The Marauders found themselves with quite a bit of potion work in a short amount of time. After developing their prank idea and pouring over textbooks, it was decided that the best way to proceed was by hair-growth potions. They'd also expanded to include a number of charms, but those had become Anjanette's department, leaving the boys with the brewing. Between this, and the Animagus potion, they were confident that they would be able to handle anything Slughorn might throw at them for the rest of the year (maybe even the rest of school).
While Sirius was passionate about their forthcoming prank, his main priority was getting the Animagus potion started. The instructions said it would take six weeks of steady brewing to complete, and the longer they waited, the longer Remus would suffer. They had already lost time in getting their ingredients together, and they needed to finish before the winter holidays, not trusting the potion on its own for a week in the empty castle.
Thankfully, the day after November's full moon was a Saturday, and so James, Sirius, and Peter were able to get up early in the morning to set up shop. They didn't try to crowd together under the cloak, instead covering the cauldron full of ingredients so that no early risers would be suspicious as to what they were doing. They made their way down to the first floor as nonchalantly as possible, and when they were right outside the girl's bathroom, they took a moment to scout for anyone who might see them. When the coast was declared clear, they slipped inside.
Immediately they were met with the sound of crying, and they froze. But seconds later, the crying stopped, and a ghostly head appeared through one of the stall doors. "Who's there?" The rest of the girl phased through the door and floated over to the group. "This is the girl's room. You're not supposed to be in here," she said in a squeaky voice, circling the trio. All signs of her sobbing moments before had disappeared, and she smiled mischievously. "Though it is nice to have…visitors," she murmured, hovering close to Peter. The pudgy boy cringed.
"Mo-…ah, Myrtle," Sirius started. She flew around to float in front of him, deep in his personal space. "We were hoping we could use your, um, lovely bathroom for a project." James had already removed the cloak from the cauldron.
Myrtle's face fell. "I see. That's all that anyone ever wants with my bathroom. No one comes in unless they don't want to be found!" She let out a wail and flew high in the air. "Well, maybe I don't want to keep your little secret! Maybe I should just go to Professor Dumbledore right now!"
"No!" all three shouted simultaneously. Myrtle frowned down at them, still unhappy, but waiting for them to try to convince her. James and Sirius turned to each other, expressions mirrored in their hope that the other would have an idea. But before they could think of something, Peter stepped forward.
"Myrtle," he started quietly. "This is really important for our friend Remus. S-So if you let us use your bathroom…We'll try to get more people to come in so you have some company."
"Only after we're done, though," James added quickly.
Myrtle took a moment to consider this, coming down from her lofty position to hover in front of them again. Her smile was already returning as she approached Peter. "I like this one." She tried to snuggle up to him, but wound up passing through his shoulder. He shivered. "Fine. I'll keep quiet. As long as I get to see you more often," she said, looking Peter up and down. James and Sirius barely held back snickers.
With Myrtle pacified (one could also say completely and utterly distracted by her infatuation with Peter), the boys were able to get their brewing station set up. They had a portable cauldron burner and a flat piece of wood to prep their ingredients. They hid the cauldron in one of the stalls, putting up a fake 'Out of Order' sign on the door.
"We're going to have to check on it every day," James said, reading the directions he'd copied from the Animagus book. "When it's blue we have to add the boomslang within a day. Four days after that we need to add the cat hairs, which have to be cut into exactly one inch pieces. If it starts to turn green that we need to add some bat blood, and that if it turns purple we have to start over."
"Good thing, because I don't think I could drink it if it was purple," Peter said, peering into the cauldron.
"Aren't there purple Muggle drinks?" Sirius asked.
Peter thought for a moment. "Well, there's grape soda, I guess."
"It doesn't matter," James said. "We can't let it turn purple or we'll have to start over and that means getting those ingredients from Hogsmeade again."
"Right. Then we'll have to take turns checking on it whenever we can," Sirius said. "I'm sure between the three of us we'll be able to keep a good watch."
It took a while to get the starting ingredients into the cauldron, especially because most of them needed to be prepped in meticulous ways. By the time they were satisfied to leave the potion alone with Myrtle, lunch was already being served in the Great Hall. Sirius found himself a bit wary, even after the ghost girl promised not to say a word, and especially because of the fatal color changes that might occur. He knew he wasn't going to be able to stop himself from checking on it before they went to visit Remus in the hospital wing.
