The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

For the first time since the Marauders have been at Hogwarts, the whole of their year was in one class together. Apparition seemed to bring all four houses together as each 16 and 17 year old had the common desire to disappear from one place, only to reappear somewhere different.

"Destination, Determination and Deliberation," was a common murmur through out the Great hall as each student concentrated on the space surrounding the hoop in front of him or her. A Ravenclaw and a Slytherin were the only two to have near success in transporting their body into the hoop, with only fingernails and an eyebrow missing.

"Alright," said the instructor, an older man named Wilkie Twyncross. "I think one more try, and that will be all for today. Remember: Destination, Determination and Deliberation."

James bit his lip and looked down, concentrating hard on the ring before him. Destination, Determination and Deliberation, was running through his mind. James closed his eyes for a second in hopes to concentrate harder. Suddenly, he felt as if his entire body was being pulled through a tube. Freaking out a little, James opened his eyes back up to see that he was now in the middle of the hoop.

"Woo-hoo! Finally! After nearly an hour!" James said, smiling brightly. He looked around seeing every pair of eyes on him in the hall. "Jealous, are you? Is it always this breezy in the Great Hall?"

Suddenly there were roars of laughter coming from the Slytherins huddled in the corner of the room.

"What?" asked James, "What's so bleeding funny?"

"James, mate," said Sirius, approaching his friend. Unable to find the right words, he just pointed toward his head.

Confused, James reached his hand upward and ran it over the top of his head, expecting to feel his unruly hair, but instead finding that he had none. A look of shock and horror overtook
his face as he let out a strangled sort of cry, feeling his head more to confirm that the majority of it had been splinched.

"I'm sorry, mate," Sirius laughed, unable to stop himself from finding it absolutely hilarious along with most of his classmates.

"I-I-I- AHHHHH!" James screamed and began a complete psychotic episode, seemingly having lost his mind along with his hair.

Professor McGonagall came to James' rescue as he fell to the ground and began to try to stick the pile of hair back to his head. "Potter! Leave that there and go to Madam Pomfrey."

James gave her a look reminiscent of that of a small child whose favorite toy broke. "Will she be able to fix it?"

"If she can't, she wouldn't be working here," McGonagall said, feeling a mix of pity and amusement. James nodded, dropped the hair, and began his journey to the Hospital Wing.

James was walking through the halls toward the common room when he, quite literally, ran into Lily.

"Ow! James! That was my toe!" the redhead complained as she rubbed her toe.

James blushed and ruffled his regrown hair, still embarrassed. "Sorry, Lils, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I see Madam Pomfrey fixed you right up," Lily said with a smirk. "I can't imagine what would happen if you lost your arm instead."

"Yeah," if it was possible for James' flush to deepen, it had happened right then. "I'm sorry you saw that. I-uh-"

James started ruffling his hair again, and looked at anything but Lily. The young girl then realized something that she never though that she would witness in her life: James Potter was embarrassed.

Lily grabbed the hand that James was using to play with his hair, and brought it down to her other hand, cradling it. Hazel eyes met green ones and James smiled warmly at the young girl.

"At least you got into the hoop," said Lily. "When I finally was able to Apparate I kept missing the hoop. In fact, I nearly knocked Sirius over! And besides, you really could've lost your arm, and that would've been the real tragedy, as Gryffindor would've lost an amazing Chaser."

James smiled once again, "Thanks Lily. That really does make me feel better. Where are you off too anyways?"

"I'm glad I can help," she said before replying. "And to the library. I have a bit of last minute work I need to do."

"Anything I can help with?"

"No, it's only about an hour of work at the most. Thanks anyways."

James and Lily bid each other goodbye and went on their separate ways.

"Hey! I did it!" shouted Lyra as she had successfully transfigured an apple into a pocket watch for the first time.

"Well done!" Sirius prided himself on his tutoring skills and the fact that he could help make Lyra smile. "So did you see what happened to James earlier today?"

Lyra couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "Oh yes. I don't think anyone could have missed it."

"Honestly, I never thought he would go completely mad over his hair," said Sirius, chuckling at the memory. "Sure has knocked his ego down a few pegs, I suspect. Still, it's not as bad as kissing McGonagall."

"I don't imagine much is," she said, laughing once more. "Have you always been doing things like this? With James, I mean. When did you start this whole pranking and wagers business?"

Sirius thought for a moment, "It seems like we've been doing it forever. I remember this one time-which may have been the first wager- in which we decided to see who would swim the furthest into the Black Lake. Of course Slughorn caught us while we were still wading."

"Sirius, you do realize that there's a giant squid in the Lake, don't you? And merpeople and grindylows and-" she was cut off by him holding up a finger to stop her.

"We were 11 and stupid," said Sirius, a slight tone of annoyance graced his words. "We haven't tried that since."

"Okay, okay," Lyra held her hands up in defense, "I was just saying."

Sirius sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Just don't worry about us, okay? James and I can protect ourselves. Now, I think we should go over a couple more things before we end." Sirius grabbed the book and began to study over another spell. He picked one out
and turned the book toward her. "How are you with this one?"

"Oh, Lily taught me that one," said Lyra.

"Lily?" Sirius scrunched up his face in confusion. "When did Lily tutor you?"

"When you passed out in the Hospital Wing," Lyra sat down on the top of a desk, and began swinging her legs back and forth. "Why? Is someone jealous?"

