The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

"Today, class, we will be going back to one of the simpler potions you have learned through your years here. The Forgetfulness Potion," said Professor Slughorn. "I trust you all remember it?" The majority of the class nodded. "You may open your books and get started."

Opening his book to the proper page, Sirius ran his finger down the parchment until it reached the ingredients. He would need Valerian sprigs, Mistletoe berries, Lethe River Water and Standard Ingredient, as well as a mortar and pestle. Sirius stood up from his seat and followed the rest of the students toward the supply cupboard, James right behind him.

Sirius squeezed between the crowd to reach for his mortal and pestle and then moved onto the line for ingredients. Soon, he reached the front of the line and was able to grab what he'd need. Bringing everything to the table, Sirius got to work prepping his ingredients.

He grabbed the bouquet of Valerian, pinched off two sprigs and set them aside for later. According to the recipe, Lethe River Water was to be added to the cauldron first, so he picked up the decorative glass bottle and unscrewed the top. Tipping it ever so slowly over the cauldron, Sirius let two measures trickle into it. He tapped his wand at the base of the cauldron to create fire and gently heated the liquid for 20 seconds. Next, he added the two Valerian sprigs he had set aside and stirred the mixture three times going clockwise.

Sirius let his mind wander now that he had almost an hour to wait before the other ingredients could be added. Just as he was thinking about their plan to prank Filch, a brilliant idea struck him: why don't they use the Forgetfulness Potion to make Filch forget what they did? That way he couldn't remember who did it to him and he'd have no actual proof!

Feeling giddy over his new idea, Sirius slapped James on the arm to get his attention. Unfortunately for James, he dropped the bottle of Lethe River Water into the cauldron as Sirius hit his arm and it exploded in his face. He fell backwards off his stool and landed on the floor. The look of shock on Sirius face gave way to a shameful grin as he fought not to laugh at his friend's misfortune.

"Sorry, mate." said Sirius, taking in the state of the exploded cauldron. Professor Slughorn hurried over to see what happened.

"You've got to pay attention while brewing! Any first-year should know that, let alone a sixth-year! Ten points from Gryffindor!" said Slughorn disapprovingly.

James sat up dazedly, looking around in confusion.

"Where am I?" asked James. "Better yet, who am I?"

"Oh, bollocks," said Sirius. Lethe River Water is the active ingredient in the Forgetfulness Potion and James used an awful lot..

"Sirius, will you please escort James to the Hospital Wing? Madam Pomfrey will have the antidote."

Sirius nodded, pulling James off the floor by the hand and leading him toward the door. As the two reached for the door, James-who was focused on a certain spot in the room- shrugged briefly out of Sirius' grasp and pointed to a beautiful redhead sitting closer to the front of the room.

"What beautiful creature is that?" James exclaimed, much to Lily Evans' embarrassment. "What an angel! What a thief who has stolen my heart at first glance! Tell me, fair maiden, what is your name?"

The entire class, minus Lily who was blushing ferociously and glaring at the messy-haired boy, erupted in laughter. Sirius even had a particularly hard time trying to grasp James' arm before he made his way to Evans. Once the grey-eyed Gryffindor succeeded, he proceeded to drag James out, and down to Madam Pomfery.

Twenty minutes later, James was back to normal and ranting once more about Lily.

"And I bet she just thinks that those words I spoke to her when I had no idea who anyone was, was just another attempt to shag her," James pouted as he and Sirius walked back to Slughorn's class.

When they returned to class, the pair noticed two things: One, Lily wouldn't dare lift her head to meet James' eyes, and two, Remus had been standing watch over Sirius' potion while it brewed. Sirius was grateful for this as the class was shared with Slytherins who would do anything in their power to get back at Sirius for multiple pranks he had pulled on them in the past.

Class ended before they knew it, and Sirius bottled his perfected potion, eager to use it upon the caretaker. The boys gathered up their belongings and headed to the door, pausing only long enough for Remus and Peter to catch up as they made their way to Transfiguration.

The day passed soon enough and it was time for James to hold Gryffindor's Quidditch practice. As they had a game coming up soon against Slytherin, James wanted to make sure his team was in top shape and could handle anything thrown their way.

