiet and the students were off elsewhere. "The Plan."
Remus rolled his amber eyes. "Padfoot, spare us the dramatics. Peter, status report."
"Every room is properly set up with the prank ammo," Peter said seriously, his watery eyes reading a note from a small piece of parchment. "The initial start button-thingy is set in the room we discussed. Every piece of prank ammo is invisible and unable to be seen or sense unless one is to cast a disillusionment charm anywhere near said prank ammo."
"Excellent." Remus nodded. "James, did you carefully check each of our schedules to decide who has to start the prank?"
James nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose slightly. "Indeed I have, Moony. Sirius, you have the class that puts you nearest to the entire prank trigger when the last bell rings. The teacher of said classroom will leave after the bell rings to get their daily cup of tea from the staff lounge. You hang back and pretend to be looking for a dropped quill. Then slip into the back room and light the fuse…I mean…pull the trigger to the prank."
Sirius nodded, looking very intent on his mate's words. "Okay. So…I light the fuse and then we book it. The students will be in the corridors and will all see the…prank. We book it and hide out until the evening when the final score is tallied. I trust it we'll use the two-way mirrors in case of emergency?"
"I've already got mine in my pocket." James confirmed, patting the side of his pants.
"Then we're all set." Remus concluded softly.
James grinned, all tense concentration lost as he stretched and yawned. "Then I am off to go to sleep."
"WOAH!!!!" Sirius sat James down again, still looking…well…serious. "We are not done discussing matters at hand."
"But we planned everything!" James whined. "We've got this down more than we have the backs of our hands!"
"Not the prank," Sirius huffed. "I'm talking about a certain red-headed mate of yours."
James felt heat rise in his cheeks. "So?"
"So you need to ask her out again, mate." Remus said flatly.
It didn't even take consideration to make a decision. "No way."
"James…" Peter looked rather worried. "It's been all year since you asked her out. And now you've got her as your friend, why don't you make a bloody move?"
"Because that's not how we are!" James half shouted, looking more exasperated with every word from his fellow Marauders. "Lily and I…we're…we don't discuss things like this. We've always established the 'Just mates' mantra which I've been fine with the last nine months." He sighed, running an agitated hand through his hair. "Honestly, I can't risk ruining everything I've done with Lily this year over a stupid Hogsmeade date."
"But what if she said yes?" Sirius pressed.
"What if she slapped me across the face and walked away." James parried.
"Don't be stubborn, just take a risk, Prongs!"
"I can't!" James yelled, before his shoulders sagged. "I can't risk her going back to hating me again, I can't risk having to go back to being 'Potter' instead of 'James', I can't risk embarrassing myself when I've already done it so many times before. I love Lily and I'm not going to put her in that sort of awkward situation."
Sirius blinked at James and opened his mouth as if he was going to retort, but Remus just shot him a warning look.
"We just want you to be happy, James." The werewolf offered. "And we want you and Lily to quit this 'Just Mates' bullshit and look at the facts."
"Did you just say bullshit?!" Sirius laughed.
"What facts?" James demanded.
Remus sighed. "Yes I did say bullshit. And James, you'll have to figure that one out for yourself."
James glared lividly at his friends just as the Portrait Hole opened and Gracie, Emma and Lily walked in, whispering and gesturing at a small notepad of paper that Emma was carrying.
"LADIES!" Sirius boomed, hopping off his chair in an instant. "You're looking stunning, as usual."
"And you look like you're missing half a brain," Gracie replied coolly, not missing a beat, "As usual."
"Where were you guys?" James asked, ignoring the two idiots and their argument.
"Oh, just going around for a jaunt around the castle." Emma said in a sing song voice. "We were talking about the prankwar."
"WHICH WE ARE SO GOING TO WIN!" Sirius crowed
"As if," Gracie spat, "You guys don't stand a chance. The girls always kick your arses."
"We've got the better prank, this time." Sirius shot back.
"Girls are better, par none!"
"Oh, so take your own side! Sexist."
"Chauvinist!"
"Girly!"
"Misogynist!"
"I…wait, what?" Sirius blinked confusedly.
Gracie smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Sirius, we can't all have a normal level of intelligence."
Instead of trying to continue verbally sparring with her, Sirius just tackled her and started tickling her.
Lily turned to James, who she noticed had been looking at her oddly. "Ready to go do patrols?"
He groaned. "I was just about to go to sleep!"
The red-head smiled and dragged him up, "C'mon, you. If we finish early we can stop by the kitchens and get some cookie dough."
The boyish smile that fell on his face was enough to make Lily laugh.
"Have fun, you two!" Sirius called as Gracie tried in vain to throw him off her. "Have fun TALKING about IMPORTANT THINGS like….I don't know…FEELINGS and CRUSHES and HOGSMEADE DATES."
Lily gave Sirius a funny look before walking out. James followed her, but not before turning around and shooting Sirius a rude hand gesture and the dirtiest of dirty looks.
Gracie, still pinned beneath Sirius, said, "You suck at dropping hints, Black."
"And you suck at wrestling." The wolfish grin he gave the brunette made her almost smile.
She didn't reply, merely driving her knee cap into his groin and standing up gracefully as he crumpled in pain.
Remus stood up. "I'm actually going to follow James' original plan and head to bed." He snuck a glance at Emma, who colored and looked away with a slight frown. "Good night, all."
It was quiet again as Sirius rolled around on the floor groaning in pain. Peter stood, muttered, "Night" before scurrying after Remus.
"You going to bed too?" Gracie asked Sirius lightly, stepping over his body. "Or do you need another kick to help you along?"
Needless to say, Sirius stood up and ran up the boy's staircase without another word.
"Emma, you do know that you'll have to tell Remus the truth eventually, right?"
Emma nodded. "After the prankwar is over, I will. Promise. Besides," She got a sneaky grin on her face, "I'm not the only one who needs to do some confessing."
The brunette picked at a hangnail. "I have no clue what you're hinting at."
Purple eyes narrowed, Emma shook her head. "Whatever. We've got the prank all set. The room is ready, our schedules are coincided. The only issue is getting Lily and James together."
"I don't see why we have to do that in the bloody middle of the prank." Gracie muttered.
"Because, they'll never confess anything to each other unless they're alone, under pressure and thinking that this is their only chance." Emma pointed out. "All we have to do is make sure we don't get James in the room and we don't let Lily know we're avoiding him."
"I suppose it's our last major attempt at getting those block-heads together?" The brunette yawned.
Emma nodded. "If it doesn't happen, I may just shoot myself."
