Full Moon Howl had taken over the school. Remus scuffled around, head down, trying not to totally freak out as students sang about silver daggers and howled. The teachers were all really annoyed, except Professor Dedenne who just seemed super twitchy (and at one point when McGonagall passed by Remus in the halls she took him aside to see if he was okay; he lied, promising he was). At least it was rumored another big group--The Hufflepuffskeins--would be releasing a new song soon so hopefully that would erase this one.
It felt like an eternity till the weekend but finally Saturday came and the Full Moon Howl was replaced by Quidditch mania. At breakfast there were more blue-and-bronze colors than there were Gryffindor due to the fact most the Slytherins were clearly rooting for Ravenclaw to win. So that put two full houses decked out in blue and bronze, then probably a good quarter of the Hufflepuffs as well.
Partway through breakfast some older Gryffindors started shouting a changed version of the chorus to Full Moon Howl which most the other Gryffindors picked up quick enough, dozens upon dozens of voices singing, "In the brightness, a sliver of gold, my team will conqu-or! We're the beasts, little birdies, and you make me do the Gryffindor Roar!"
Remus stabbed his eggs, the fork clinking violently off the plate. At least he'd have peace in the afternoon.
As always, James made one last pitch for Remus to go with them which he turned down, then James, Sirius, and Peter gathered the giant banner they had made and joined the crowd streaming out, singing the Gryffindor Roar. Remus waited until the students thinned out then hightailed it for the tower, sighing happily at the silence. For several minutes he just lay on a couch, eyes closed, hearing only the faint crackling of the fire which was getting smaller with each passing week until it would end up just a small little bit of glowing wood as outside temperatures grew.
Nobody talking. Nobody laughing. Nobody whispering.
Nobody howling.
It was that moment he realized he never had any true quiet. Sure he could push the backgrounds sounds down well enough. And when he was in his bed with his curtains shut, that helped some. Just... not like this.
He reached up, pressing his hands gently against his ears. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to block sounds. That seemed kinda out of reach considering he was still trying to figure out how to block smells. He let his hands drop then got off the couch, getting his text books. Except studying didn't really feel very right. He knew he should. That's what he had been planning on doing. But--
All the teachers will be at the game, he realized, sitting ramrod straight. Everyone's at the game. This is the final Quidditch match. He stared at the door to the common room, wondering just how much of the castle he had to himself. He doubted Farrow had left the library and figured Filch was probably lurking somewhere.
But no other students. No teachers.
Without even thinking he put all his books aside, made sure his wand was in his pocket, then left the common room. It was almost like sneaking around at night. Everything seemed so... quiet, except for occasionally a very faint cheer. He wandered through the halls, a dim thought in the back of his head which began growing brighter and brighter until he took off running.
First stop: the library. Sure enough Farrow was there, glaring at Remus as he meekly walked in. He went as cautiously as he could into the aisles, wandering around seemingly aimlessly until he ended up in the charms section. It took a few minutes to find what he was looking for, carefully copying everything out, then put the book back where it was, looped around, emerged from the creatures section with a book on dragons for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Farrow mumbled to himself as Remus checked the book out, then left very casually. Once outside, he began running again.
Second stop: Myrtle's bathroom. He usually visited her about once a week still, tried his best to visit all his ghost friends from the pre-Marauder days. He knew he could trust her. He practiced the spell as hard as he could, not sure how much time he had. He knew Gryffindor needed to win by quite a few points so he assumed they'd prolong the game to do so. It wasn't very advanced--they'd be learning it probably at the start of their second year--however doing it on such a large surface took a lot of concentration. Myrtle giggled when Remus took his sweatshirt off, stripping down to his t-shirt. He was soaked in sweat as he focused hard.
He managed to do a small area. Then a larger area. After an hour of exhaustive pushing he managed to do the entire bathroom floor. Then got rid of it.
"You're wicked," Myrtle said. "I can't wait to see everyone."
"I wish I could but I can't take the risk of being seen," he replied.
"I'll tell you all about it later," she promised, hovering uncomfortably close to him. One nice thing about ghosts was the fact they all smelled very similar: a vague whispy sort of death-y smell (at least he assumed that's what it was since only ghosts had that smell). He couldn't smell any kind of pheromones, the overload of little scents that living beings gave off. It was like a break for his nose.
"I just hope Filch doesn't ruin it." Actually, someone leaving the game early could ruin it. A likely chance of happening, actually, one lone person coming in, realizing, then going to get someone.
"Filch?" Myrtle stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. "He's at the game, didn't you know? Wants to see who wins the match."
"Really?" He hadn't thought of Filch as being much into Quidditch.
"He wants Slytherin to win, so he's rooting for Ravenclaw," Myrtle said, tossing her pigtails back. "It's awful, having someone like him root for us."
Remus was rather hoping Ravenclaw won too, just so Gryffindor wouldn't be partying all day and all night again. "I'll see you later, Myrtle." He left, going down to the entrance hall as fast as he could but he was pretty exhausted by this point. He wasn't even sure if he had it in him to do what he wanted to do.
