On the Hogwarts Express, Harry sat with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Fred and George.
"Was it my imagination or did Sirius spend a night in the dorm last month?" Ron asked.
"He was here," Harry said. "I freaked out over nothing so Remus called him."
"Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred, pulling out a pack of cards.
They played for a while before Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle entered their compartment.
"What are you doing here?" George asked.
"My dad wants me to come out of the same compartment as Harry," Draco explained. "He thinks if we pretend to be friends in public, people will forget what happened last summer."
"If we're pretending to be friends, you might as well join our game," Harry said.
After around five rounds, George asked when the prank war is this summer.
"July 19th until August 3rd," Harry said. "With my birthday in it as usual."
"You have prank wars?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Every summer," Harry said. "This will probably be our last one as Fred and George will probably have to work next summer."
When the train reached the platform, they emerged together as a big group. Harry was a little embarrassed about his behavior the last time he saw Sirius. He quietly walked over to him.
"I see you finally managed to teach him that Blacks don't show affection in public," Narcissa told Sirius.
"Oh, I forgot about that," Harry said cheerfully, hugging Sirius and planting a big wet kiss on his cheek. "I can't let anyone think I'm a good Black."
"How does your mother's portrait manage Harry's behaviors?" Narcissa asked.
"We keep it covered," Sirius said. "She yells sometimes, but it's not a big deal."
"Hey," Harry said, "we should try Remus's hex on your mother's picture."
"I'll tell Remus when he comes," Sirius said.
The first few weeks of summer passed quickly. On July 19th, Remus came early in the morning to start planning with Sirius.
"How do you do that hex that you did on Fred and George?" Harry asked.
"I can't tell you," Remus said, "or else you'll use it on me."
"No I won't," Harry said. "I want to do it on Sirius's mother."
"What should we make her say?" Remus asked.
"Every time she tries to yell, she should sing nursery rhymes," Harry said.
Not long after, Fred, George, and Ron arrived.
"These are extendable ears," George said. "We can use them to find out what they're planning."
The four boys positioned themselves around the ears.
"So, what ideas do you have?" they heard Remus ask.
"We could use spiders, snakes and lizards," Sirius suggested.
"That's first year level pranks," complained Remus. "Besides, Ron's boggart is a spider."
"Do you think we should still hold back?" Sirius said. "We haven't done anything too sophisticated yet."
"Their canary creams were very impressive," Remus said. "Do you think they would be good sports about flying pillows?"
"Where should they fly to?" Sirius asked.
"Away from them," Remus said. "They'll have to sleep without pillows. Maybe that's too cruel."
"Maybe we should make their food fly away from them," Sirius said.
"Considering that Harry was starved for ten years, I think it's a bit harsh," Remus said.
"Should we just turn them pink?" Sirius suggested.
"We changed their colors the first year," Remus said. "I don't think we have to hold back so much. I just don't want to traumatize Harry, especially after the year he had."
"Maybe we can have a dinosaur parade around the room during lunch," Sirius said.
"What's the big deal about a dinosaur?" Fred asked the others.
"I wish they wouldn't hold back so much," Harry said. "I want to see what they really know how to do."
"We could pretend not to notice their dinosaur," George said. "That will drive them crazy."
Lunch was an interesting event. A dinosaur walked around while they were eating. Fred, George, Ron and Harry pretended not to notice it. Sirius and Remus kept looking at each other, trying to figure out how the boys didn't see it. When lunch was over, the boys ran outside, feeling victorious.
"Let's try our puking pastilles next," George suggested.
"They're never going to take food from us again," Harry said.
"If we hide under your cloak and leave it in plain sight, they might try it," said Fred.
"We won't all fit under the cloak," Harry told them.
"We could try anyway," Ron said.
The four boys squeezed under the cloak. Their feet and legs were showing, but it didn't bother them. They put some puking pastilles on the table and hid behind the couch with the cloak over them. A while later, Sirius and Remus walked in.
"What do you think these candies would do?" Remus asked, smiling.
"Knowing Fred and George, something funny," Sirius said. "I loved those canary creams."
"I wasn't too crazy over the ton tongue toffees," Remus remembered.