"So, tomorrow the plan is to pull it off and hope for the best." Gracie summed up. "And then get Lily and James together."
Emma nodded again.
Gracie smiled at the prospect of tomorrow's events. "Then let the games begin."
The next morning, the Great Hall was as chatty and cheery as usual. The normal buzz of conversation drifted about the tables like hazy fog. One would never find much significant about this unless they a) listened into each conversation or b) looked at each students' attire.
The regular Hogwarts robes seemed to have been ignored for that day. Each student wore a t-shirt, reading either 'Vote for the Marauderesses' or 'Vote for the Marauders'. Each group talked animatedly about the prankwar; pranks, prankers, and pranked included.
Occasionally a vulture would fly about the hall, fixing its beady eyes on one of the students before gliding away to take perch behind Professor McGonagall's chair. They had been doing this for the past three days, and while it was highly irritating to have someone listening to their conversations, most students had developed habits of chucking food and silverware at the animagi. No thanks to Sirius Black, for sure.
James sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, fingering his bowl of cornflakes uneasily as Remus, Emma, Sirius and Peter talked around him. Lily said she had to run to the loo and would be back in a minute.
"I can't believe you wear those disgraceful shirts." Sirius sneered, looking at the front of Gracie's 'Vote for The Marauderesses' t-shirt, "I mean, they are very unflattering to your breasts."
The brunette threw a biscuit at his head. "Who told you to even look there, Black?"
He grinned widely, "They have a gravitational pull, love. Can't help it."
Emma laughed rather loudly as she brushed her black hair up into a high pony tail, in the same style as Gracie. James found it rather odd that they both wore white sequined ribbons around their pony-tails. The sequins had looked oddly familiar to him…
"Are you ready for today?" Emma asked, wondering vaguely why James was staring at the side of her head.
"Of course." He smiled. "I just hope those poor girls know what they're getting into."
"I'm sure they do." Gracie answered, whilst continuing to chuck biscuits at Sirius. "They're probably already performing the prank right now."
Emma shot a doubtful look at Grace, and then placed her hairbrush in her bag.
"Attention students." The intercom sounded over the room, making the room go quiet, "This is your Merry Marauderess Freckles speaking."
A trickle of cheers echoed throughout the hall. McGonagall's left eye twitched.
"We would just like to remind the students, faculty, and Marauders that today is indeed the finale of the Hogwarts Prankwar. The winner's will be tallied tonight at midnight. Now, while school rules state you must be in your dorm before ten o clock, we Marauderesses encourage you to listen to your inner anarchist and attend this monumental event. It's not everyday you get to see some major arse kicking done unto the Marauders."
Another round of applause. All the teachers look rather miffed.
"Be sure to cast your vote before twelve o clock tonight and support your Prankwar! Have a nice day."
The intercom snapped off and the Great Hall was once again alive with half-crazed chatter. Gracie looked pleased.
"Well," She tightened her ponytail, "They seem to be quite on their game."
Now it was Sirius who chucked the biscuit.
"Sorry I'm late guys," Lily breathed after appearing out of what seemed to be mid-air, "The loo was full of girls."
Remus cast her a narrowed glance, which she had to look away and pretend not to see.
"Did you hear the Marauderess announcement?" James asked, pouring her a glass of Pumpkin juice.
She smiled, tying a white sequined ribbon about a high ponytail. "Wouldn't miss it."
"It was odd though," James continued, "The voice on the intercom seemed very familiar. Like something out of a déjà vu or dream."
Remus coughed rather loudly but said nothing. Emma suddenly shouted, "WHO WANTS PANCAKES?!"
"I do!" Lily called, grabbing some. "I need a well balanced meal. Got a big day ahead."
"Do you?" Remus asked sharply.
"Of course. We've got that Ancient Runes test." Lily replied, not even blinking. "James? Pancake race?"
"Can't," James explained, "Already ate. I would, however, want to…" He trailed off, eyes fixed to Lily's chest, "What are you wearing?"
The red-head couldn't help but grin. "Do you like it?"
"It's not supposed to say 'Vote for Marauderesses', Lils. You bought the wrong brand." James argued.
She looked down and eyed it. "Nope, it's the right one, I'm sure of it."
They stared each other off for a minute, playfully glaring, before Sirius awkwardly cut in. "See, Gracie? James stared at Lily's chest and she didn't chuck anything at him!"
Instead of retorting, Gracie glanced at her watch. "Crap, we've got to get going." She stood hurriedly.
Emma did as well, "We'll see you later, Lily."
"Do you have the Cauldron Cakes?" The red-head asked.
"Yes." Both her friends answered.
They walked off, leaving some very confused boys.
"Erm….cauldron cakes?" James asked.
"I WANT SOME!" Peter shouted.
"We're doing some experiments." Lily lied easily. "On…carb intake."
Remus hid a smile in his napkin. "Carb intake? Since when have Emma and Gracie ever cared about carbs? They're stick thin!"
"So they could use the weight!" Lily said heatedly, digging into her pancakes. "Don't question our methods of life!"
The four boys stared confusedly at one another, sharing a common thought: That was odd.
Little did they know that that was just the start of a VERY odd day.
The first class of the day had everyone restless in their seats. Not one whiff of a prank had been seen among the castle, and students were waiting anxiously already.
James remembered that he had wanted to tell Peter to remember to stall Professor McGonagall when it was time for their prank, but as he looked over to the seat next to him, he realized his small friend wasn't there.
Lily, sitting on his other side, looked oddly at him as he searched around the room. James then grabbed a piece of parchment, scribbled something, and passed it to her.
Seen Wormtail? -J
Lily had to bite her lip to hold back a laugh. It had already begun…
No, can't say I have. Maybe he's feeling sick. -L
James noticed that Lily's eyes were strangely bright, as if she was smiling, but there was no trace of said expression on her face.
You alright?-J
Of course. Why? –L
It's nothing, you just look a little…excited.-J
Tests in ancient runes can do that to a girl.-L
Gracie was ten minutes late to class, something that no one took notice of but Lily. Apparently she forgot her textbook. James decided to ignore Lily's antics. He had bigger issues on his mind.
When the second class of the day came around, it was seventh year Holly Winters who noted the missing boy this time. Only, it wasn't Peter she announced missing.
"Where is Amos?" She asked around, looking scared. "Has anyone seen Amos Diggory? My boyfriend?"
Holly was soon joined by a burly Ravenclaw, who was asking around for Chase Davies.
"Haven't seen him since first hour," Said the Ravenclaw, looking around suspiciously. "Said he needed to use the loo and never came back."