They took places at their usual spot along the Gryffindor table. Peter immediately began loading up his plate. "You were great in there with Myrtle, Pete," James commented. "She really took a shine to you."
Peter flushed a little. "I don't mind letting her be chummy if it helps with the potion," he said. "But she's not really my type." He glanced down the table, at the end of the bench, where Severus, Lily, Anjanette, and Regulus were eating together. They had taken to doing so since the beginning of the year, something Sirius had mixed feelings about.
James's eyes widened, but the emotion in his hazel orbs was conflicted, trying to decide between intrigued and furious. "If you're talking about Evans, I might have to strangle you. But if you're talking about Anjanette, I think Remus will strangle you."
Peter was saved from a response by an interruption. "Remus isn't interested in her," Sirius said quickly, surprising even himself.
James quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't he? I thought that's why you became friends with her, because he wants to ask her out."
Sirius frowned. "Girls and boys can be friends without dating. Plus Anjanette is cool. And weird. But mostly cool."
"Yeah, but they have a lot in common," Peter pointed out. "They like to read, they're good at homework, they do that weird silent talking thing-"
"Since when does that mean that Remus fancies her? All those things they have in common just make them good friends," Sirius said firmly. While his mouth was perfectly sound in this argument, he found his head wondering why he'd suddenly turned sides on the issue.
James and Peter exchanged a look before the former put up his hands in surrender. "Think what you want. But since I don't consider you to be much of a romance expert, I'm going to need to collect my own info." At that moment, Anjanette stood and headed in their direction. She took a seat next to Sirius.
"Missed you lot at breakfast this morning. Where's Remus?" she asked.
"He's asleep still," James answered easily, leaning across the table with his hands folded together. "But since you bring him up…Is there anything going on between you two?" Sirius nearly had to hold onto his chin to keep his jaw from dropping. His heart pounding was even harder to control.
"If you mean romantically, absolutely not," she said simply and Sirius let out a puff of air through his nose. "We're just friends."
James's devious excitement had fallen into a pout, while Peter had a glint of hope in his cloudy blue eyes. "That's no fun." He sat back and started picking at his food, then suddenly sprang forward again. "Would you date him if he asked you out?"
Anjanette shook her head. "Neither of us are interested in that way."
"How do you know that he's not interested in you?" Peter asked quietly. She quirked a blonde brow, and that was an explanation enough for all of them.
As lunch continued on, the conversation turned away from speculated romance and onto their plans for the big prank. They had decided to play their prank right before the winter holidays, as they wanted to add a festive spin. They also believed that if they were caught (which they had no plans of happening) that the Christmas spirit would compel the staff to be lenient.
"My dad turned me onto how to get into the kitchens. The question is," James said, "how are we going to get into the other common rooms?"
"We have two of four with Anjanette," Sirius said. "Maybe I could convince Reg to help out."
"He'll want assurance that his involvement is unknown," Anjanette said, causing the elder Black brother to give her a sideways look.
"That only leaves Hufflepuff." James looked over to their House table. A few second years happened to be looking in their direction and when they caught his eye, they giggled. He let a smirk spread over his lips. "I know exactly how we're going to get in there."
.:~I~S~S~:.
Sirius was usually on board with James's ideas. Anything that was prank related, anything that involved humiliating Severus Snape, generally anything in the name of marauding. But this was crossing a line that he hadn't even realized existed for him.
"No way," he said firmly as they made their way to the hospital wing.
"Come on, Sirius!" James pleaded. "It's the only way we're going to find out how to get into Hufflepuff."
"I could think of at least three other ways we could figure out how to get into Hufflepuff," Sirius argued. "Why don't you do it?"
"Believe me, I would," James said. "But I can't risk Evans thinking that I'm unavailable if she finally changes her mind. Besides, you haven't really found anyone to fancy yet. Maybe this'll kill two birds with one stone." He waggled his eyebrows.
Sirius couldn't believe that James was actually suggesting this. Much as he loved pranking, pretending that he fancied someone just to try to sneak into their common room was extreme.
"I'm not doing it," he said as they walked through the door. Remus was awake and he smiled at his friends when they came to his bed.
"Doing what?" he asked curiously as the other three boys took their seats.
"James wants Sirius to date a Hufflepuff girl so that we can find out how to get into their common room for our prank," Peter said. Both dark-haired boys put fingers to their lips and shushed him. Thankfully Madam Pomfrey wasn't in the room.
