"Well, troops, this is it," Adam said. "This is our first match of the year."
"And we needed to be reminded of this?" Eric muttered, leaning close to James.
James laughed.
"Is something entertaining you, Potter?" Adam asked.
"Just nerves," James chuckled.
Adam gave him a look that said quite plainly that he didn't believe him, but grinned anyway. "Right, now that James is ready to listen, I'll continue." He turned serious again. "I know that we won the Quidditch Cup last year, and I'm sure that you'd all love to see a repeat of that event. But we can't rest on last year's success. We are a new team this year, and we have to prove ourselves all over again."
"Well, we have great leadership!" Minnie grinned.
Adam winked at her. "Thank you, thank you. Please, hold your applause."
James and Eric grinned at one another, and laughed again. Maxx, their new Beater, looked at Maggie and Olivia as if asking if their captain was insane.
"Don't worry," Maggie said, leaning over Minnie to talk to him. "This is just how Adam is. But he knows when to be serious. Honestly."
Maxx smiled, but still looked noncommittal.
"Look, if he was always serious, it would be boring," James said. "I like him this way."
"All right, troops, let's get out there and show Ravenclaw what we've got!"
The team cheered, and began its march out to the field. Maxx looked up at the packed stands with a nervous expression. James took a few quick steps so that he was walking next to him.
"Nervous?" he asked, ruffling his hair.
"Yeah," Maxx admitted.
James nodded. "I am, too."
"Really?"
"I'm nervous before every match," James admitted. "But it's better this year than it was last year. Look, we all think you're good, or we wouldn't have picked you for the team. So just get out there and do what you need to do. We're all here to work together." He reached up to ruffle his hair again.
Eric cleared his throat loudly.
"Well, Eric thinks that he's the only important team member," James conceded with a grin. "But we'll prove him wrong."
Maxx smiled. In spite of James' pep talk, he still looked nervous.
The match began with the signal from Professor Aves' whistle. James grinned as he looked at the professor, wondering if the man had ever realized that first years students had broken into the Quidditch office, stolen his broomsticks, and practiced flying. He assumed not. If he had realized it, Gryffindor would have four less members. James grinned again. Sirius was right. They really were that good.
The match moved quickly. The Gryffindor team performed as well as it had the year before. Maggie, James, and Olivia worked together as a team even better than they had before; they now knew each other well enough to almost communicate without words. The entire team could feel the difference in their Beaters, though. While Maxx was quite good, it wasn't the same as having Derek and Adam working together. After serving as Gryffindor's Beaters together for five years, they had been almost like a single person. Now, Adam and Maxx would have to work to achieve that level of solidarity.
After fifty minutes of hard flying, Eric and Tim Middleton, the Ravenclaw Seeker and Head Boy, streaked across the field in pursuit of the Snitch. Olivia gasped as a Bludger shot in Eric's direction; Adam was quick to intercept it and send it back at the Ravenclaw Beater. Just as the Beater was about to send it back toward Eric, he shot up into the air with his fist held high.
"We won!" Eric yelled.
The team swooped toward him, meeting in a jumbled hug as they descended back to the ground. Adam was cheering louder than any of them.
"We're going to win it again this year, mates!" he yelled. "We're brilliant!"
James and Olivia laughed, remembering Derek saying practically the same thing the year before. Still, they couldn't help but believe him. They were going to win the cup again.
***
"We're behind on practicing," Sirius complained as the boys walked back to the common room after dinner.
"We've been trying to get through our new classes," Remus replied.
"And I've been at more Quidditch practices than I thought possible," James added. "I think that Adam might be worse than Derek in that respect. Honestly, it's like he thinks we don't need to sleep!"
"But he's a better captain in other respects?" Peter asked. He was very interested in the Gryffindor team this year, now that it was under new leadership.
James grinned. "He lets us get away with goofing off more," he said. "And our meetings are far shorter now that he's leading them."
"You have quite the interest in Quidditch this year, Mr. Pettigrew," Sirius commented.
Peter nodded. "I love to see James play." He turned to face James again. "You're really brilliant, you know. And I figure as long as you're playing, Gryffindor should win the Cup again this year . . . as long as our captain is good."
"Yeah, like James needs more praise," Remus laughed. "Stop it, Peter, or we won't be able to fit in the same room with his ego."
Peter grinned. "I'm just telling the truth."
"Oh, let him go, Remus," James laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "I'm all for hearing how wonderful I am!"
"That's my point," Remus replied.
"Look," Sirius said, "can we get back to the practicing thing?"
"Yeah, sure," James replied. "Do you guys want to do it tonight?"