No one thought much of it. Students went M.I.A. often, whether it was for medical reasons involving hospital wings or hormonal reasons involving broom closets.
But then Professor Slughorn discovered during attendance that not only were Peter, Chase and Amos missing, but also Severus Snape. Not that anyone cared much, but it was still something to note.
Class began gradually. Today they were working on the first few stages of the Veritaserum potion. The room was filled with the clinking of vials and the bubbling of cauldrons. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily watched Emma exchange something with Gracie. The brunette lifted the object to her mouth and if one looked close enough, it looked like she was chewing.
No more than a few seconds later, Gracie passed out. Holly Winters screamed.
"Right," The Potions Master rumbled about the room, "I need a volunteer help take Miss Harlow to the Hospital Wing." With a flick of his wand he revived Gracie, who blinked owlishly and put a hand to her forehead.
Sirius was, as always, the first to raise his hand. But Slughorn picked Remus instead. The sandy-haired boy stood and helped Gracie up, but not before casting Lily a glare over his shoulder. She ignored him, same as she had earlier, and shared a nod with Emma.
The red-head smiled at her beezlenut powder that she was measuring out. Everything was on schedule and going according to plan. Just as the three girls had discussed, Gracie would get sick first. Then Emma would eat her 'Cauldron Cake' at around the third hour before lunch. Lily would stay behind to measure procedure and make sure nothing was going amiss.
Remus and Gracie had left ten minutes into the class. Neither of them came back for the rest of the period.
By lunch, the obvious had been laid out: something was certainly going on.
"It doesn't even make any sense," Georgiana Hanson told her friend, "I mean, David said he was just going to the library. But he never showed up to the next class!"
"I just want my darling Ricky back!" Wailed a fifth year Hufflepuff.
"Eh, who needs him?" Shouted a Slytherin girl to the first year. "He cheated on you, anyways!"
It was eleven thirty in the morning, and about two thirds of the Hogwarts male population had disappeared. Two were Marauders.
"I'm seriously freaked out." Sirius said shakily, eating some zucchini. "I mean, first Wormtail, now Moony. Where the bloody hell could they have gone?"
"And where's everyone else?" James asked, searching the hall, which was now practically over powered by girls.
"Relax guys," Lily said calmly, sitting across from them, "It's probably just a coincidence. Maybe the stomach bug is going around?"
James ran a hand through his hair. "But how come it's only guys? There's not a single female that has missed any classes. I--"
"Where are Gracie and Emma?" Sirius suddenly cut his friend off.
Lily shrugged and gripped her fork a smidge tighter.
Struck by an idea, Sirius blurted, "It's finally happened."
"What?" James asked.
"Gracie has finally snapped and gone on a killing rampage. This time she took Emma along for the ride."
This time Lily actually laughed and replied, "Don't be paranoid, you guys. It's just a regular day and nothing is wrong."
James noticed that strange brightness in her green irises again.
"Evans," Sirius looked absolutely incredulous, "This is not just any ordinary day. This is the end of the prankwar day. Or have you so graciously forgotten?"
James knew she had had that expression before…
"I haven't." She snapped. "I'm just not concerned. If the Marauderesses were up to something, you'd be able to tell. This just looks like a normal case of sick students. I'll get worried when all the boys are gone, okay?"
She stood up, plate of food hardly touched, and walked out of the Great Hall, running the prank schedule in her head once more. The first two Marauders had been taken down.
Two more to go.
She knew for a fact that everything was going smoothly. Emma had managed to eat her five-minute-fainting-potion-Cauldron-Cake in her third hour class. Both she and Gracie were now awake, upstairs and taking care of the operation and guarding the room.
It was all going to work out, she told herself firmly, casting back one more glance at James and Sirius.
How could it not?
James suddenly realized with a jolt that Lily looked that way when she was telling a terribly big lie.
"OUCH!"
"Sorry!"
"Wait, Wormtail?
"Remus?"
"No, I'm Amos!"
"It's dark in here!"
"Is Remus in here?"
"I'm here, Peter!"
"It's cold!"
"Why the effing hell are we in here?!"
"SHUT UP!"
………
"Okay, this is Remus Lupin speaking. Does anyone know where we are?"
……..
"Okay, another question…erm…say your name aloud so we can know who's here."
"Amos Diggory."
"Peter Pettigrew."
"Chase Davies."
"OKAY OKAY! Um, if you're in here, say 'I'."
"I!"
…..
"Wow, that's a lot of people."
"Again, why are we in here?"
"I don't know!"
"Does anyone remember anything about how they got in here?"
"I don't remember much. I remember a flash of light then ending up in here. Not much.…"
"Hey, that's what happened to me!"
"Me too!"
"So, we know how we got here…anyone know why?"
……
"Um, here's a question, are there any girls in here?"
……
"I knew it! Bloody hell!"
"What Moony?"
"What's going on, Lupin?"
"Ow, watch where you're stepping!"
"Apparently, gents, we're stuck in a room, which I'm guessing all Vanishing Cabinets are leading to, by the fact that we have cabinets in here but no doors. We were shoved in here by someone, and there are no girls in here. Now, did I leave anything out?"
……
"It's still really cold in here!"
"There's no door in here!"
"I'm scared!"
"Does anyone have their wands?"
……
"Shit."
"Moony, you cussed again!"
"Well, I'll keep on cussing! Peter, we're stuck in here. No one seems to be coming to get us. What does that tell you?"
……
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!!"
"MOMMY!!!!"
"What do we do, Moony?"
"I guess we wait. See what happens."
……
"We're dead. We're going to die alone and cold and in the dark."
"Hear hear!"
"SHUT UP!"
"Evans, Black, I want you both to go and look for the missing boys from this class." McGonagall demanded. "They seemed to have gotten lost!"
"Understatement of the year." Sirius muttered, standing and following Lily out of the class room. It was the second to last hour and the amount of male specimen in the castle was dwindling steadily and surely.
"C'mon, let's check the Hospital Wing." Lily said, starting ahead of him.
"You actually think we'll find anyone there?" He scoffed.
Lily turned around to face him. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Evans, I don't know what game these bloody girls are playing, but it's a dirty one." His grey eyes fixed on the ground.
"What convinces you the Marauderesses are behind this?" Lily asked sharply, turning a corner.
"What convinces you they're not?" He sniped back.
"I just know it." Lily said defiantly.
Neither said anything. Sirius looked more afraid than angry as he walked beside Lily, hands shoved in his pockets and leaning forward as he walked.
"James doesn't seem as worried as you."
