YouKnowEmma 
Hansi, Sensitive Poet
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(31/12/03 11:41 am)
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First Day Back at Hogwarts-Welcoming Feast-Gryffindor Table
Gryffindor Table
The noble Gryffindor table, decorated with scarlet and gold, sits at the far left of the hall.
Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington adjusted his ruff slightly and smiled at the students. "Welcome to Gryffindor!"
Kenneth Gillenwater looked around the Gryffindor table, speaking to no one in particular. "Ahh, it's great to be back at Hogwarts."
His sea-colored eyes rested on James and his friends, who were a few seats down the table. His smile disappeared and he turned back to his plate.
Sirius Black, Gryffindor Seventh Year, Mischief-Maker Extraordinaire, was happy.
Sure, he'd been happy over the summer (which he had spent, for the most part, with James), but now he was really happy. Hogwarts was much more of a home to him than the austere, ancient house where his family lived (and the food was twice as good). And besides that, it was his final year - he planned to make it one worth remembering.
"Hello, Nick," he replied to the semi-decapitated ghost, and then turned studiously to the golden plate that had just filled with food.
He caught the eye of a dark-haired girl halfway down the table as he began to shovel food into his mouth, smiled, and winked conspiratorially. He chuckled and nudged James Potter, beside him, as the object of his smile melted visibly and turned back to her girlfriends with a sublimely happy look.
"See that?" he said in a low voice.
James shook his head, grinning. "Yes, you rogue you. Now you realize you'll have to do that several more times, or she'll end up jumped, don't you?" James laughed and gave Sirius a hearty whack on the back, causing him to choke slightly. "I really pity the girls around here."
Sirius sputtered on a mouthful of pumpkin juice as James slapped him on the back. When he'd caught his breath once more, he grinned roguishly at his friend.
"Jumped? I dunno about jumped, my friend...but I do have an awful lot of charm about me, don't I?"
James shook his head and laughed, turning to his loaded plate. "I'm famished," he remarked.
"What, twenty chocolate frogs on the train up here wasn't enough?"
"Obviously not," James replied, and took a large bite. "This is delicious."
Sirius cast a surreptitious glance back to the dark-haired girl he'd grinned at earlier. She was still looking quite ecstatic, chattering animatedly to her girlfriends and stealing looks at him every now and then.
"Bet you wish you could do that, eh, Moony?"
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Really, Padfoot, you should be setting an example for the first years, not goofing off. It's our last year here - don't you plan to settle down, ever?"
"Nope," Sirius said happily, draining the rest of his pumpkin juice in one long draught. "What d'you say, Prongs, are you going to pass this year without taking advantage of it?"
"'Course not," James answered, busily attacking his sumptuous dinner.
"You're Head Boy," Remus said incredulously.
"Right," James responded. "Which means I'll have loads of extras all year." He ticked them off on his fingers - "A private bath, plenty of authority, an excellent excuse to sneak into the kitchens in the middle of the night, all the passwords, and - oh yeah - plenty of time with the Head Girl." He shot a meaningful glance at Lily Evans, who sat, glowering, at the far end of the table. "You don't think she's still mad over the train ride, do you?"
"Naw," Sirius said. "How could she be?"
"Easy," replied James gloomily. "She's Evans, isn't she? Ah well, I'll win her yet." He eyed Remus and Peter. "What about the two of you, any new interests?"
Peter cast a longing gaze over his shoulder at the Hufflepuff table, specifically at a certain girl's back, her long, wheat-colored hair gently brushing the bench whenever she moved her head. "No new ones, no."
No, but I'm glad to be back here," Remus replied. "Believe it or not, I missed you." He scowled. "But I might change my mind if you don't lay off a bit."
"Lay off, Moony?" Sirius said in tones of outrage. "In our last year at Hogwarts? Really, mate, that's entirely unreasonable."
"Yeah, really! And besides, we haven't even done anything yet! Planned, sure, but it wouldn't involve you any."
"Except if he wanted to use the bathroom," Sirius corrected. James grinned.
"What've you done to the bathroom?" Remus asked suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing," Sirius said loftily, reaching for a fifth roll. "Yet."
"Remember the toilet seat we owled you about? You saw it this morning, didn't you? Well," James grinned, "keep an eye out for it."
Peter looked at James tragically. "Oh, come on James, tell us. You wouldn't make your best friends find out about one of your pranks the hard way, would you?"
"He's got a point," Remus agreed, "and besides, more fun for you if you involve us. More conspiratory."
Sirius looked at Moony skeptically. "Is that a word?"
"I dunno, if it's not, it is now. But quit changing the subject Padfoot, are you going to tell us or not?"
"Of course I'll tell you," Sirius said grandiosly. "Next week, maybe." He beamed irksomely.