"Yeah, tonight's good," Remus said. "It's Friday, so we'll have time to get our homework done over the weekend."
"Fine by me," Peter agreed.
"Good," Sirius said. "Let's go back to Gryffindor Tower to get the cloak, and then go to the room."
"You want to start right now?" James asked.
"Did you have better plans?" Sirius shot back.
"I guess not," James grinned. "Let's do it."
They arrived at the Room of Requirement, and paced back and forth to make the door appear. Once inside, they threw off the invisibility cloak, ready to try transforming. Remus tapped the blackboard with his wand, and their notes on the transfiguration process appeared.
"You saved them?" Peter asked, obviously impressed.
Remus nodded. "I thought the spell to retain the notes in my wand would be useful."
"Indeed it was, Mr. Lupin," Sirius grinned. "Okay, who's going to try this first?"
They had tried transforming at the end of the previous school year, but had been completely unsuccessful. They hadn't even managed to get their hair to change, which should have been the first sign that they were on their way. In a way, they had been a bit relieved. They were all worried that one of them would transform halfway, and be stuck in partial animal form.
"I'll go first," James said, stepping into the center of the room.
He read the directions on the board first, then began to follow them step- by-step with his eyes closed. After a few moments, he opened his eyes.
"Did it happen?" he asked.
"No," Remus said sadly. "Sirius, you try."
But Sirius, too, was unsuccessful. Peter tried after him, but retained his human form.
"What are we doing wrong?" James exclaimed, his hands reaching up to clutch his hair. "I followed the directions exactly, I'm sure of it! Did you guys?"
"Of course," Peter said.
"What am I going to do, make up my own?" Sirius asked.
"We must have something wrong in the process notes," Remus said, looking at the board thoughtfully. "We need to find our mistake."
Sirius groaned. "Tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."
Remus nodded. "Back to the books."
***
The boys again began to spend as much of their free time as possible in the Room of Requirement, researching the Animagi transformation process. They were determined to find their error in their notes from the previous year. Sirius complained about the long hours spent reading book after lengthy book, but proved to be invaluable at picking up things that the others missed. He was often able to find the tiniest nuance in a passage, one that Remus and James had overlooked.
"How do you see this stuff?" Remus asked in amazement as he changed a note he was making on his parchment.
Sirius shrugged. "It's a gift."
"It's the same reason he's better at Potions than we are," James said. "He can read between the lines easier than we can."
Remus nodded. "I suppose."
"Look, we need a break," Sirius said.
"Definitely," Peter said, rubbing his hands over his red eyes. "I can't stand reading anymore!"
"What are we going to do?" James asked.
"Go to dinner," Sirius replied.
"It's time for dinner?" Remus asked. He glanced down at his watch. "Wow, it is. I'm so used to coming down here at night; it's weird to be here during the afternoon."
"We have a better schedule this year," James said. It was true; they didn't have classes on Tuesday afternoons.
"Shall we go to dinner, then?" Sirius asked.
"You seem awfully excited about it," James replied suspiciously.
"Indeed I am," Sirius said, grinning with delight.
"And why might that be?" James asked.
Sirius held up a packet. "We're going to have some fun with Snivellus!" he declared.
"What is that?" Remus asked.
"Just a little seasoning for his stew," Sirius replied. "It was supplied by the fine people of Zonko's shop."
James laughed. "What will it do?"
"Well, you know how his hair is always greasy and hanging in his face?"
"Yeah?" Remus asked half-heartedly.
"It won't be a problem anymore!" Sirius laughed.
"Excellent!" James enthused. "What do we have to do? Just put it in his stew?"
"Yeah, that's all," Sirius replied. "Are you in, then?"
"Of course!"
"I'll pass," Remus said.
"Aw, Remus, have a little fun!" James coaxed.
Remus shook his head. "You guys do whatever you want, but I'm just going to watch this time around."
"Fine," James replied. He smiled. "Next time, right?"
Remus smiled, but didn't reply.
"Peter?" James asked.
Peter looked torn. He wanted to have fun with James and Sirius, but he didn't want to make Remus mad by going along. Then again, Remus didn't seem like he was mad at them . . . but what if he was? Fortunately, Sirius saved him from making a decision.
"I think we're better off as a two-man operation," he said. "Remus and Peter can be involved next time."
"Fair enough," James grinned. "Let's get to dinner. I can't wait to see this one!"
They arrived in the Great Hall, and took their usual places at the end of the Gryffindor table. Adam passed by, and reminded James of their evening practice. Olivia came over to say hello, along with Dana and Kathleen. Lily was with them, but remained behind her friends. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk to the boys. Olivia, Dana, and Kathleen, however were most anxious to say hello.
