I do not own anything in the Harry Potter universe.
"JAMES POTTER! HOW DARE YOU!" the very angry redhead yelled from her seat in Professor Slughorn's class. Everyone in the class had abandoned their cauldrons to stare at Lily's hair which continued to grow and was roughly ten meters long. Remus and Severus began to roll it carefully around the desks, trying to avoid singeing her locks.
"I, um, I'm sorry Lily. I wasn't trying to hit you. I... Severus was my target." James muttered in a slightly abashed voice. He couldn't stop the smile that played at the corners of his mouth though. Anyone could see that he was not too concerned with the mistake. Lengths of auburn hair were now spread throughout the aisles of the classroom, and the students were wading through knee-high piles of the stuff. Professor Slughorn stood at his desk and surveyed the scene with a jovial smile.
"Not to worry, not to worry, my dear." He said as he whisked his wand out and performed the counter-jinx. Lily's hair promptly stopped growing. Gryffindors and Slytherins alike sighed their relief as they were beginning to feel trapped by the long strands. "I don't suppose you want to keep this as a new style?" Slughorn chortled inviting the rest of the class to laugh along. Lily's cheeks burned with rage and embarrassment.
"I will just clean this up a bit then, shall I? Now was it about shoulder-length?" Slughorn waited for Lily's nod before making a quick cut with his wand. Lily's hair was magically snipped off right above her shoulders. She quickly ran her hands through it, determining the length. James realized that it was a little bit shorter than it had been before, but it framed her face nicely.
Professor Slughorn looked quite pleased with himself as he vanished the rest of the hair in the classroom. "A former student of mine, Barret Barba, who was quite skilled as a magical stylist. Anytime I need a new look I go by his salon, and he fixes me up for free. Same man who does all of the styles for Celestina Warbeck. I dare say I picked up a few things from Barret along the way..." Professor Slughorn didn't seem to realize that no one was listening to or impressed by his connections to celebrity stylists.
Lily had resolutely tossed her hair back over her shoulder and was firmly staring at the now empty cauldron she shared with Severus. James was still trying to get her attention and apologize. When James resorted to throwing tiny pieces of parchment at her, Lily finally turned around. Her eyes blazed with fury. "It wouldn't have been any better if you had hit my friend James Potter! You are a bully, and I don't want anything to do with you!" She whispered in a harsh voice.
Professor Slughorn finally seemed to realize that the class was more interested in the drama between the young Gryffindors than in his continued speech about former students. He cleared his throat expectantly and waited until the class had settled down. "Mr. Potter has already apologized so just 10 points from Gryffindor should do it. And I think 10 points should go to Slytherin for Mr. Snape's kind action in keeping his friend's hair from the flame. I think most of your cauldrons are empty or over-cooked at this point so we will just leave the lesson there. I must ask for fewer hijinks next lesson so that we can actually finish a potion, my boy." Slughorn finished with an exaggerated wink towards James.
"Sir!" Sirius said standing from the seat by James that he had lounged in all class while enjoying the chaos. "Remus helped keep her hair safe too." Peter hurriedly nodded to back up his friend. Professor Slughorn just chuckled as he continued to pack up his potion ingredients.
"Trying to get the points back for Gryffindor? Well, I'm afraid I didn't see Mr. Lupin, my boys. He will just have to do some other good deed to earn back Mr. Potter's deficit. Maybe a few good deeds the way that boy is going" Professor Slughorn smiled at Sirius as the boys packed up their belongings. Sirius looked like he wanted to press the issue, but Remus grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him out.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't helping Lily to get points anyway. Besides James already earned 10 points in transfiguration for turning his beetle into a button." The blonde-haired boy assured Sirius as he pulled him out of the classroom.
"Geez, you are strong for someone so small!" Sirius complained as he tried to rip his arm away from Remus. "What are you the Hulk?" Remus let him go with a surprised grin.
"How do you know about the Hulk?" He asked in disbelief. Remus had read some of the comics during a brief month where his parents thought he would be safer living in America.
"I picked up a comic in a shop that had it for muggle studies. Mainly to make my parents angry. I succeeded." Sirius said with a satisfied smirk. He had really enjoyed the reaction of his mother when she realized he was reading something meant for muggle children. "Oy! James come over here! We have a new nickname for Remus. He is now the mighty Remus-hulk!" Both boys enjoyed the confusion on James' face as he walked up beside them. They explained themselves as the four boys walked up to the Great Hall. They passed Lily and Severus in the corridor and chuckled at the pair that was so obviously furious. Lily pulled Severus hand away from his wand when he tried to curse them, and everyone but Remus laughed again.
"I see you are keeping your pet Slytherin under control!" Sirius shouted back to Lily as they turned a corner. James obnoxiously high-fived him.
"I just wanted to get revenge on you myself Potter. You too, Black!" Lily yelled back. The boys were still laughing, but they moved a little faster towards the Great Hall after that. They had all seen how the witch took care of Morgan, a third year who thought it was fun to haze the girl before their class last week. Somehow, they though her threat might not be an empty one.
A/N: This was a fun little chapter to write! I love when their pranks go sideways. Let me know if you have any thoughts or feedback. Thanks for reading!