"He's better at hiding things than I am. I mean, the two of you are a prime example of how good he is at hiding emotions."
Another corner turned. "What are you talking about?"
He shrugged. "Figure it out for yourself."
Lily racked her brains, but then gave up the subject because there were more important things to be doing than wondering at the cryptic workings of Sirius Black's head. As Gracie always said, "There's no use trying to understand an idiot."
She stopped walking. "We're here."
Sirius looked up from the ground, confused. This was not the 'here' he had be expecting. Had the girl lost it? "Erm….Lily? This is a broom closet. Not the Hospital Wing."
Lily sighed. "Technically speaking, it's a Vanishing Cabinet."
"So, that still means that we shouldn't be here…" Sirius trailed off as Lily drew her wand and pointed it directly at him.
"I'm sorry about this, Sirius." She backed him up against the wall, a smile rippling across her face. "It won't hurt, I promise."
Sirius' eyes widened and he looked for a way out, but there was none. The vixen had cornered him.
"What the hell, Evans? What are you doing?" Was all he could ask as she closed in on him.
"Padfoot, you are about to be pranked." She smiled at him, before waving her wand. "Stupefy!"
The meaning of her words didn't hit Sirius until the last millisecond before the spell hit him.
"Ouch!! Who the hell just elbowed me in the stomach?"
"Watch it, punk!"
"Padfoot?"
"Moony? Wormtail?"
"Here!"
"Oh God, they got to you too."
"Oi, Black, you're stepping on my foot."
"Sorry, mate."
"Listen, Padfoot, do you remember how you got in here?"
"Erm….no. I remember looking for you, and then….nothing."
"Where's James?"
"Last time I checked, he was headed for Divination. Why?"
"Padfoot, you were supposed to light the fuse."
……
"Crap."
……
"It's still dark in here! I want my mommy!"
"Sirius do you have your wand?"
"Let me check….no."
"Great, just great."
"What are we going to do? We have to get to James and tell him to light the fuse before our prank goes completely downhill.
"Hm…."
"We're all facing death in a windowless, door less, dark room and you're worried about a prank, Lupin? Are you serious?!"
"No, I'M Sirius."
"Oh, for Christ's sake--!"
"Stop arguing, I'm thinking."
"Moony has spoken. Heed his words or face his wrath."
"Sirius, shut up…"
"I didn't say anything! That was Peter!"
"IT'S COLD!"
……
"Exactly how many boys are in here, Peter?"
"By now…I'd say about the entire male population minus James."
"Wait, this was the Marauderesses prank?"
"Pretty ingenious, huh?"
"To lock all men away and keep the Marauders from doing their prank? Well, if that's not a way to win a prankwar, I really don't know what is."
"Sirius, do you still have your mirror on you?"
"Which one? My vanity mirror or my secret-messages-to-Jamesie mirror?"
"The latter."
"There's a ladder in here? Then let's get out of here!"
"Shut up, Prewitt, I wasn't talking about that sort of ladder."
"Oh."
……
"So what's this about a mirror?"
"I can talk to James with it. We have to get James to light the fuse. We need to send out an S.O.S.!"
"What good will it do, Black? We'll still be stuck in here!"
"Look, Davies, we've got one chance at getting out of here and saving the male population from extreme embarrassment. Do you want the Marauders to lose the prankwar?"
"Well…no…but…"
"But nothing. Prongs is our only hope to get out of here. Remus, get over here. Davies, take the three guys closest to you and try to see if someone can find out where we are."
"How can we know if we're still on Hogwarts grounds?"
"We don't, but let's just try to find out, okay?"
Lily closed the doors to the Vanishing Cabinet with a smirk, feeling more triumphant than she had in a while. She walked quickly along the corridor, twisting and turning and heading up staircases until she came up to a blank wall, where two girls were seated on the floor.
"Sirius is in there." The red-head confirmed. "I almost felt bad when I had to relieve his memory of the last few minutes."
"We've had to do that with every guy. Talk about guilt." Emma replied, her ponytail shinning in the dim corridor lights. "It's all the same process, so we've gotten used to it, I suppose."
"Get a boy alone, stun him, wipe his memory of the last minute or so and shove him into the Vanishing Cabinet, which leads him into a dark, wide, door less and windowless Room of Requirement. Easier than eating, drinking and sleeping, in my opinion."
"We're genius." Lily grinned. "I brought you some food!" She reached in her bag and drew out a small container of chocolate cookies. "I'm sure they're better than those Cauldron Cakes…"
Gracie looked at her watch. "You probably want to return back to class and make sure no more boys are left. We just called the last two out on the intercom. Second year Slytherins. They started balling when we pulled out our wands on them."
"Alright, I'm going!" Lily laughed, hitching her bag up higher on her shoulder and then looking blankly at the room of requirement. "They're awfully quiet in there."
"It's soundproof." Gracie smiled sadistically, looking like she could sing. "An entire day without Sirius Black. This is better than heaven."
Throwing one last smile at her brilliant friends, Lily ran back to class. Everyone looked up at her as she reentered the room.
"Miss Evans," McGonagall looked sharply at her, "Where is Mr. Black?"
"We split up. I couldn't find Mr. Lupin or anyone else." Came her quick reply, just has she began to look concerned. "Sirius didn't come back?"
Professor McGonagall frowned. "No, he didn't."
Lily put on her most innocent face. "Oh, well, I'm sure he'll turn up."
The class was now entirely girls. The red-head noticed about half the seats were empty and was about to internally congratulate herself and her fellow Marauderesses when the bell rang. The day was finally over.
As soon as she exited the classroom, Lily wanted to burst into dance and song. With the boys gone and unable to vote, the girls were going to win by a landslide. It was inevitable.
It was then that Lily should have realized who she was dealing with.
James was scared. James was angry. James was confused. James was leaving his last class of the day without a single ounce of Marauder spirit as he saw that every person around him was a girl.
Where was Sirius? The prank needed to be starting any minute now, and soon McGonagall would be leaving her office to get her afternoon cup of tea. What if Sirius had gone missing too?
James ran a hand through his hair and glanced around frantically. There was not a single bloke in sight.
Just as he considered heading back to the dorms to look for Sirius, something buzzed in his pocket and a voice sounded.
"Prongs! You there!?"
It was with immense relief that he pulled a small mirror out of his trousers, nearly bursting into laughter when he saw Sirius' face.
"Padfoot, I thought you were a goner!" The Head Boy joked.
Sirius' face remained as impassive as stone. "Listen Mate, I'm not able to light the fuse. You have to light it."
