Chapter 43:

The marauders were getting quite a name for themselves as the best pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen. They had played several pranks on the teachers throughout the year and were becoming restless. "We've got to come up with something amazing," Sirius commented.

"We could give all the teachers beards like Dumbledore's…" James offered.

The boys laughed gently, "Let's do it," Cried Peter excitedly. "Please can we?"

Remus merely laughed at the boy, "of course we can."

"We can do anything! Anything!" Sirius joked.

The following morning at breakfast the marauders sat quietly. They were waiting for an opportune moment. When everyone was distracted by their food the boys pulled out their wands and waved them at the teachers table. Suddenly, the teachers began to develop the most ridiculously long beards. Quickly the boys returned to their breakfast and put their wands away. Several of the teachers looked annoyed at their beards, whilst most of the students laughed merrily as their teachers tried to charm their beards away. Sadly nothing seemed to work. The marauders laughed along with the other students. Only Lily looked unimpressed by the magic, "stupid arrogant toe-rags… attacking the teachers." She was shaking her head in distain and tuting somewhat loudly.

The Gryffindors made their way towards their potions lesson. The Slytherins were already there waiting outside the classroom. James frowned when he saw the Slytherins, several of them had been at the battle. His hand drew around his wand in his pocket. Slughorn led the children into his classroom, "quickly, quickly, sit down…"

The boys quickly found their table at the back of the room. "Today, we will be studying the uses of the bezoar. Please look in your textbooks… page 253. I want you to work quietly and make notes on the bezoar and its uses."

James quickly cast a silencing spell around their table, "Remus, how are the spells coming for the map?"

"Not good. One or two of them are very complicated. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to manage them. You're going to do the transfiguration spell, James?"

"Yeah. I can do that. I'll transfigure it to look like a scarp piece of parchment," James answered, "there's no rush Remus."

"Besides, we keep finding new passageways…" Sirius began. "Just yesterday I found a passageway behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy."

"Really?" Peter asked.

"Yeah Peter." Sirius replied sarcastically.

"I bet there's way more to Hogwarts than we realise…" James said, thinking aloud.

Slughorn gathered the students attention back to himself, "right who can tell me what a bezoar is?" Lily raised her hand, "yes, Miss Evans?"

"It's a stone like mass taken from the stomach of a goat," Evans said.

"Very good, Miss Evans, 10 points to Gryffindor." James and Sirius were talking loudly at the back of the room, "Mr Potter, Mr Black, could one of you tell me what the bezoar is used for?"

The boys both looked at their professor in shock. James thought back to his textbook, what did it say? "The bezoar is used as an antidote against a wide variety of poisons…"

"Lucky chance," Lily muttered just loud enough for James to overhear.

"Very well, Mr Potter. Please pay attention." Slughorn smiled.

After their potions lesson the boys went to their defence against the dark arts lesson. James sat next to Emmie at the back of the room. They passed each other notes. The notes weren't about anything in particular. Emmie had mentioned the ball and asked about Mippy his elf and James had asked Emmie what she had done with the rest of her holiday.

"Mr Potter! Miss Vance! Would you please stop passing notes in my classroom and pay attention!" Professor Kilmont called from the front of the classroom. James and Emmie turned bright red as the entire class turned to look at them. Lily was shaking her head angrily.

After the lesson, James walked Emmie to the Great Hall for lunch. Once they reached the Entrance Hall, James pulled Emmie towards himself and kissed her gently just as Lily walked up behind them, "ewww… get a room!"

"What? Are you jealous Evans?" James remarked.

James and Emmie walked into the Great Hall blushing. Emmie kissed James on the cheek before walking over to her Ravenclaw friends. James made his way over to the other marauders. They were laughing at something Sirius had said. "Don't be ridiculous Black!" Remus laughed.

"Me ridiculous? Never I'm too Serious… for that…" Sirius joked.

"Oh, that's not original at all!" James said before sitting down.

"Jimmy boy, where have you been?" Sirius asked, using one of James' parents' nicknames for him.

James eyebrow was raised at the familiar name, "Just with Em."

"Oi Oi. Broom cupboard?" Sirius nudged his arm into James' side.

"Nah, just walking," James laughed, "although I do think we gave Evans a heart attack in the Entrance Hall."

The boys laughed merrily all through the meal. On their way out they ran into Snape and the other first year Slytherin boys. James' hand was on his wand the second he saw them.

"Ah, Potter! Fancy seeing you here," Avery nodded.

"Piss off Avery," Sirius snapped.

"I liked your house Potter," Mulciber commented.

"I bet you did. It's much nicer than your cardboard box isn't it…" Peter replied.

The other marauders looked at Peter in surprise. "Shame about your house elf," Snape smiled nastily.

"You arse," Remus replied.

"I really didn't mean to kill her… it just kind of happened." Snape laughed maliciously.

James pulled out his wand casting a leg binding curse on Snape. James heard Lily shouting his name, "what the hell are you doing, Potter?"

"None of your business," James shouted back. Lily drew out her wand and hexed James.

"It is when it's my friend your attacking!" She replied.

"Well maybe you should reconsider who your friends are Evans," Peter frowned.

"Don't start, Pettigrew," Lily turned on him, lifting up her wand again.

Peter held his hands in the air as Remus tried to reason with Lily, "I think you've got the wrong end of this…"

"Whatever Remus. Stop sticking up for him. He's just an arrogant toe-rag." She said before storming off.

"You say that, but you stick up for Snape – not that he deserves it." He called after her.

Another chapter for my lovely readers... Please review. I'd love to hear what you guys think...

Next chapter... the marauders are going to do some more spying...