Remus sighed. "You never will grow up, will you, Padfoot."
"Probably not," Sirius said unrepentantly.
"It's not our fault you're so much more mature than us, Moony."
"Apparently Professor Dumbledore has different ideas. After all, he made you Head Boy."
James grinned. "Sour grapes, Remus?"
“Yeah, thanks, could you pass them?" James looked blankly at Remus. "The grapes. By your goblet. Hand them over."
James looked searchingly at his goblet. "...oh! Right. Here you go."
"Thanks." Remus took them with a distinctly self-satisfied smile.
Remus popped a grape off the stem and held it, looking at it critically. Seeming satisfied, he tossed it into his mouth and chewed with relish.
"Not sour," he told James. "Your bad."
James stared at him in utter bafflement for a moment. "What?"
"The grapes aren't sour, Prongs," Remus repeated patiently.
"Oh, right," James replied vaguely, still looking a little confused.
"Prongs," said Sirius, looking exasperatedly at James. "You are the biggest dimwit I have ever seen!"
"Really? Wow, how do you get your hair like that then, if you never look in the mirror?"
Remus and Peter both began laughing uproariously.
"Not funny," Sirius said huffily. "I use mirrors fine, thanks."
"Right," James said skeptically.
Remus chuckled slightly and stopped; Peter just kept going. "Mirror---hee hee---Sirius---heh heh heh heh heh---dimwit----ha ha ha---"
"Wormtail, shut up," ordered James sharply.
Peter's laughter extinguished instantly, leaving him under Padfoot's and Prong's lingering looks of impatient disapproval.
Remus glared at James and Sirius. "You could be a little kinder," he said in a low voice. Peter looked close to tears.
"I didn't mean it, Padfoot?" he half-said, half-queried, seeming to shrink into himself. "I don't really mean it."
"Oh, stop cringing," Sirius said impatiently as he stuffed more of the sumptuous dinner into his mouth.
"So about this prank," Remus said after a moment. "With Spike. What are you doing?"
James cast Sirius a brief questioning look before he began, "Well, I'm sure we could come up with a better one if we tried, but it's really so classic we just couldn't pass up." He leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "We're taking off a regular toilet seat somewhere and putting Spike in it's place."
"So when someone...." Remus said questioningly, the rest of his query apparent in his expression.
James nodded jubilantly, "Exactly."
"You never stop, do you?" Remus asked, shaking his head. Suddenly he grinned. "Which bathroom are you going to put it in? I want to make sure to witness some of the action before you're both expelled."
James assumed a horrified expression. "Me, expelled? I'm Head Boy, I am!"
"And a good one," Remus added dryly. "Exceptionally strict, wouldn't you say, Peter?"
"Oh - er, of course!" Peter said hastily. He hesitated. "But Moony, he isn't strict..."
Sirius gave a long-suffering sigh. "Really, Wormtail, will you never learn? You've got less intelligence than a first year."
"Padfoot!"
"Sorry, Moony, didn't mean to offend your tender sensibilites there," Sirius drawled. "Just stay out of the first floor toilet, all right, Wormtail?"
"First floor toilet. Right, thanks," Peter made a mental note. "When are you going to put it in there?"
Sirius looked at James, tilting his head. "Well, we hadn't really decided..."
But James wasn't listening. His eyes were wide and a lustful smile twitched at his lips. Sirius poked him eagerly, '"What, what?"
James leaned forward and waved his friends closer, a mischievous leer on his face. "I've got the best idea..." he whispered, and began detailing his brilliant scheme.
Peter leaned forward, almost far enough to dip his almost non-existant chin into the plate of mashed potatoes he had recently drug in front of him. Prongs always had the best ideas, and Peter knew it. In fact, Wormtail might have been even a little jealous because he never came up with such cunning and hilarious ideas.
His face was absolutely dripping with an eager expression of expectance, lips twitching as he waited for the idea (which would be brilliant, of course). Though he was still wondering inwardly exactly what was so dreadful about "Spike" the toilet seat. Though the name itself might have given implications that someone like Remus might pick up, poor little Wormtail was left in the dark to try and figure it out.
Okay...oh, this is good...oh-ho, SO good...Sirius and I, with The Map," a significant expression was exchanged between the four friends, "go to the girls' bathroom and put Spike on there instead. We've left the girls alone mostly. So I say we broaden our horizons a little this year." He leaned back, folding his arms and looking smugly around the circle.
Peter's mouth fell open, his face changing as he actually thought about what James was suggesting.
"Y'mean... go into... the girl's bathroom?!"
Just the thought confounded Wormtail, his face looking like a blank slate before he burst out into laughter, loud laughter. He pulled back, sniggering loudly as his elbow rammed into the plate of mashed potatoes he had barely missed before.