"I…wait…WHAT?!"
A third year walked by James, casting him an odd look as he talked to a mirror. He turned away from her.
"Prongs, you know how all the guys have been vanishing?"
James blinked, "Well, yeah. I'm now the only guy left!"
"We suspect this is the Marauderesses doing, because none of the girls have vanished, and all the guys have. Except you."
"Okay. So, what do I do?" James felt his heart pounding. To some, it may seem ridiculous to get this intense when it comes to pranking, but this was no ordinary pranking about to be done.
"You have to go to McGonagall's office, say 'Lumos' and simply touch the tip of your wand to the fuse."
"And then?"
"Isn't it obvious? You get the hell out of there before the fireworks set off. You don't want to be hit by the extra ingredient we added, do you?"
"No…okay, then what?"
"Well, mate, I would say come bust us out of here. But we don't exactly know where 'here' is. It's dark, cold, and windowless and door less."
"I know where you are." James said.
"You what?!"
"You're in the Room of Requirement. Think about it, Padfoot, the Marauderesses need to stick you somewhere where they can keep an eye on you and not have to worry about you getting out. All they had to do was make a room with no doors and no windows that Vanishing Cabinets could lead to."
"That makes sense." Came Remus' voice from out of the mirror, though his face was not visible. "But how do we get out? The entrance to the room is probably guarded by Marauderesses."
"Make them come in." James said. "Do anything. Smash anything, make noise, and scream. Once I set the fuse off, I'll try and get to you guys, okay?"
"Are you sure you've got this James?" Sirius' grey eyes looked concerned.
A hard glint shown in James' face. "I've got this, Padfoot. Over and out."
"Over and out, Prongs."
James shoved the mirror in his pocket and double checked to make sure he had his wand. It took him two additional seconds to shove his book bag behind a statue and hope that no harm would come to it.
Without a further word, he took off towards the transfiguration classroom.
It was pranking time.
"GREETINGS LADIES." The intercom was on again, and every girl was listening with rapt attention. "IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, OUR LEVELS OF TESTOSTERONE FILLED STUDENTS SEEMED TO HAVE LESSENED CONSIDERABLY. DON'T WORRY, THEY'LL BE BACK TONIGHT. BUT BE SURE TO ENJOY YOUR BOY-FREE HOURS. AND VOTE FOR THE MARAUDERESSES! THANK YOU."
Lily expected girls to hate the prank, because so many were dependent on boyfriends and brothers. But it came as an astonishing fact when they all burst into hoots and applause. It was a rather liberating fact, and Lily couldn't help but cheer with them.
And then something caught her eyes that made everything grow considerably warmer and colder at the same time.
James Potter. Running at full speed down the hallway.
Why is he not in the Room of Requirement? Where is he going? Questions whirled in Lily's head, making it hard to think straight.
She didn't have time to talk to Gracie or Emma about this. She had to stop him from setting off the prank. She didn't know much about said prank, but she did know that if he managed to set it off, the Marauderesses were sure to get their arses kicked big time.
So she ran after him.
It's hard to follow someone and stay unnoticed when they are so extremely fast. Lily tried to stick to the shadows, but she was nearly panting with exertion by the time James quietly ducked behind a tapestry near the Transfiguration classroom.
He stood there for five minutes and Lily started to think that he had disappeared or had simply gone mad. James was staring at Professor McGonagall's door with a rare intensity.
Lily waited for something to happen. Suddenly McGonagall walked out of her classroom and shut the door, decidedly not locking it. The red-head could only guess how many vultures were perched in her class.
The teacher walked to the staff lounge and James moved from behind the tapestry. Without a glance backwards, he drew his wand and entered the classroom. Lily followed him, thinking 'What are you up to, James?' all the while.
James went behind McGonagall's desk and went into her office. Lily waited just outside the open door, listening.
The Marauder didn't hesitate in reaching to the top of the filling cabinet. For a moment, he was groping air, and then something clicked.
The room was suddenly lined with boxes and boxes of fireworks. Wired together and tangled in intricate ways that looked rather complex. James new that they had been there all along, and around the entire castle as well. He raised his wand and muttered 'Lumos'.
Something landed on his head. Another on his arm. The room was suddenly full of screeching birds, knocking James around and disarming him. He cursed and tried to yank them off, but the Goblin-Animagi held steadfast to his limbs, talons almost piercing his arm.
He was for sure going to fail. The Marauders were going to lose the prankwar. James saw the entire operation crashing around his ears and wanted to yell in exasperation. They were going to get their arses beat by three girls.
"IMMOBULOUS!" A voice suddenly cried.
The Vultures froze, releasing James' arms and floating around the air while blinking wildly. James staggered upwards and looked up, grinning widely when he saw Lily standing in front of him, looking out of breath. Her shoulders heaved and her hair looked a little mussed, though it was still up in that ponytail.
"Oh, thank God, Lily. I owe you my life." James smiled at her and then reached for his wand on the floor.
She kicked it out of the way.
"Erm, Lily?" James walked forward. "I need that for the prank. I have to light the fuse and then go let the guys free. Can you believe the Marauderesses are behind all this?"
"Yes." She said flatly. "I can."
"Well, in any case, I need my own wand." He reached for it again.
She raised her own and pointed it at his face.
"Lily," James' eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?"
"What I have to do, James." She replied, biting her lip. This felt wrong to her, disarming James and putting her wand to him.
"Let me start the prank." He demanded, feeling a prick of irritation.
"No. I can't let you." Guilt trickled into her lungs.
"And why not?" James glowered.
"James, don't ask questions. Just get out of here." Lily said evenly.
"Answer me this, Lily." James began, easing towards her in hope she could grab her wand. "Do you know how all the guys disappeared?"
She shook her head, eyes bright again. It took James less than a second to know she was lying.
"What do you know?" He growled, trying to distract Lily. She trembled at his sudden anger and the guilt seemed to suffocate her. Not knowing why, Lily wanted to suddenly tell James everything. But she continued lying away.
"I don't know anything. I'm just trying to get you out of here before McGonagall comes in here and lands the both of us in eternal detention."
"Liar." James accused before lunging at Lily, knocking her over.
When their friendship had first started, James had promised Lily he would never hurt her. But in that very second where he basically tackled her down, he broke that promise. Lily was barreled over, banging her head rather sharply on the wall as James reached for his wand.
In a flash, the two of them were standing up again, both holding wands directed at the other and breathing hard.
"Why are you being so stupid, Lils?" James asked.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" She retorted.
"Just let me start the prank. Then we'll leave." He promised.