On the way down he listened for the sounds from the game. Cheering, still, but not continuous so he doubted it was over. So he took the time to rest. Part of him wanted to giggle, the other part figured someone would ruin everything. Even if they did, at least he gave it a try. He just hoped it worked out.
After a while he got up, feeling mostly better. I suppose I should thank my werewolf stamina for that, he thought, then finally arrived at the entrance hall, a very Marauder-y grin on his face as he set about with his work. It was exhausting, draining him of all energy. He was soaked in sweat by the time he finished and on the verge of passing out but he managed to put the finishing touch on the steps leading up to the first floor, then staggered off to one of the secret passages to rest a little bit. He curled up on the floor, still grinning to himself, wishing he could stay and see. He'd probably be caught if he did, though, so... back to the dorms he had to go.
*
Gryffindor lost without having gotten enough points. So, even though Ravenclaw won the game... Slytherin won the Quidditch cup. Something Remus would forever not understand. And Ravenclaw had gotten enough points to just barely make second instead of third, knocking Gryffindor into third. James, Sirius, and Peter were in pretty foul moods when they came up to the dorm... made fouler still by something that had happened.
"What a crap day!" James tore his scarlet hat off, throwing it onto his bed. "First, we don't get enough points, then Ravenclaw probably cheats their way into second place, and then some jerk goes and booby-traps the entire entrance hall!"
"I thought it was funny," Peter said as he began trying to wipe off face paint.
"What happened?" Remus asked innocently.
Sirius rolled his eyes as he flopped onto his bed. "Someone enchanted the floor of the entire entrance hall into this bouncy surface. I mean, bouncy. By the time anyone coming in really realized what was going on it was too late. We were bouncing around everywhere."
"I nearly broke my leg again," grumbled James, rubbing his shin. "Course it was probably some Slytherin who did it. I mean, the Gryffindors were the first ones back."
"Are you all right?" Remus felt a little bit bad, not really intending to hurt his friends.
"No!" James snapped. Remus cringed back. "I'm not! Ravenclaw cheated. Slytherin probably helped them."
"They played a g--good game," Peter stuttered then fell silent at the murderous look James shot him. "Well. Um. Next year we'll win cause you'll be on the team."
James, still rubbing his shin, gave a thoughtful sort of nod. "True. Thank Merlin for that. Ooof."
"So... all the Gryffindors were... bouncing? Or something?" Remus wanted to hear less about Quidditch, more of how his prank went.
"Yeah, it was funny," Peter said, grinning broadly.
"Only because you didn't end up in the mess!" Sirius accused. Peter gave a 'so?' sort of shrug. Sirius turned to Remus to explain. "He bounced a couple times then crawled over to the wall, away from the big mess of limbs and feet. The stairs were enchanted too so it was next to impossible to get up to the next floor!"
Remus bit the inside of his cheek to stop from smiling. "Sounds awful. Was it still there or did someone get rid of the, er, rubber?"
"Yeah, we left by way of one of the hidden passageways through the dungeon since that wasn't messed up," Sirius replied.
James stabbed the air with his finger. "Further proof that it was the Slytherins, thank you very much!"
No, I just forgot to spell the steps leading down as well, thought Remus, feeling ready to die from suppressing his laughter.
"Half the people were trying to get to safety while the other half were crashing into each other, some of them grabbing onto others...!" Peter began snickering. "One of the seventh year prefects was trying to get rid of the whole thing but since everyone around her was bouncing her spells kept going everywhere and she couldn't say the counter spell properly." Then he covered his mouth, giggling. "Then she got bounced so hard she nearly hit the chandelier!"
Then Remus couldn't stop it. A few giggles escaped, then he dropped his book laughing hard. "S--sorry, just--imagining everyone just ricocheting everywhere!" He hoped that'd be enough of an excuse.
"It wasn't funny!" James pouted. "It was painful. We need revenge right this second."
"It was funny," Peter argued.
"I'm sure it was!" He regretted not staying behind to watch now, because it sounded hilarious. Sure it was dangerous, probably morally wrong for him to do such a dangerous prank... but he didn't really feel as bad as he thought he probably should. He wondered if, somewhere deep down, it was out of frustration over the song. Perhaps?
"Only funny cause you weren't there!" James snapped as he kicked off his shoes. "Getting kicked in the chest by some dumb fifth year spinning through the air!"
Sirius narrowed his eyes then glanced at Remus. He knew in that second the jig was up. "You weren't there," Sirius said slowly, "because you weren't at the game."
"No," Remus agreed, waiting for it.
"You were pretty much the only one not at the game," Sirius continued.
"You're probably right about that." His lips were twitching again. Sirius's jaw dropped, then Remus began laughing again. "I'm s--s--sorry you g-got hurt!" he cried out, hardly able to breathe as he rolled back and forth on his bed.
"YOU DID THAT?" Sirius shouted.
James jerked hard. "Wait, what? Remy? You?!"