"Oh, that's great, Prongs! That's rich, go to the... oh!!"
He stopped in mid-laugh, as if something had smacked him harshly upside the back of his head. He looked at the white patch on his robe sleeve as he thought, blinking slowly.
"But how would you know when it was sat on?"
James grinned sinisterly. "We'd be able to hear them all the way from Gryffindor tower, ten to one. And besides, don't you think people would be talking about it all that day, and for a month after? And all through it, we'll be painfully jealous of the brilliant minds who managed to think it up before we did."
"What do you mean. We will do it, so we'll be-- Oooohh... I get it."
Peter nodded slowly as he finally realized what James ment. They would deny the whole thing and pretend some other perverts did it. James was such a genius! A grin cracked his face before he started to tuck into his food, trying to hide the snickers he wanted to release into the air.
Remus gave James a disapproving glance, but after a moment broke into a smile as mischievous as his companions'.
"This won't be too bad," he admitted with a grin. "A bit rich, maybe, but still --"
James smiled loftily. "It was concieved in Great Minds, Moony - how could it not be perfect?" He paused, "Hey, um, Peter..." James held up his elbow, "You've got some potatoes there."
"Mm... potatoes..."
He blinked as James held up his elbow, the fork of roast beef he had just impaled toppling onto the plate with a loud clatter because of the sudden movement.
"Oh, thanks. I was saving that for later."
Wormtail leaned over, snatching a random napkin from under a near-by plate, using the clean material to wipe off the sleeve of his uniform.
"Wow, it must be a great plan if Moony's agreeing to it. I guess that makes you as dirty as the rest of us."
The teenager snickered at his own joke, finding it rather funny and clever.
"Possibly," Remus said mildly, spooning more mashed potatoes onto his plate. "Although I do think it could land you in a wealth of trouble, Prongs," he added severely.
"Oh, yeah, what if Lily sits on it?"
Peter laughed quite loudly at the thought, almost elbowing his potatoes once more as he reached for his goblet.
Sirius laughed and clapped James on the shoulder. "There's a question for you."
Peter glanced around. "Hey, Sirius, that girl is still looking at you."
Sirius looked her way. She'd apparently been staring; she turned around quickly, turning red. He grinned, "Ah, well, I am capable of making any girl in this school head over heels about me. You know all the popular girls have their current status because of me."
James snorted. "Yeah right, Padfoot."
"No, really! Just pick a girl, any girl, and I'll bet you I can have her on me like white on rice, and popular into the deal."
James grabbed his hand and shook it. "You're on."
Sirius grinned. "Alright then...but I want to go to the Common Room before Wormtail spills something down his front." He stood.
Aralyn saw a few boys from the Gryffindor table get up, a few seats away. One of them looked so familiar...
"SIRIUS!" she yelled, running towards him. Aralyn had not seen him for almost two years. Before she had left, she had been his flirting buddy...all they would do is flirt, and eventually became very good friends. She was sure he would recognize her, and be happy. She sure was.
"Aralyn," Sirius said, flashing the girl a charmingly brilliant smile. "Long time no see....what have you been doing?" He winked broadly at James.
"Oh, I went back to Egypt." Aralyn answered braggingly. "I learned tons at the new school I went to there."
James grinned and nudged Remus in the ribs. "Not exactly what we had in mind, eh?" he said in an undertone.
"I don't think it's fair, he already knew that girl!"
Wormtail fairly whined in his whisper, obviously jealous of Sirius' natural charms with the ladies. His eyebrows furrowed at the thought. "You should make him try and charm a Slytherin, see how much of a snake charmer he is, then."
Just a little bitter, was he? Padfoot was no James, but it would be fun to watch it, anyway.
Marti slowly followed Aralyn to the Gryffindor table, where her newest acquaintance Aralyn had embraced Sirius Black. She stood next to her mutely, not bringing any sort of attention to herself as she watched Aralyn's and Black's exchange.
She then noticed Marti behind her, silently watching. "Oh, hi Marti! Sirius, this is my friend Marti. She's a Ravenclaw." Aralyn smiled again.
James watched the girl carefully. Apparently she was--Aralyn's?--friend. Any other girl on the planet would be using her friend to get to Padfoot. James knew the girl by sight to be an aloof, reserved Ravenclaw who had little interest in anything but her work and occasionally proffering scathing remarks. He looked at her wryly, A tough cookie...more like a cold-blooded rock....
He put his hands on Peter's and Remus' shoulders and guided them away, out of hearing range of Padfoot and the girls. "You know, Wormtail, I've think I've got a better idea. We've got to get someone that's completely not his style...that he won't know what do to with." He turned and eyed Aralyn's friend. "And I have someone perfect for the role in mind."