She shook her head vigorously. "Don't even try. I'll have to stun you, James."
"Then do it!" He roared, furious. Why was she acting this way? So odd for her.
She shook her head angrily. "I…I can't."
As she shook her head repeatedly, the white-sequined ribbon bounced vigorously. Glancing at it, James suddenly had a flashback of the Christmas Ball, when the Marauderesses had made exploding balloons full of white sequins and Lily, Gracie and Emma had worn those identical white-sequined masks.
In an instant, not even a second, something in James' head clicked.
"Okay, guys! We're going to try this again. On the count of three! ONE! TWO! THREE!"
"HEEEELLLLLLPPPPP!!!!"
………
"It didn't work, Moony!"
"That's probably because they made this particular Room of Requirement sound-proof."
"So now what?"
"Now we wait, and hope to God that James doesn't get detained in getting us the hell out of here."
…………
"My feet hurt!"
James' eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. There was a sharp intake of breath. Lily watched him as if she could see the gears of his head turning.
"You're a…" He trailed off. There was no need to say it, because her expression confirmed it all.
There are, as always, points in a story when a moment (whether it is a bad or good moment) is ruined by the entrance of another character or plot twist. In our story, it seems that this particular moment (We are unable to classify whether it is good or bad) has been interrupted by both a plot twist and a character. Because at this precise moment, when Lily and James were facing off and James was in the process of discovering Lily's secret identity, the door to the office exploded.
As in, blew completely off the hinges.
"AH HA!" McGonagall cackled, flicking her wand and sending the criminals' wands to the floor. "Caught at last!"
James stood there, not sure who he was supposed to gape at, Lily or McGonagall. He had valid reasons for both.
"I knew something was up when you were the only boy left still visible in class, Mr. Potter." She began. "And, as always, I expected Ms. Evans to trail after you. It's just all too easy, I thought to myself. I came here to check on my vultures, and what do I find?" She let out a bark of laughter. "A Marauder AND a Marauderess!"
James' eyes flickered over to Lily, who was staring back at him. Though he was temporarily furious with her and more confused than he'd ever been in his life, there was no choosing sides at this point: He and Lily had to get out of there.
"Now, we'll go find the rest of your Marauder friends." McGonagall said cheerily, looking quite mad and she bounced about the office in plan. "And then your little Marauderess friends. And then I'll haul you all off to Dumbledore's office before you can say 'Prank'. Oh, you will all be in such trouble." She laughed again. "Such wonderful, wonderful trouble."
James was looking at Lily and thinking of a way out of this. He was considering simply making run for it when Lily suddenly winked at him. She was up to something. As always, his Lily had a plan.
He clearly hadn't expected her to pass out after that thought, but she did anyway.
"Miss Evans?" McGonagall stopped mid-rant, walking over to her. "Are you alright?"
James walked over to her hurriedly but stopped as Lily let out a snore. Lily doesn't snore. She was faking it, and in a flash, James understood what was going to happen in about three seconds.
McGonagall bent over Lily when suddenly the red-head tackled the teacher down. She had two options of what to tell James to do. But suddenly, the guilt took control and her affections for James fought down her urge to stop the Marauders' prank. This, and a sudden mad rush of mischievousness had Lily pinning down McGonagall and screaming, "NOW JAMES! LIGHT THE FUSE!"
There were many things James could have said in that second. But neither 'Thank you' nor 'Marry me' seemed appropriate at the moment, so James simply brought new meaning to the phrase 'Actions speak louder than words'.
He grabbed his wand, yelled 'LUMOS!' and brushed it over the fuse on top of the filling cabinet.
McGonagall, looking rather dazed and mussed as she sat up, took one look at the sparking fuse and immediately went to try putting it out. But it was no use, and James knew it. It was a no-snuff fuse. Once it was lit, there was no stopping it.
Lily stood up, grabbed her own wand and stuffed it in her jeans. She took once glance at the Transfiguration Teacher and then one at James, who offered her a small smile.
Then McGonagall rounded on them, with all malevolence of a mad dog.
Without a second thought on the matter, Freckles and Prongs bolted out of the office.
What happened next, both Lily and James would agree, was just like an action scene out of a movie, with the world falling around their ears. The corridor was full of people (all girls), yet no one seemed to take notice of them as they sprinted past. In fact, the other students didn't even seem to see them at all. Their eyes were for an entirely different matter. One of considerably larger proportions.
Yes, we mean the fireworks.
Each room, closet, tapestry, and window exploded with fireworks, setting of a cacophony of sound and color that brought instant pandemonium to the hall. Teachers ran pell mell, unsure which to try and do first, get the students out or put out the fireworks.
As each box of fireworks exploded the girls squealed as something splattered across their skin and hair, wet and rather sticky: permanent paint of many colors.
Between the screams, running footfalls, explosions, and bits of firework debris flying everywhere, one could say that the situation was completely out of control. Others would say the prank was going exactly according to plan. But no matter what opinion was given, it was clear the Marauders had outdone themselves again.
James looked back at it and whistled, punching the air and whooping as the fireworks continued down the hallway—classroom by classroom-- towards him and Lily. Not wanting to get splattered with ink, James grabbed the red-head's hand and pulled her up the staircase, just as McGonagall rounded the corner, screeching "GET THEM!"
Lily vaguely heard the sound of wings flapping and cursed; the vultures had been sent after the two of them.
"TURN LEFT!" James roared, yanking Lily after them. All around them fireworks were going off and causing more discord and din by the second. Yet it didn't stop James from rounding on Lily as they turned the corner.
"You're a Marauderess?!" He shouted disbelievingly, feeling more questioning then confusing. "You're a Marauderess and you never told me?!"
"I believe that's the whole point of a secret identity, James!" Lily yelled back before flicking her wand over her shoulder and yelling. "Petrificus totalus!" at one of the vultures.
"Nice shot." He grunted as they mounted a level of stairs.
"Thanks."
A pause, more explosions and screaming.
"I just can't believe it!" James yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "All this time, you were our sworn enemy. And we never managed to catch you!"
"Hey, there have been some close calls." Lily huffed, clutching at a cramp at her stomach; they were still running at top speed.
James heard a heavy flap of wings and yelled, "Lily duck!" just as the raptors descended on the red-head's shoulders and hoisted her up.
Lily screamed and kicked her feet, but the talons would not relinquish their grip. James whipped his wand out and shouted, "Impedimenta!" sending the vultures flying off as Lily fell fifteen feet onto the staircase, crumpling at the bottom.