Although the Marauders had issues with Slytherins in the past, and James had a slight vendetta with them for some dirty tactics in Gryffindor/Slytherin games, the Chaser and Team Captain had to admit that he admired the new Slytherin Captain: Lynch Mycroft; though he'd never say it out loud even if you paid him. Mycroft was definitely not someone James could see himself being friends with, but he was determined and played with just as much passion as James.

Or maybe it wasn't passion, but ambition.

Either way, it made for an interesting game, and this thought caused James to feel a very minute twinge of jealousy for his friends as they were able to watch the entire game from the stands.

James met with his three best friends down in the common room after he changed into his Quidditch robes.

"Ready to go?" they nodded and stood up. James turned to six others dressed in Quidditch robes, "Ready team? Brilliant! Lets go!"

As the ten students walked down the halls, they talked amongst themselves. Micaiah McLaggen, a Seventh Year, discussed different tactics with James, mentioning how Slytherin's plays looked from his point of view as Keeper.

"I know it's hard for you to see the exact way we play, what with you flying around in circles," James inwardly groaned. McLaggen was an amazing Keeper, but the guy had a big head on his shoulders. But James just waved him off, and turned to a fifth year girl, and Gryffindor's Seeker.

"So Gilmore," Abigail Gilmore blushed slightly, as it was no secret that she had a slight crush for her Captain. "Slytherins are ruthless, and you're our most important asset. They know this so we will focus on you're reflexes this practice. I'm gonna have Crenshaw and Sterling aiming the Bludgers at you for the first part of practice."

"But what if I fall, or break something?" Abigail asked in a meek voice.

James smiled, "Don't worry Abs! I'll be flying close by and I'll catch you if you fall. You'll be fine." Slinging an arm around the younger Gryffindor's shoulder, James gave her a side hug, causing the young Seeker's cheeks to flush once again.

James released her in time to open and hold the door for everyone to pass through and out into the courtyard. James followed Sirius out, but nearly stumbled over him as the taller kid stop suddenly.

"Padfoot!" James pushed Sirius slightly. "Merlin, mate! I nearly fell and broke my arm!"

Sirius just shrugged James off, and raised his hand in the air. "Lyra!"

Sitting on the edge of the fountain sat the Ravenclaw girl. She raised her head from the book she was reading to glance up at the one calling her name. Lyra smiled when she saw Sirius and James, waving at them to show her acknowledgment.

"I have to go get everyone ready for practice," James shoved Sirius to Lyra as he spoke. "Go ask her if she wants to hang out with you, Remus and Peter on the bleachers! Oh and see if she wants to help us with our plan! As soon as practice is over, I'll be down and we can go over everything."

"Sure," Sirius shrugged, nonchalantly and walked over to the young girl. "Hello, Lyra!"

"Hey Sirius!" Lyra finally closed her book. "James having practice?"

"Yeah," Sirius glanced to his friends retreating form. "You wanna come sit with Remus, Peter and me? We have an idea that we want to run by you."

"Oh no," the young Ravenclaw rolled her eyes, "Not another scheme to kiss McGonagall! Haven't you placed that poor woman through enough!?"

The face of one Sirius Black turned a dark shade of scarlet. "No, it has to do with Filch-"

"YOU'RE GONNA KISS FILCH?!?!" Lyra yelled out, causing a few heads to turn.

Sirius smacked himself in the face, "No, Lyra. Just come on, I'll explain everything."

The young man grabbed Lyra by the sleeve and dragged her out of the courtyard and to the Quidditch Pitch.

While the pair climbed the bleachers behind Remus and Peter, a piercing scream was heard, and Remus groaned.

"Remmy!" a body slammed into Lyra and Sirius, pushing them apart. "Out of the way! Remmy!"

Lyra laughed as Remus' face fell, and a young Gryffindor launched herself on top of him. "So Janet and Rem's date must've went well."

"I guess you could say that," said Sirius, rubbing his head where Janet had smacked him as she had flailed her arms.

The two moved to sit with a now seated Remus, Janet, and Peter. Getting settled, Sirius turned to Lyra.

"Okay, so the plan," he said, pulling Peter in closer. "We're gonna tie Filch up, and hang him up at the entrance of the Great Hall. Oh, and slip him some Forgetfulness Potion so he doesn't remember us doing it."