Sirius loved being the center of attention. He would have been happy to chat with the girls for hours, but James nudged his arm, reminding him of their plan.
"Excuse me for a moment, ladies," Sirius said, jumping up from his seat. "I need to go say hello to my brother."
"That's okay," Dana smiled. "James will entertain us, won't you, James?"
"Actually, I wanted to go say hello to Regulus myself," James said hastily. "But I'm sure Remus and Peter will chat with you."
James and Sirius walked away, not sure whether or not Remus and Peter were talking to the girls. Really, they didn't care. They had a mission to complete.
They walked across the room to the Slytherin table. Remus and Peter watched them with bated breath, almost ignoring the girls who had at this point sat down with them.
"Do we have a plan?" James muttered as they walked.
"Yeah," Sirius replied. He slipped the packet of power into James' hands. "We'll both start talking to Regulus, then I'll start asking him questions about the future Death Eaters of Great Britain club. That should get everyone going, and no one will notice as you put this into Snape's food."
"And he's sitting right by Snape," James grinned. "Perfect."
"Actually, that's far from perfect," Sirius said grimly.
"I meant -"
"I know what you meant," Sirius interrupted. "Okay, here we go."
They walked over to Regulus and Snape. Both boys plastered grins on their faces.
"Regulus!" Sirius called.
"Hi, Sirius!" Regulus said. He looked genuinely pleased to see his brother. James wondered for the thousandth time how this kid could be a future Death Eater.
"What's going on?" Sirius asked.
"Nothing," Regulus replied. He turned to James. "You were brilliant in that Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. I was watching - I cheered for you."
James grinned, and ruffled his hair. "Thanks, Regulus. Are we still on for flying lessons? You still want to try out for the Slytherin team, right?"
"Hey, that would be great!" Regulus exclaimed. He turned to Snape. "Do you want to come, Severus?"
Snape looked James up and down once before responding. "I don't think so. Potter is more likely to teach me how to kill myself on a broomstick than to fly it."
"Oh, that's not fair," Sirius said, obviously trying very hard to keep his tone light. "James has never killed himself on a broomstick - he wouldn't know how to begin to even try."
Regulus smiled, but Snape glared at both of them.
"James is really good," Regulus said. "He was the best one on the Gryffindor team."
"Stop right there," Sirius laughed. "We can't live with James' ego if he gets too much praise in one day!"
James and Regulus both laughed, but Snape's eyes narrowed into an even more ugly glare.
"I wouldn't make that face if I were you," James said lightly. "It might freeze like that."
"Anyway, Regulus," Sirius said quickly, realizing that James was getting fed up with Snivellus, "I wanted to ask you more about that club that you joined."
Regulus turned pale, and his eyes widened. He looked around the table, the panic beginning to show. "Please, Sirius, not now."
"Why not?" Sirius asked.
"You told them about the club?" Snape asked, his nostrils flaring.
"Just Sirius! I never mentioned it to James!" Regulus defended.
"You aren't supposed to tell anyone!" Snape cried. "That includes your relatives - especially if they're in Gryffindor!"
"So you're in it too, are you, Snivellus?" Sirius baited.
"What if I am?" Snape sneered.
"Do your mummy and daddy know?" Sirius pressed.
"I don't think that's any of your business!" Snape jumped out of his seat, preparing to lunge at Sirius. The other Slytherins were looking at them now, avidly watching the fight.
Sirius danced a bit away from the table. He spoke in a low tone, forcing Snape to follow him to fully appreciate the insult. "If it involves my brother, it is my business," he said menacingly. "I told you that before, but maybe it bears repeating."
"Your brother can look after himself," Snape said, closing in on Sirius. "He's a big boy, you know. He doesn't need you to watch over him all the time."
Regulus jumped up, and went to stand between them. "Really, you're both overreacting."
No one was paying attention to the table at all. James seized his opportunity. He opened the packet, and dumped all the powder onto Snape's stew. Chuckling to himself, he crunched up the empty paper envelope into a ball, and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes. He caught Sirius' eye, and nodded once. Sirius backed away from Snape and Regulus.
"Backing down?" Snape sneered.
"Yeah, like I'm stupid enough to fight you in front of all the teachers," Sirius said scornfully. "We'll have our day, Snivellus. This just isn't it." He looked beyond them to James. "Come on, James, let's get back to the Gryffindors. I can't take anymore of this side of the hall." He turned to his brother. "I'm sorry things have to be like this, Regulus. If you want to talk to us, you know where to find us."