Sirius smirked, "Maybe a little. Although the thought of you two together is a glorious thought in itself. James, on the other hand... well, I'm not sure how he would like one of his friends touching the girl of his dreams." Then a thought crossed his mind, "Did you and Lily talk about James at all?"

"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't," Lyra smiled, "I've got to keep to the Girl Code."

"Forget the Girl Code!" Sirius emphasized by throwing his arms up in the air. "You have better talked about it! How else are they supposed to end up together! If I have to hear whining from James for the rest of my life, I'm gonna kill him before he turns 20!"

Lyra was unphased by his outburst, "You're adorable when you're angry."

"Whining, Lyra! Do you know how unmanly it is to have to comfort your best mate when he is whining?" Sirius grimaced. "I might as well just hand in my man card now."

"Can't say I do," Lyra then made a strange face, "Did you just say 'man card'?"

"Did the student just question the master?"

"Did you just answer my question with another question?"

"Did you just answer my question, that was the answer to your question, with another-" Sirius stopped. "No, I am not playing this game. Don't question me, I'm always right."

"Oh, is that so?" Lyra hopped of the desk and stood in front of Sirius. "Care if I put that to the test?"

Sirius' eyes widened just a bit before they narrowed and he smirked, "Of course, love."

Lyra matched his look, "What's my cup size?"

His smirked faltered, but returned as a fire lit in his eyes, "Let me feel them."

Her mouth dropped open at his boldness and took a step back, "Oh no, that would be cheating!"

Sirius frowned, pouting his lips a little. "Fine, then," he paused and looked at her chest briefly, and then moved his gaze back to her eyes. Without missing a beat he replied with,
"You're a 36C."

"What?!" Lyra exclaimed, mouth agape, "How did you know that?!"

Sirius waved his hand in dismissal, "It's an obtained talent. James can do it too."

"Well," Lyra flushed slightly, "I still refuse to agree that you're always right."

"Name one time in which I was in the wrong, and I'll be inclined to admit that I, The Great Sirius Black, am not always right," he said grinning.

"'The Great Sirius Black', eh?" Lyra laughed lightly, "Good to know you've got your ego in check."

"Confidence, love, not ego," he said. "James has more ego than I. So can you think of a time?"

Lyra crossed her arms and brought a finger to her chin, mocking deep thought, "Hmm.. Oh, I don't know.. How about the time you thought James would be voted as the prettiest girl?" Giving a cheeky smile, Lyra laughed at the look on Sirius' face.

"Let's not mention that," Sirius pouted again. "Ever."

"Aww! Is The Great Sirius Black embarrassed about being a pretty little girl?" Lyra's expression changed from delighted to thoughtful, "Though, you did look good in those tights."

"So," Sirius spoke loudly, trying to change the subject on that embarrassing moment. "What did Lily have to say about James?"

"There's definitely the potential," Lyra gave in to his question, "If he stopped being a git to the Slytherins, they'd be a match made in heaven."

"That's all?" Sirius scrunched up his face again. "I suppose we could stop initiating the fights. But as for pranks and wagers, those will still stay in effect."

"I can live with that," said Lyra, "and I'm sure Lily could too."

"Good. I'll tell James," said Sirius.

"As long as you stay safe.." Lyra looked at her hands and then back at Sirius, "but the problem is that you don't always stay safe."

"What are you talking about? None of us have yet been injured during a prank."

"Oh, really? Then why the hell did you end up in the Hospital Wing and almost die after you sneaked out of the castle?" Lyra couldn't help but feel a surge of anger at him for getting himself in a situation like that.

Sirius closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lyra," he said, straining to find the right words as to not incriminate himself and his friends, but would also comfort her.

"Okay, look, I can't tell you what we were doing in the Forbidden Forest. Not yet at least. But I can assure you that it wasn't a prank or a wager. Yes, we were there for fun, but there is something more to it than just that."

"Like what, Sirius? What can't you trust me with?" She looked hurt at the notion that he thought she wasn't ready for some type of information he was keeping secret.

Sirius groaned. This was not at all the way he wanted to end his night. "It's not just my secret. It's James' and Peter's and... and Remus' secret. Until all four of us are ready to tell you, I can't. I would if I could, just... just trust me when I say: No matter what happens, James, Peter and Remus will look out for me, and I for them. No one will die as long as the four of us stick together. One day, hopefully soon, you will know. And maybe Lily too."

Lyra wiped hastily at her eye before any tears could fall and she swallowed her worry. "Okay," she nodded. "As long as no one gets hurt, I can wait a little longer to find out whatever it is you're not telling me."

Sirius stood up from where he sat and made his way over to the dark haired girl. Instead of saying anything, he opted for wrapping his arms around her tightly, and kissing her forehead. Finally, he spoke, "I'm sorry, Lyra. I want to tell you of all people. Thank you for understanding and I promise I won't let you wait too long."

Lyra returned the embrace and buried her head in his chest. After a few minutes, she looked up at his face, staring directly into his gray eyes. "You're lucky you're you. Otherwise I'd feel inclined to beat it out of you. I wouldn't want to mess with this pretty face though, no matter how in suspense I am."

Sirius chuckled and gave her cheek a kiss, "I'm glad you think I'm pretty. Shall we end tutoring tonight?"

"Yeah, I think I quite like that idea." They left the classroom together and then went their separate ways, back to their common rooms to turn in for the night.