Lyra thought for a moment, considering what Sirius just told her. "So, you think Filch is just going to let you tie him up and hang him upside down?" Sirius' smile fell slightly.

"Well, no, but.. bugger," said Sirius.

"Fear not, my friends, for I have a solution," said Lyra, a mockingly pompous grin on her face. "You remember the Sleeping Draught, yes?"

"Oh," said Sirius, "I like where you're going with this."

"It's simple to brew and should help along the plan," she said, "I'll only need to sneak a few ingredients from Slughorn's stores and then find somewhere do brew it."

Sirius beamed proudly at her. They really had had an affect on the Ravenclaw sitting before him. She was their apprentice mischief maker and he was quite pleased with her progress.
"I knew there was a reason we kept you around," said Sirius playfully. Lyra bumped his shoulder with hers, and laughed.

"Hey, am I allowed to be here?" asked Lyra, as the Gryffindor Quidditch team took to the pitch. "What with me being in an opposing house and all."

"We trust you," said Remus, who had heard her question over the constant yammering of Janet in his ear. "We don't see you as the type to spy for Ravenclaw."

"Well, thank you. I'm flattered," she smiled, happy that they thought so highly of her. She would make sure she didn't disappoint them.

Janet, sick of hearing her boyfriend talk to another girl, pulled him back to her and began a heated make-out session, which Remus responded to immediately.

Lyra and Sirius rolled their eyes and continued to watch the practice, discussing details of their next prank in between Lyra's murmurs on what James should, or shouldn't do during the next match.

"Still eating each other," Sirius said, looking to Remus and Janet. "Are you sick of it yet?"

Lyra glanced over to the couple, "Well, it's unbecoming, but if they want to snog outside for all the world to see, so be it. It's not my place to stop them."

Sirius smirked, "Oh just you wait until James gets over here."

With that, the Gryffindor team landed, and James called them all to return after dinner. The Gryffindor boy trudged his way up to the bleachers where his friends sat. "Hey, Lyra, did Sirius fill you in?"

Lyra grinned, "Of course! And I have a few ideas to allow this to go smoothly."

"Great! Let's get to the Great Hall, sit with us for dinner, and-" James turned and caught Remus and Janet in his eye; the couple still in lip-lock. Smirking, James reached a hand over and rested it on Remus' thigh and began rubbing back and forth.

Remus didn't seem to notice at first, thinking it was Janet, but that all changed when James leaned in close to Remus' ear and whispered seductively, "Let's finish this up in the Great Hall, love."

As Remus seemed to jump out of his skin, Lyra, Sirius, Peter, and especially James began howling in laughter.

Remus grinned at his friend, and shook his blonde hair out of his face, "Prongs, mate, I know you think I'm proper fit, but please, lets save it for the dormitory."

"As you wish, darling," James said with a wink.

Janet, however, didn't see the humor in this at all. "Potter, must you spoil everything? No wonder Lily Evans can't stand the sight of you."

"What did you say?" Lyra spat, shocking everyone. "Listen, sweetie, you can snog Remus in public, you can call him weird pet names, but do not insult anyone of these guys! James was just messing around, so get your head out of your arse and apologize!"

Janet looked horrified, but murmured a sorry, and stomped off to the Great Hall. Remus sighed and looked to his friends, silently begging for their permission to follow her. Peter just looked back and forth between Lyra, James, Sirius, and Remus; Lyra still stood fuming, and glaring at the girl, Sirius was looking at Lyra curiously, and James just shook his head and nodded Remus to Janet.

"I'm sorry, mate," James said, "Tell her I said that, and I will apologize in person if she isn't too pissed."

"No need too," replied Remus, "She was out of line, I don't think any of us knew that she would react like that. I'll see you after dinner?"

"These three, sure," said James, "I got to be back here to resume practice. I'll see you before bed."

Remus nodded and turned to run after Janet. James turned to Lyra with a nice sized grin set upon his lips.

"You, madam, are absolutely brilliant!" James picked the girl up in a bone-crushing hug and spun her around.

"Thank you," Lyra's voice was muffled by James' clothed shoulder. "You can put me down now, James."

James complied and set her gently on her feet. "Seriously, I didn't think you had that spunk in you!"

Sirius swung an arm around Lyra's shoulder, and said, "Alright, we all know she's brilliant, now lets get to the Great Hall. I am starving!"