Sirius and James walked quickly back to the Gryffindor table. They didn't dare speak until they were sitting with the boys again. The girls were still there, fawning over Remus and Peter. They quickly turned their attention to James and Sirius as they sat down. Remus and Peter looked at them with questions in their eyes.
"Mission should be accomplished," Sirius said.
"What mission?" Dana asked.
"Don't worry about it," Sirius grinned. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"
"Of course!" Dana giggled. "But we had fun with Remus and Peter."
"There's fun to be had without James and I?" Sirius asked in mock shock.
Dana giggled again. "Oh, Sirius, you're impossible."
"You mean -" Olivia statement was cut off by a shout from the Slytherin table.
Severus Snape was rising to his feet, his hands running wildly over his head. His mouth was moving, but it was a moment before they could make out what he was saying.
"My hair!" he yelled. "Where's my hair?"
James and Sirius laughed until they had tears in their eyes as they watched the now-bald Slytherin jumping wildly around the hall, trying to figure out what had happened. The girls looked at them in surprise.
"What's wrong with him?" Kathleen asked.
"No hair," James managed to gasp out.
"Well, we gathered that," Olivia said sarcastically. She giggled. "He does look better, doesn't he? Honestly, have you ever seen anyone with such greasy hair?"
Dana, Kathleen, and Peter began to laugh with her. Remus smiled, but didn't laugh. Lily didn't laugh, either. She looked from Snape to James and Sirius with narrowed eyes. She whipped her head around to look at Remus.
"What do you know?" she hissed.
"About what?" he said innocently.
"Who did that to Snape?"
Remus shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Lily."
Understanding dawned on her face. "Remus, you don't have to defend them all the time, you know. Even if they are your friends, what they did is wrong."
Remus shook his head. "They're my friends, Lily. I'd never do anything to hurt them."
"We should tell McGonagall."
Remus looked up at the teachers, who were watching Snape in shock. His Head of House was trying to calm him down, while McGonagall herself looked around the hall suspiciously, trying to guess who the culprit was. It was difficult to make any assumptions, as the vast majority of the student body was in hysterics watching the show.
"We're not telling," he said sternly.
"What do you mean? They should be punished for what they did!"
"If they are, it's because of themselves, not me. And not you, either. We're not prefects. It's not our job to turn people in to the teachers."
"But -"
"No. Please, Lily, I want your word that you're not going to say anything."
Lily looked at him for a moment. "Fine," she spat at last. "But only because you asked, and I know that you're a good person. I'm not doing this for them."
"You can do it for me if you want," Remus replied. "Thank you, Lily."
"You're welcome," she said resentfully.
***
Emboldened by their success with the dinnertime antics, James and Sirius began looking for new ways to annoy Severus. They took to jinxing him in the halls, which won them more than one detention. They considered it time well spent if it aggravated Snivellus.
After the first five detentions they served that term, the teachers realized that they were the school "dream team" and usually assigned them separate detentions. This was an issue for them, as they didn't really know how to entertain themselves alone. The teachers congratulated themselves with grim expressions on their faces. They were considering the four and a half years they had left with James and Sirius, and knew how hard they were going to have to work to control them.
Their classmates, however, thought they were hysterical. Adam in particular loved their sense of humor, and often talked Minnie out of punishing them when she caught them doing something wrong. The boys would let Adam wear her down, then reminded her that they knew about the Room of Requirement. This was usually enough to placate her, and she would let them go without punishment. They were riding high.
"What's going to happen when you get in real trouble?" Remus asked.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked. "We're already serving detention at least twice a month."
"What about points from Gryffindor?" Remus asked.
"We've lost about a hundred," Sirius said easily.
"I just win them back at Quidditch," James grinned. It was true; Gryffindor had flattened Hufflepuff in their recent match.
Remus sighed. "Will nothing make you change your ways?"
"You know, I'd be able to take this little lecture much more easily if I didn't know that you had talked Lily out of turning us in on several occasions," Sirius teased.
That, too, was true. Anytime Lily caught them doing something wrong, Remus was the one assigned to talking her out of getting them in trouble. She trusted him, and he could generally convince her that they were acting for the good of the student body - or at least its sense of humor.
Remus sighed. "You know I love you guys like brothers. I just hate to see you in detention." He grinned. "Detention without me, that is."
"Are you saying you want in on this action?" James gasped.
"Well, I don't like that you guys get to have all the fun," Remus grinned. "What are we doing next?"
***
James sat in the common room with Olivia, going over their notes from the last team meeting. For once, both of them were alone; their friends were all off in various places around the castle. Maggie had promised to join them when she got back from the library.
