Pranksters United

69

James sat in his chair for a bit longer, transfixed and staring at a single point on the wall. The task had gone much smoother than he had anticipated. Narcissa Malfoy, even though cautious at first, was easy to convince. Whatever he had promised to her in return was all true, but he still could not believe that she would accept this.

The task he was dreading for so long was finally over. Now he just had to wait till the last day of their holidays. He could not believe that now they were one step closer to defeat Voldemort. Grinning to himself, he stood up and stretched a bit.

Then, putting out the candle, he walked back outside the shop. Throwing one glance behind him, he started to walk in the direction of Diagon alley.

Once in the Diagon alley, James let out a breath of relief, the success if his mission finally reaching his brain, as he grinned broadly. Before walking in the direction of the ice cream parlour, he did a small victory dance.

Reaching the door of ice cream shop, he saw that Sirius was no longer alone. Sitting in front of his best friend was the one and only Regulus Black. James' grin dropped instantly. Looking around himself, he walked towards the Black brothers.

Dropping beside Sirius, he looked at Regulus with guarded eyes, though said nothing. Throwing one glance at James, Regulus looked at Sirius directly in the eye. "See you soon, brother" Regulus said before smirking and walking out of the shop.

James waited for a second before turning to look at Sirius cautiously. Though, unlike every other encounter with his brother, this time Sirius' face actually looked satisfied and a bit happy.

"So, tell me you completed your task" Sirius turned to James grinning.

"I did. And we have to come here on the last day of our holiday again. Same time" James answered grinning just as much.

"Tell me everything" Sirius said rubbing his hands, ready for the information.

"Not yet" James said checking his watch. "We are first completing our shopping and then we will come here at 3.30" James said standing up.

"But..." Sirius started, but James was already half way through the shop and towards the exit. So, sighing to himself, Sirius followed James out the shop in hopes of completing the shopping as soon as possible.

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After the shopping, as decided, James and Sirius returned to the ice cream shop at 3.30, their hands full of school material. When they walked towards their earlier table, they saw Lily, Remus, Peter, Mary, and Marlene already sitting there.

Sirius halted in his steps, looking at James, dumbstruck "When did you call them?" Sirius asked to which, James merely shrugged and took a seat beside Lily.

"What's the occasion, Prongs?" Remus asked after both James and Sirius settled.

"Well, I called you to give you the good news, that my task is successful" James replied, not able to contain the glee from his voice

A grin broke on everyone's face. Sirius patted James' back proudly, while others started asking questions.

"Ok, I will tell everything in detail, but let's have some ice-cream first. My treat" James said, calming everyone down. Peter nodded excitedly and started to look at the menu, while everyone waited.

After ordering the ice creams, they sat huddled around the table as James started to tell the his task to everyone.

After almost an hour and half, James finished his story with a grin. While everyone congratulated him, Sirius sat stiff beside him. Looking at Sirius from a side-glance, James cleared his throat. As if coming out of a trance, Sirius smiled at James and muttered a 'congrats, mate'. Noticing Sirius' behaviour, James decided to confront him later.

The rest of the time was spent by filing up everyone about what they did throughout the holidays, though there was not much to talk about, as they were continuously sending letters to each other.

Sometime after, Mary and Marlene decided to leave and continue their remaining date while the Marauders and Lily stayed in the shop. After talking some more, they decided to separate.

After saying goodbye, James and Sirius walked towards the leaky cauldron again. There they bought almost 5 bottles for Firewhisky each; hiding them under their coats, the flooed back to the Potter Manner.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter were sat in front of the kitchen table drinking their evening tea when the boys stepped out of the fireplace. It was sharp 5.30 when the boys returned, and the mother couldn't be happier about it.

"You boys enjoyed?" Mr. Potter asked as soon as they entered the kitchen.

"Yeah. But we have to discuss a few things about next year. So we will be going now" James answered dragging Sirius by his neck towards his neck.

"Stop dragging him by his neck, he is not a dog, you know?" Mrs. Potter called after James.

"I beg you to differ" James answered while laughing, and just like that, the two boys vanished inside James room to 'talk'.

As soon as James entered his room, he closed the door behind him

Sirius sat on the bed as James closed the door. "So, you wanna tell me what happened to your mood, back there?" James asked leaning against a closet.

"It's just that you are talking to my family. You know how I feel about them, and how bad they are. Yet, you still talked to them behind my back" Sirius answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Look it was for the task that Dumbledore gave me. And as I said, I told you about it, didn't I? Besides it's not as if I am buddies with them, it was professional. Also, I saw you talking to Regulus in the pub. What about that?"

"He is my brother" Sirius deadpanned.

"And she is your cousin"

"It's different"

"How?"

"It just is"

There was a tense silence between the two friends. Both were trying to understand each others condition. "Look, mate. I understand your anger. But what I did was necessary. It was the only way. And I am sorry" James said quickly wanting to dissolve their fight.

"Yeah, sorry too" Sirius mumbled.

"So" James cleared his throat. "What were you talking about with Regulus?"

"He is on our side." Sirius answered simply.

"Is he really?" James asked, a bit doubtful.

"Yeah"

"Alright. I am sleeping. So get out" James said arrogantly, pointing in the direction of the door.

"Goodnight Prongs, I hope you dream of Lily" Sirius said sarcastically before exiting the room to go to his own. 

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