"Lily!" James ran over to her. "Oh, God, I've killed her. Why did I do that? Stupidstupidstupidstupid."
"Ugh…" The red-head rolled over.
"Lils? Talk to me! How many fingers?" He held up a hand.
"Um…three."
James nodded, "You're head is alright then. Okay, let's go."
Lily started to stand up, but then cried out, clutching her ankle. James knelt by her again.
"I think my ankle is broken. Or sprained." She grunted heavily, wincing as James examined it.
"Okay." The Head Boy racked his brains for another plan. He could leave her here to the unfortunate wrath of McGonagall, or he could force her to walk with a bad ankle, or he could carry her. "Get on my back, Lily."
"You can't carry me, James." Lily said flatly. "I won't let you."
"Look," James said agitatedly, "We don't have time to play domestic couple and argue about this. Either you get on my back or get eaten alive by McGonagall."
The red-head looked conflictedly down the hall; hearing screams and shrieks from the Transfiguration professor and then back at James, his hazel eyes imploring her to listen to him. Lily sighed.
"Alight," She struggled to stand, "Hoist me up."
James swung her on his back and she locked her limbs around him. He turned to grin at her. "You cover for the extermination of the vultures, okay?"
She nodded, tucking her chin on his shoulder and whispering in his ear (Which James believed to be very distracting), "Okay."
And then they were off, James sprinting with the tiny Lily on his back, narrowly missing some fireworks that were going off and splattering paint anywhere.
"Where are we headed?" Lily shouted above the sound.
"The Room of Requirement, to set free the guys, who you so graciously imprisoned." James answered back shortly.
Lily sighed. "They're not there."
James stopped and turned to her so their noses were almost touching, "What?!"
"We programmed the room only to open when the Marauders prank went off!" Lily explained. "But for some reason, Gracie and Emma—the other Marauderesses-- saw fit to not capture you. That's why I came after you, because you weren't supposed to be prancing about."
"Gracie and Emma are in on this too?" James asked conversationally, changing his navigational tactics and taking another staircase, this time down. If they could get to the Heads Dorms and hide out until the Prankwar score was tallied that night…
"Of course." Lily explained, "Frown and Midnight."
Pieces to an unexplained puzzle were clicking so understandably now. "So, you're Freckles?"
"Guilty." The red-head confirmed. "Turn right, James. No, RIGHT!"
James wheeled around. "Quit being the backseat driver!"
"Sorry, but I don't trust your ways of getting about this castle!"
"I'm a Marauder." He huffed.
"And I'm a Marauderess."
A firework went off right behind them, causing Lily to yelp and bury her face in James' neck, which was even more distracting and caused his heart rate to triple.
"Erm…Lils?" James began uneasily, not sure what he wanted her to do: stay right there and risk him dying of a coronary or move and risk losing half his adrenaline.
"Sorry." She pulled back and paused. "And James?"
"Yeah?" He breathed heavily, taking them up another staircase.
"I know that you know who the Marauderesses are and will probably not want to keep that fact to yourself, but could you at least wait until the Prankwar is over to do that?"
James Potter was at a point where he honestly didn't care who won the Prankwar (Well, not THAT much, at least.) or who the Marauderesses were. He just wanted to get the hell away from McGonagall and a lifetime in detention. He nodded vigorously, earning a winning grin from Lily.
Suddenly, cheers erupted from around them. The Hogwarts portraits were cheering Lily and James on, sprinting along with them and shouting things like, 'That's a girl!' and 'Way to go Potter!'. Even the ghosts, almost transparent, were whooping and kicking up their heels in joy, shouting, "Run away, Marauder and Marauderess!"
James saw the door to the Gryffindor common room and heard Lily crow in relief. It was feet away when suddenly, the Portrait hole opened and who should come sprinting out for them, but Gracie, Emma, Sirius, Remus and Peter.
Both duo and quintet stared at each other for a flat minute before screaming, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
McGonagall shrieked again, rounding the corner and James yelled, "We don't have time to explain. We just need to run!"
No one failed to comply or agree with that statement. The groups joined as one and took off for the nearest escape point; the astronomy tower. Everyone was gabbling at once and it suddenly seemed pointless to even bother to explain the situation because no one could hear each other through the sound of explosions and screams and voices.
But Lily's ears did hear the wing beats behind her and decided that one thing did need to be said. "VULTURES!"
James felt Lily's weight lessen as the birds lifted her again and let out a strangled yell as he grabbed hold of her waist, motioning for Sirius and the others to the same.
After a short struggle, the vultures gave up and let the prankers tumble to the floor. Lily cried out again as she hit the floor and Gracie let forth a stream of curses.
"Get up!" Remus shouted. "The madwoman is on her way!"
"No need to tell me twice!" Sirius shouted back, offering Gracie a hand up. "C'mon, Marauderesses, no need to lag behind!"
James looked over Lily's shoulder once she had climbed on his back once more, wincing. "I suppose you guys know?"
"It didn't take them long!" Emma yelled as the group returned to sprinting. "The Room of Requirement suddenly opened and the guys came pouring out. Grace and I tried to sneak off to the bathroom, but they caught us and forced us to explain ourselves I guess Remus had had a haunch about us, Lils."
Lily sighed and leaned into James a little more; all the work on keeping the secret for nothing.
"Up the staircase!" Peter demanded shrilly, leading the group.
"They tried to fight us, but our charm was too much for them!" Sirius said breezily.
"My arse!" Gracie yelled. "They had to threaten to turn us in before we explained anything about what exactly was going on."
"But in turn," Remus assured, "We promised not to tell anyone about who the Marauderesses are until the prankwar score is revealed tonight."
The group was quiet for a while, concentrating on the long winding staircase and resuming pace when they got to the top, going down the long hallway. The paintings and ghosts continued to cheer them on all the way.
"Looks like we're famous." James told Lily, who—despite her immense pain—laughed.
The Marauders and Marauderesses suddenly stopped, lost for words as they came upon a blank wall.
"SHIT!" Gracie and Sirius yelled simultaneously. "A dead end!"
"There has to be another way out!" Lily hopped off James' shoulders and limped over to the wall. "A secret passageway, maybe?"
"We never thought to look for one here!" James answered back. "And don't put weight on that foot, Lils."
"It's not my fault you let me fall to the floor!" The red-head snapped irritably. "And not my fault that we've been running and screaming ourselves hoarse for the last ten minutes since you lit the bloody fuse on your bloody effing prank!"
"Because you told me too!" James defended.
"Wait a minute!" Gracie marched between the two of them. "You mean this whole time that Em and I let James not be captured that the two of you have been frolicking about and nothing else?!"