"So we want to work on this plan at the next practice?" James asked, indicating a maneuver Adam had suggested the Chasers learn.
"I guess," Olivia said. "You know, I think Adam might be harder on us that Derek was."
"Yeah, I agree," James smiled. "But he's a lot of fun."
Olivia giggled. "You're just saying that because he gets you out of trouble."
"Hey! How did you know that?"
"Oh, come on, James. The whole House knows! But it's okay. Everyone thinks you guys are really funny. We don't want to see you get in trouble."
"Everyone - or just you?"
"No, really! Everyone in the House loves you guys!"
James grinned, ruffling his hair. "What's not to love?"
"Oh, stop it. That ego is going to be your downfall, you know."
"You don't seem to mind it."
"I don't - but I know you. I think it might bother other people."
"I have a plan for us!"
James looked up at Sirius as he bounced into the common room. "You're back sooner than expected."
Sirius waved his hand impatiently. "You know I'm no good at tutoring. That's Remus' strong point. He and Peter are still in the library, going over Defense notes." He looked at Olivia, and grinned. "Hey, Olivia."
"Hi, Sirius," she said, her face flushing slightly. "How's it going?"
"Oh, it's going," Sirius replied lazily.
"Did you see Maggie in the library?" Olivia asked.
Sirius nodded. "And I wouldn't expect her back anytime soon if I were you. She's killing herself over a Potions essay."
"Putting school ahead of Quidditch . . . what would Adam say?" Olivia grinned.
"We'll have to point out that we're the dedicated Chasers," James grinned.
Olivia smiled again. "Well, you guys obviously have something to discuss, so I'll leave you to it. I'll go find Maggie, and see if she wants to put this off till tomorrow, okay, James?"
"Sounds good," James agreed.
Olivia gathered up her notes. "Bye, James. See you, Sirius."
"Bye," they said in unison.
Sirius watched her go. "You guys are pretty tight, aren't you?"
"I guess."
"Does she ever ask about me?"
"Sirius! Focus!"
"I am focused," Sirius grumbled.
James nodded. "Well, what's your plan?"
Sirius grinned. "We're going to wreak havoc on the Slytherins tonight!"
"I thought we were going to practice tonight?" James replied.
"We can do it after practice."
"Won't that defeat the purpose? Won't they all be sleeping?"
"If we do it right, it'll be the gift that keeps on giving. In the spirit of Christmas, you know," Sirius grinned. "How are you at Charms?"
James raised his eyebrows. "Charms?"
Sirius laughed. "Oh, just you wait. This is going to be the best prank ever!"
***
That night, the four boys left the Room of Requirement covered in the invisibility cloak. They were once again going through the books; their latest process had also proved to be a failure.
"What exactly are we going to do?" Remus hissed as they walked toward the Slytherin dungeons.
"You know all the paintings of famous Slytherins along the corridor where their common room is?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Peter replied.
"We're going to charm them to talk."
"They already talk," Remus stated the obvious.
"I'm aware of that," Sirius said testily. "But we're going to make them say something specific. Something to Snivellus."
"What would that be?" Peter asked.
"Anything you can think of." Sirius said.
They arrived in the corridor, and Sirius led them to the first painting. He demonstrated the charm to make the painting insult Snape personally.
"That's all you need to do," he said. "Let's take the cloak off, and then we can each charm some. That way we'll be done faster."
"Good plan," James said, throwing off the cloak.
The four boys hurried down the hall, charming all the paintings. After fifteen minutes, they were done. They threw the cloak back over themselves, and hurried back to Gryffindor Tower.
"We'll have to get up early tomorrow, so we can go down there and see if it worked," Sirius said.
"Definitely," Peter grinned. "That was fun!"
***
The boys were up early the next morning. They didn't even go to the Great Hall for breakfast, but headed straight to the Slytherin corridor. They waited under the invisibility cloak in the shadows until Severus stepped out of the common room.
"Severus Snape!" the first painting yelled. "Go wash that hair! I've never seen such grease!"
"Wash your robes, while you're at it!" the second painting screeched.
"Why all alone? Don't you have any friends?" the third bellowed.
The paintings all screamed at him the whole way down the hall. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were practically doubled over from laughing. They didn't have to hide their laughter; even the other Slytherins in the hall were laughing.
"Oh, what a mental picture to take home for Christmas!" Sirius said, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Snivellus being insulted by paintings!"
Remus began to laugh so hard that no sound came out of his mouth.
"I don't know how we're going to top this one!" Peter laughed.
"Oh, we'll find a way," James grinned.
Sirius grinned back. "We most certainly will."