"I thought it was funny," Sirius said.
"That's because you weren't the one who ate it," Remus reminded him.
"Okay, I'll try this one," Sirius said. "Should I try the orange or purple side first?"
Remus studied them carefully and examined them with his wand.
"The orange side has the hex," he finally said. "The purple side is the cure."
"That's slick!" Sirius said. "I wonder why they left the cure attached."
He cautiously bit into the orange side and started throwing up. He quickly took the purple side. Remus cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wand.
"That one wasn't funny," Sirius said. "I don't know why they thought of it."
"It was too funny," George protested from behind the couch. "It's how we plan on getting excused from class."
"You could come out now," Remus said.
The boys sheepishly came out from behind the couch.
"I don't want to see them in my classroom," Remus reminded them.
"Have another one," George said, taking out some fainting fancies.
"What do these do?" Sirius asked. "I'm not puking again, even if I feel fine now."
"Try it and you'll see," Fred said mischievously.
Remus carefully took a bite and fainted.
"How is he supposed to eat the other end if he's unconscious?" Sirius asked.
"I'll stick in his mouth for him," Fred said. "We're still trying to work it out."
"I think I'll have to teach students to test food this year," Remus said smiling after he got up.
"You're not a professor when you're in this house," Ron reminded him.
"Here, have another sweet," George said, taking out another package.
"How about if one of you try it instead?" suggested Sirius. "I don't like being a guinea pig."
"We tried them all on ourselves at home," Fred explained. "We had to make sure they're safe."
"What's it going to do to me?" Remus asked, reluctantly taking one.
When his nose started bleeding, he had his answer. He quickly bit the other end to stop the blood.
"Do you still think you need to hold back?" Harry asked.
Sirius and Remus looked at each other.
"Many of the pranks we did in school were cruel," Sirius said sheepishly. "I don't want to hurt you."
"The tongue hex you did on Fred and George this year was funny," Harry said. "I asked you to do the pictures on the wall. I don't think that's cruel."
"I'll do the pictures now," Remus said cheerfully.
Not long after, they all heard Sirius's mother singing Old McDonald.
The two weeks passed quickly with silly pranks. Remus did a few tongue hexes, causing the kids to say the strangest things. Fred and George eagerly tried out their new inventions on the two adult guinea pigs. They were surprised the last day when they heard Snape's voice coming from the fireplace.
"Is Remus here by any chance?" Snape asked.
"I'm here, Severus," Remus said. "I was planning on returning to school sometime today. You could come in."
"I brought your potion," Snape said.
"Thank you so much," Remus said. "It's really kind of you to make it."
"Quick!" Harry said. "Get rid of all the puking pastilles! Remus needs the potion!"
The boys gathered all their hexed candy from all over the house and returned it to their rooms.
"Sit down, Severus," Sirius said cautiously. "You just walked in on the last day of our annual prank war."
The boys returned to the living room.
"Are you trying to turn Harry into another James?" Snape asked.
"Not at all," Sirius said. "I'm trying to keep his sense of humor going so he doesn't have more breakdowns like he did this past year."
"What is that potion?" Ron asked, looking at the smoking potion Remus was drinking.
"Just something Professor Snape is kind enough to make for Remus," Harry said. "It helps him stay healthy."
"If Snape didn't know that Remus was here, how would he know that Remus needs a potion?" Ron asked.
"Don't think too much," Harry advised him. "It's a bad habit to get into."
Ron stared at the potion looking shocked.
"Is that wolfsbane potion?" he finally asked.
Fred and George started clapping.
"Well done," they cheered. "It only took you four years to figure out."
"Keep it quiet," Harry said fiercely. "We can't let everyone find out."
"It makes me wonder about the quality of your defense against dark art classes," Snape said, "if a fourth year student can't identify a werewolf when he sees one."
Harry turned to Snape with his wand out.
"Do the same rules that apply to Remus apply to you in this house?" Harry asked.
"No," Snape said. "I came to do a favor, not to be part of a prank war. Put your wand away."
Harry angrily stuffed his wand in his pocket.
"Let's go outside," he told the others. "I'm going to lose my temper if I hear any more of this kind of talk."
The four boys went outside.