Remus suddenly felt a spike in his heartrate. He didn't let this show on his face, however, and turned to Sirius with a raised brow. "You're not really going to do that are you?" he asked.
"No, I'm not," Sirius said before James could argue in his favor. "We'll just follow someone under the cloak to find out. It's a lot easier."
"But not as much fun," James pointed out.
"But morally unacceptable," Remus retorted. "And I'm proud of you, Sirius, for innately knowing that." Sirius beamed and Remus gave him a small smile, relieved that he wasn't planning to go through with this.
James looked to Peter, hoping for some support, but he shook his head. The messy-haired boy sighed in defeat. "Fine. We'll do it your way."
The group fell into some light chatting, but after a while, Madam Pomfrey returned to shoo the visitors away. Remus had been feeling a bit drained anyway, and hoped that maybe he could get a little more peaceful rest before he went back to the Tower and was surrounded by his noisy comrades.
He laid back in the bed and closed his eyes with a sigh. They were pretty much set with their prank, only needing to coordinate when they had to start brewing the potion with the day they would actually play their practical joke. Even though it wouldn't be until sometime in the next month, Remus was already feeling tired thinking about the night they had ahead of them. Not only would they have to sneak into the other three Houses, plus get Anjanette to go up the Gryffindor girls' stairs for them, they also had to lug their potions down to the kitchens so they could slip them into the next morning's beverages.
Sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it, but then the prankster part of his mind would remind him that yes, it was. It was thrilling to sneak around, bend the rules, and surprise everyone at once with something totally unexpected. Plus he loved the way that Sirius's face lit up whenever they were making mischief.
Remus remembered abruptly the way he'd felt when Peter had said that Sirius might fake-date a Hufflepuff for the prank. He didn't know exactly why it had bothered him the way it had. Of course there was the fact that it was just generally wrong to lead someone on to get information, but it was more than that. He hated the idea of sharing Sirius with a girl.
He knew that that was a terrible way to feel. Sirius might have been against dating someone for the selfish reasons, but he was bound to genuinely fancy someone at some point. What with his and James's forays into puberty, girls were already fawning over them. And if Sirius did find someone he liked it was Remus's job as his friend to be happy for him. Instead he felt jealous just at the thought, and he didn't fully understand why. The only logical explanation was that he didn't want to lose out on time with his first, and best friend because said friend was out snogging a girl somewhere.
So far anyone that they'd met and become closer to over their time at Hogwarts hadn't affected their dynamic, but it had already crossed his mind more than once that if Sirius ever did get a girlfriend, things would change. He would want to go to her place for the holidays, eat with her, and visit her over the summer. She'd be the one that he talked to when he had a problem and the first one that he wanted to share exciting news with. He would probably even give her a nickname. Essentially, she'd replace Remus in every way.
Remus frowned, shaking his head. This was ridiculous, and he knew it. Sirius would never let a girl come between them. They were best friends, they had a much stronger bond than anything the other boy might develop with some girl. He had nothing to worry about.
.:~I~S~S~:.
The last Quidditch match before the holidays was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. The Gryffindor boys were sitting in their section of the stands, eager to see the results of the match. Not only would the winner likely be their biggest competition for the cup, but with Regulus as Seeker for his House's team, the game would essentially come down to the match up of Sirius's brother and their female friend.
As the two teams met in the center of the pitch, Anjanette looked across at Regulus and gave him a small smile. After working together in Potions all this time, it would be interesting to have to face off instead. But she was more than ready as her record so far was impeccable.
The players mounted their brooms, hovering just off the ground until the whistle was blown and the Quaffle thrown. All eyes in the stands were on the Chasers, Beaters, and Keepers, but neither Anjanette nor Regulus let themselves be distracted, only interested in catching a glimpse of gold.
"This'll be close," Sirius said. "Both of them are pretty sharp."
"My money's on Anjanette," James said. "She's got that creepy stare, like she's seeing the future or something." He tried to imitate the impassive expression that she often wore but failed.
"Yeah, she's really good," Peter agreed. "She had your game done in ten minutes."
James's face became glum. "Thanks for reminding me."
"I don't know, mates. Regulus is pretty on the ball himself," Remus commented. "Plus he has that natural flying ability that seems to run in your family," he added, gesturing to Sirius.
The pureblood beamed. "That's true. He won't let me down." He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "GO REG!"