"Guil--gui--guilty!" he wheezed out, nearly falling out of his bed. His face hurt, his sides hurt, everything hurt--in a good way. He got up feeling very dizzy and unable to see well but he staggered to Peter, pulling the camera off from around his neck, and managed to snap a probably terrible picture of the three Marauders' shocked faces. He pushed the camera into Peter's hand then fell on the floor. "I didn't mean for you to be causalities!" he gasped out. "I figured you'd win, figured it'd be mostly Slytherins or Ravenclaws. Ohhh I wish I could have seen it though!" He was calming down now some, taking in hiccuping breaths of air. He was really dizzy. "Your faces are worth it though."
"You did that," James said, pointing at the door. "You turned the entire entrance hall into--into--"
"Yes."
"I thought you were studying," Sirius said rather darkly.
Remus shrugged. "And I thought that turning the hall into a giant trampoline would be more fun. Annnd I was right." His grin began fading slightly as he realized how furious Sirius and James both looked. His stomach began hurting. They were mad at him. He thought... they'd... think the prank was funny, it was--he thought it was--but... apparently not. "Er--"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!" James suddenly shouted causing Remus to reel back.
"Um, I--I didn't think of it until about twenty minutes after the game started," Remus whispered, fingers twisting into his sweatshirt. He tugged at the collar a bit then pulled it up to cover his mouth, wanting to disappear into the fabric. If he was going to be mad about that, then that was stupid. James and Sirius did loads of things without telling him or Pete!
But then, "We could have HELPED you! Done more than just the--the entrance hall! It's such an incredible prank! Gah! I'm torn between being proud of you and being annoyed I wasn't part of it!" James ranted, tugging at his hair which made him look quite wild. Remus let out a little sigh of relief. He wasn't angry. That was good.
"You should have done the pathways and the main steps," Sirius said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Everyone would be bouncing down the hills."
"Oooh, next time we should try to put up some--ummm--you know." James flailed his hands. "Spiderweb stuff. Like, sticky stuff that people bounce into and get stuck on the walls."
Sirius gave a shout, jumping off his bed so quickly he got tangled and crashed into the floor. He swore, scrambling to his feet. "Feast--end of year feast--"
James's eyes went huge behind his glasses. "Siri! Yes!" They high fived each other.
"Are you wanting to ruin the end of year feast?" Peter asked, mouth a round 'O'.
Both boys shrugged. "Maybe. Or we could enchant outside the Great Hall so when everyone leaves that's when it happens," Sirius suggested.
"That's a great idea," Remus said with frown. "After everyone fills up their stomachs, send them careening around."
"EWWWWWWW!" James laughed, on his back now, kicking his feet. "Vomit everywhere." Peter made a sort of 'urrrup' sound looking like he might throw up at the thought. "But man, that whole... bouncing thing... in the hall..." Suddenly James wrapped his arms around Remus, yanking him to his feet, hugging him, spinning him in a circle his feet completely off the ground. "You're such a genius, Remy!" He set Remus down and put his hands on either side of Remus's face sending him into inside agony. He wanted to scream and push James away. "Absolutely brilliant. Total prank! Brains." He pat Remus's cheek then thank Merlin let go.
Remus fell back, trying to focus on breathing. The hug, the hands on his face. It had been too much.
"All right, lads, we have five weeks till the end of year feast, we have a lot of preparations to do." James began pacing back and forth, ticking things off his fingers as he spoke. "We need to plan out how large of an area we're going to... to... ummm..."
"Spongify," Remus said softly, still trying to fight off the panic. "Th--that's the--the-the spell."
James didn't notice his sudden stutter but Sirius did, shooting him a worried look.
"How large of an area to spongify," James continued. Peter grabbed a pad of paper to start writing down notes. "We need to figure out a spiderweb spell. I don't know if the ones the teachers put up at Halloween were sticky or not but we can probably put sticking spells on them, Siri you're good at that."
Sirius gave a salute though he was still continually glancing anxiously at Remus.
"Need to figure out what's best. Inside the Great Hall or out. I'd feel bad ruining the feast plus it might be more difficult to pull that off, the teachers might realize before anyone comes in and get rid of everything. Since we can't do timing spells yet. Though, I also agree with Remus having it after does run the risk of a lot of sick. We need a name."
"Name?" Peter asked.
"Yes. Like, you know, Operation... Bounce... Something, I dunno, we can figure out a name later," James said, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to say more however the door swung open as Spinnet and Struthers came in, both of them quite grumpy from the bouncing entrance hall. They were complaining loudly--Spinnet making it clear he suspected the Marauders of pulling the prank. James pointed out they had been at the game to which Spinnet grunted, obviously not quite believing him.
Then the Marauders left to find somewhere more private where they could continue their plan which mostly turned into Remus putting the spell on the floor and the four of them bouncing around, laughing loudly even when they crashed into one another (Remus tried to avoid knocking into his friends but it didn't work and he gave up trying; it wasn't as bad as hugging anyway). After several painful wrecks into the walls of the small hidden room Remus spongified the walls and they really went bouncing after that, having a total blast.