"What were we supposed to be doing?" Lily yelled at the brunette. "I was trying to capture the bloody prat!"
James glanced at the end of the hallway, where he could hear the distant explosions going off.
"You weren't supposed to capture him!" Emma joined in on the yelling.
Lily winced as she paced back and forth angrily. "Then what the hell was I supposed to do?!"
A pause; everyone but James looked at Lily like she was the biggest idiot on the face of the earth.
"Hm…I don't know…" Sirius began. "I think the word SNOGGING would cover it."
"Snogging?" James asked irritably. "What does snogging have to do with any of this?"
"You see?" Gracie shouted, walking up to stand next to Sirius and gesturing furiously between Lily and James. "The two of you are so thick headed that you couldn't have possibly gotten together on your own, so Emma and I decided to leave James out of the equation of capture so Lily would have to deal with him and maybe you two would finally get the message that you are both crazy in love with each other and do some snogging!"
Lily blushed and James looked at the floor. "Guys, we're just mates."
Gracie blinked at them and then turned to Sirius. "You know what, Black? I changed my mind. You're not the biggest dumb arse in the world. They are."
Lily suddenly lost all control of her emotions and confusion and everything else that was racing through her mind. Her ankle was throbbing, her head was pulsing, and it sure as hell didn't look like they'd be getting out of this argument any time soon.
"I can't believe this! We're in the middle of a bloody prankwar, running from our stark raving mad teacher and trying to save ourselves, and you're worried about whether or not I have snogged James today?!"
"YES!" They all screamed at her, except for James, who was still staring at the floor.
"It's like this, Lily and James." Emma explained as she paced between the two of them, "Before I die, I want to see the two of you admit your bloody feelings because we," She gestured at herself, Sirius, Remus, Gracie, and Peter, "Have been putting up with your antics for months now. And if someone—I don't care which one of you does it first—doesn't admit their feelings for the other right now, then you neither of you ever will."
Lily opened her mouth, but then stopped when she saw Emma's expression. She glanced at James, who was looking at her with that rare emotion again.
"Say it." Gracie demanded.
"Say what?" Lily asked, feeling ridiculous. Why here and now, of all the bloody times and places?
"Say you want to snog James." Sirius answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Lily stood there, feeling more embarrassed and flustered than she ever had her entire life. It was comical, how they were forcing her to do this against her own will, and in the bluntest of ways.
"I have to say those words exactly?" Lily asked, hoping that wasn't the case.
"DO IT!" Sirius yelled.
The red-head gulped and shook her head, feeling utterly stupid and small as she faced the Head Boy.
"I want to snog you, James." Lily said quietly, biting her lip and clenching her fists.
James looked at her for a moment and then back at his friends, hardly hearing his own ears. "Do I really have to say it like that as well?"
"Yes!" Sirius yelled. "It sounds less mushy gushy."
James rolled his eyes and then looked at Lily, balancing on one foot in her 'Marauderess' t-shirt and jeans and staring at him. And then he smiled, and laughed at the absurdity of this situation.
"I want to snog you, Lily." James said flatly, coloring. "If you didn't know that before, well, you do now."
The room breathed awkwardness, but Gracie burst into cheers and applause all the same. "Good, now you two lovebirds can organize a date and stop being so stupid." A pause. "You guys can hug each other, now. Save the actual snogging for when we've left the room."
Remind me to never let my friends intervene on my love life ever again. Lily told herself, blushing and limping over to James while looking up at him. He grinned down at her, a dazzling grin that she couldn't help but copy.
She hugged him, and instantly the awkwardness that the friends had created melted away. It was just James, Lily thought. A James that, once this craziness was over with, she would be dating. He lifted her off the floor so her weight was no longer on her ankle and pulled her closer.
They let go, but Lily kept her body close to James' as she faced her friends with a furious glare. Bloody meddlers.
"Happy now?" She asked. "We hugged."
Sirius gasped overdramatically and then grinned knowingly at Gracie. "And I suppose you're still just mates?"
Lily opened her mouth to answer that question but then stopped, unsure of what to say. Somehow, saying the words 'I want to snog you' didn't feel exactly like committing to anything more than just mates. She locked eyes with James, who was bearing the expression of a person on an overdose of laughing gas, and was sort of happy she wasn't the only one who felt that the floor was spinning. How was she to answer that question?
The Head Girl faced her Head Boy and put a hesitant smile on her face. "Well?"
James was surely going to faint, or, at least, find himself waking from an absolutely wonderful dream. NONONONONONONONONONONONO. His mind screamed the answer to Sirius' question a thousand times over in a single second. All he had to do was open his mouth and say one word…
"THERE YOU ARE!" Came a voice from the end of the hallway from whence the group had just come. McGonagall stood victoriously. "Marauderesses and Marauders both!"
In an instant she disarmed the group and began to leisurely stride down the hallway towards them.
"Shall we go to the Headmaster's office, now then?" She asked, looking like a slightly crazed banshee.
No one answered, only standing stalk still. Right now, there were no sides. It was just prankers against teacher.
"We're going to have to go with her." Emma muttered.
"Because we have so many other options, of course." Gracie muttered sarcastically.
"Goodbye world!" Peter sobbed into his sweater as Remus patted him on the shoulder.
Sirius sighed. "My dear Mother's going to be pleased with me when she hears about this one."
Lily didn't say much, merely shaking on her broken ankle. There goes her career as an auror. There goes her near flawless record. With each step McGonagall made towards them, Lily saw a week's worth of detentions added to her list.
Then a hand slipped inside of hers and Lily looked up to see James giving her a small smile. A surge of reassurance rushed through her. It was going to be alright. At least, it would with James by her side.
And together they turned to face their ultimate doom as Professor McGonagall led them to the Headmaster's office.
A/N: I am aware that this is a rather horrible cliffhanger but here's the thing. It's a VERY long chapter (10, 719 words). And the second to last chapter as well , so I thought I would put you guys on the edge of your seats, alright? Because I happen to be very sadistic when it comes to ending chapters. :P You may also note the horrible awkwardness of Lily and James and their confessions of affections. It's on purpose people. I would never pull something as gruesome as that if it wasn't for a reason. It's going to play into the story later and I won't just leave it at that. Pinky swear.
So, do leave a review (Is it too much to ask to get to 300 hundred reviews? Please?), because I rather like those and tell me which prank you liked the best. ALSO, check my profile out for information on when the next chapter is coming out. I'm leaving town for two weeks so I apologize in advance for the long wait for the last chapter.