"Who? What?"
Prongs was actually touching him, but Peter didn't show his reaction. He looked back at Potter, the flashing of jealousy still evident in his eyes as he furrowed his brows.
"If you insist. You seem to know what to do."
"What if she doesn't want to fall in love with Padfoot?" Remus objected weakly.
"Moony, my dear fellow," James said brightly, "How could she not?" James caught Lily Evans' eye and winked broadly. "Of course, Aralyn's shy friend would much rather fall for me --" he made a grandiose gesture -- "but I'm already taken." James grinned and with a jerk of his head told Remus and Peter to come back over to where Sirius and Aralyn had been cheerily conversing.
"So, Sirius, are you going to keep on flirting and keep your lady friend all to yourself, or are you going to introduce her to the rest of us?" He pretended to look hurt.
Sirius flashed his trademark disarming smile. "Prongs, mate, this is Aralyn - Aralyn, James Potter."
James smiled at Aralyn and winked, "I'm Padfoot's counterpart...better half, if you will." He gestured to his friends at his side, "These are our good friends, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." He smiled at Aralyn's friend, a slightly wicked expression in his eyes. "And who is your quiet comrade?"
"Oh, this is Marti, as I just told Sirius," Aralyn said, smiling.
James offered his hand, "Nice to meet you, Marti," he said, the look still in his eyes.
Eyeing him cautiously, she shook his hand. "Good evening, Potter."
"Potter!" James gaped at his friends. "She called me Potter!" He turned back to her, "That will never do, especially since your friend is Sirius' friend...we're bound to see more of each other." A devilish smile threatened to tug at his lips. "Please, call me James...and no Pettigrew or Lupin or Black either, if you don't mind."
"If you insist. James." She touched Aralyn's arm. "I'm going to my common room, I'll see you later. Nice meeting you all, " She walked off.
Jame smirked. Padfoot's got his work cut out for him....
"So, Sirius, what is your latest prank-to-be? What were your more finer ones over the previous year or two? I have been gone so long, it seems. And I think I remember you, James--" she shot at him, "You’re still a stuck up twit who is still obsessed with Evans, right?"
Aralyn never much liked James' arrogance. Sirius was bad enough with that, but his looks compensated with that. She almost laughed out loud at the expression on his face after she said that.
"Sirius?" she questioned. He looked like he was about to die laughing. So did Remus. Peter Pettigrew, the small tittering boy who never talked to her, but just stared, was absently gobbling down his mashed potatoes.
"Sirius, what's up with you? Do I need to hex you for you to listen?" Then she did burst out laughing, as did Sirius, for they both just remembered the last time she tried to curse him. He blocked the spell and it backfired-- causing her to reverse colors, making her blonde hair black and her skin white. She also sprouted big black bat-like wings out of her back, and became the size of a cat. It was upsetting then, but she eventually laughed it off. The day after she got out of the hospital wing, Sirius came to breakfast complaining that someone put a load full of worms and toads in his bed. He didn't find out it was her until she left with her parents to go home from Platform 9 3/4, so he was unable to get her back.
"Anyway, I am going to go to the Common Room. Does anyone know the password, Head-Boy?" Aralyn sneered.
James, not caring in the slightest what Aralyn thought of him, gave her a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Why yes, my dear Miss Lansford, I do in fact know what it is. So good of you to ask." He bat his eyelashes at her.
Aralyn looked back at him unamusedly. "What is it, Potter?"
James feigned surprise. "Oh! You actually want to know what it is? You should have said so to begin with!"
"You know what I meant. Tell me what it is."
James put a hand to his ear. "I don't think I heard the magic word..."
Aralyn made a disgusted sound. "Fine, I don't care. James, will you please tell me the password to the common room?"
He grinned. "Why certainly. It's 'porpington.'"
Aralyn turned on her heel with a huff and left the Great Hall.
"You're welcome!" James called after her. He turned to his friends with a grin.
"So helpful, Prongs," Remus drawled. "In a very annoying sort of way."
"Anything to help a pretty girl," he said, proffering a dramatic bow. He turned to Sirius with a mischievous expression. "Speaking of girls, Padfoot...we, the committee," he gestured to Remus, Peter, and himself, "have evaluated the candidates and chosen...Marti."
"Marti? Haven't you three outdone yourselves this time?
"However," Sirius continued with a lofty smile, "Although for any lesser man such a task would be impossible, I rise willingly to the challenge. Simple, Prongs. Marti it is."
Prongs smirked and shook his head. "This will be interesting." He cleared his throat, "I suppose we ought to go to the Common Room, eh?" The Marauders left the Great Hall.
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