Regulus somehow managed to be in just the right spot to hear this above the roaring crowd, and he rolled his eyes with a fond smile.
The match went on for over an hour, with absolutely no sign of the Snitch. Neither Seeker made any false movements, only calmly circling the stadium every few minutes to get better views, and the scores remained close. The audience was becoming eerily quiet, knowing the Snitch just had to appear soon. Some of the students who were less enthusiastic about the sport were leaving, complaining of the cold. Those who remained were being given hot chocolate and butterbeer, bundling their robes in more closely and tightening their scarves.
Then suddenly, both Anjanette and Regulus shot off like fireworks. The crowd came alive again, sounding twice the size they'd been when full. The two opposing players soared high, up and out of the stadium, disappearing as the rest of the game continued as it had been. The patrons held their breath, wondering if one of the pair would return with the flying gold ball in their hands. However, the Snitch was the first to return to the pitch, followed by the Ravenclaw and Slytherin, neck and neck in their pursuit.
The Snitch brought them low to the ground, skimming over the grass, but the Seekers had no problem following. It brought them high above the stands again, even underneath them, but it couldn't lose its tail. The fans were wild as they watched the chase, though none could be certain how it would end. The Snitch seemed to realize it had quite a challenge with these two, and upped the stakes.
The winged ball dashed in spirals, zig-zagged in all directions, and finally zoomed along the pitch ten feet off the ground. There was a sudden sense that this was the final movement in the Seekers' dance. Their fingers were in line, both stretched as far as possible, until Regulus pushed up with his legs to let himself lean forward more. He snagged the Snitch, but began to lose his balance. He swerved to his left, knocking into Anjanette, who subsequently fumbled on her own broom.
"AJ!" Regulus snagged her Quidditch robes to try to stop her from falling, but only made things worse. She flopped towards him and they both careened downwards, skidding into the grass below. Madam Hooch blew the whistle as the announcer declared the win for Slyhterin, and the rest of both teams descended to check on their Seekers.
Anjanette sat up, rubbing her head. She could feel the burn under her robes where they crash landing had scraped up her arms, but otherwise she felt fine. Regulus popped up a second later as the two teams surrounded them.
Madam Hooch reached down to help both of them up. "Are you two alright?" she asked, eyes scanning for any visible damages. The most she could see was the grass stains on their robes.
"Fine," Anjanette answered, waving a hand. She pushed herself to standing and picked up her broom, which was unscathed. "All good."
"I'm good too," Regulus said, getting up as well. He still had the Snitch in his hand.
"Excellent," Madam Hooch said, giving them each a nod. "Wouldn't want two of the best players in the league to be out of commission." Both Seekers smiled, at her and then each other.
The Slytherin team then came up to congratulate Regulus, clapping him on the shoulder and lifting him high to carry him back to the changing tent. Anjanette's team, while disappointed in the loss, was still proud of her efforts, and they praised her on the way to get changed. She didn't feel any sort of personal closeness with them, but she did like the feeling of belonging she got with these few members of her own House.
After changing back into her regular clothes, the Ravenclaw girl was on her way back to the castle when jogging footsteps appeared behind her. She turned to see Regulus and paused so he could catch up.
"Hey." He took a few breaths when he got to her. "Sorry. I wanted to catch you before you went back to your dorm." She didn't say anything, just looking at him with her lips slightly turned up at each end. He took that as a cue to continue. "Um…I just wanted to apologize for almost making you fall before. Sometimes I try to do things I've seen Sirius do in his games, but I guess I don't fly quite as well."
Anjanette shrugged. "You won the game. It was worth it in the end." She put a hand out. "Good match." Regulus smiled, cheeks rosy, and shook her hand.
They looked at each other silently, until Regulus cleared his throat. "I should, uh, probably get back," he said, jerking his thumb in the direction he'd come from. "They're still celebrating in the tent." He turned to go.
"You called me AJ," she said before he could leave. He looked back at her. "Right before we fell."
"Oh. Yeah, sorry." Regulus scratched the back of his neck. "I know you don't like nicknames. Sirius told me about the balloon-head thing with James." He shifted back imperceptibly. "Please don't do that to me."
Anjanette smiled and shook her head. "I like it." She gave him a small smile.
Regulus blinked. "Oh. Okay." He grinned, then waved as he returned to his team's tent. Anjanette watched for a few seconds before continuing up to the castle, glad that the cold masked her flush.
