Boys will be Boys

Chapter Four
Revelations and a Flying Chicken

Dara pursed her lips in thought, "Well, you must admit that they are up to somethingÂ…"

"If they weren't up to something, I'd be afraid that they might be dying!" Lily replied wryly. They had reached the entrance back into the witch's hump. "So, WHAT did you find out-"

"Not now," Dara said shortly as she tucked the map into her pocket and peered carefully out into the hallway, "No one there." She hopped out and Lily followed. "We'd better get back to our dormsÂ…McGonagall'll have an aneurysmÂ…"

Neither noticed the shadow behind them.

*~*~*~*~*

The Gryffindor common room was full of people, though it was late. All of the procrastinators (nearly everyone, that is) were up doing the put-aside essay or star chart due tomorrow. Luckily, it was also quite noisy, and that made a good cover for a private conversation.

"I'll give you a chance, Lils. Thank about it! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and ProngsÂ…" she waved her arms as if to get Lily to expand upon her idea.

"I'm thinkingÂ…" Lily answered, mocking Dara's arm motions. "Moony is Remus because he changes into a," she looked around her, "a you-know-what and that has everything to do with the moon. Then the othersÂ…Oh dear. They're animagi." She looked heavenward as if to plead that she was wrong.

"Yup," Dara agreed, "WormtailÂ…a mouse or something? I dunno. PadfootÂ…well, something with padded feet-"

"A dog," Lily interrupted confidently, "Sirius loves dogs."

Dara looked at her questioningly, "How do you know-"

"Don't ask."

Dara raised her eyebrows, "I won't. I don't even want to know. So then, Prongs has horns or somethingÂ…"

"A deer?" Lily suggested.

"Aren't deer female? NoÂ…that's doesÂ…Anyways, it would have to be something common. Y'know, nothing out of the ordinary."

Lily's eyes were wide with excitement, "This is awesome! They're animagi. And illegal ones, I'm sureÂ…"

Dara was gazing towards a window on the side of the common room. They were out there somewhere. Somehow, she was very mush impressed with them. To be so much of a friend to Remus that they'd risk a whole lot for him. She sighed. Maybe there was more to them than she'd first thought.

*~*~*~*~*

James and Sirius were, at the moment, in trouble and running for their lives. The leaves scattered and the loose dirt on the ground flew as they dashed through with an angry farmer in pursuit.

"You get back here and change my pigs back!"

Sirius choked back a laugh and ducked suddenly as a chicken soared over his head and into a bush with a desolate, "BrraaaakÂ…" and a crunching noise. A few feathers floated into Sirius' hair.

"He's throwing chickens at us!" Sirius yelled to James.

James grinned broadly, but didn't answer because he was devoting all his energy to running. The farmer was starting to slow down considerably. His ample pounds seemed to be catching up with him. With a few well chosen swears he shook his fist and watched them disappear.

James and Sirius, gasping for breath, high-fived and sank onto the grass.

"Phew!" James breathed, "That was close! We seem to be losing our touch!"

"What are you talking about, Prongs? No way! We're too young to be losing our prankstering techniques!"

"Well, the girls found out about the tunnel and now we almost got caught. An don't forget the unfortunate incident with Frank LongbottomÂ…"

Sirius grimaced, "Pomphrey said his face can be rearranged, so let's not mention that. It was a mistake-"

"Yes, but it still happenedÂ… and we still have detentions to serve." James leaned against a large tree, "Not that that's anything newÂ…"

"Let's go back to the Shack and see what the boys are up to," Sirius suggested, bored.

"Wait! Let's make sure that no one's out and about. Our luck is not going well and I don't want to run into an irate McGonagall right now, thank you very muchÂ…"

Sirius searched his pockets, "I don't have it. You must."

James wasn't pleased, "Padfoot! I told you to bring it! It's like our security blanket! Without it we'd be screwed!" He realized what he'd said and looked around warily, "Go and get it!"

"What!? Me?! I'LL get caught then!" Sirius protested, "Well, not that I'm not used to itÂ…"

"C'monÂ…Peter'll freak out if we don't have it to get back into the castle. He's paranoid."

"It's not MY fault he's too chubby to fit under the cloak with usÂ…Oh, all right," Sirius conceded, "I'll do it so I don't have to see Peter throw a tantrum," he turned and went, grumbling, in the general direction of the castle.

~*~*~*~*~

The fires still burned brightly although it was well past midnight. Lily awoke with a start and it took her a second to realize that she had fallen asleep in the common room. Dara's arms were sprawled on the table and her head rested on them. Lily looked at her watch and shook Dara awake.

"What?" Dara asked, sleepily. She then shook her head and looked at the table in surprise, "HowÂ…"

"We fell asleep, I guess," Lily told her. She had an idea, "Let me see the map."

Dara took it out of her pocket and they smoothed it out on the table. Lily was looking for something and she seemed satisfied.

"Ha!" she said triumphantly, "They're not back yet!"

"SoÂ…"

"So, we can go through their stuff! Geez, Dara! You're usually the one coming up with the evil little plotsÂ…"

Dara rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "Lily, it's after 12 in the morning. My brain does not work easily at these times."

"Well," Lily said, jumping up, "C'mon! Who knows what awesome things we'll find! You know how amazing this map it! What else could they have hidden?"

Dara rolled her eyes as she was dragged, by the arm, to the steps that led to the boys dormitories.

Lily was as excited as Dara had ever seen her. Dara didn't know if this was the result of the serious coolness of what they had found, the chance of finding more, or the satisfaction that they were going to get the boys good. It was a good thing that the dorms were deserted. Frank was recovering in the Hospital Wing and Andrew Huston had gone home to visit his ailing father. The room was very much like their own, but so very different. It was a thousand times messier, for a start. Lily had no idea how they were to find anything under this mess.

Dara grimaced and looked at what she'd just stepped on, "Urgh! Lils, watch the underwear!" Dara kicked at the offending article with her foot, "Lovely. Boxers, huh? I wonder whose this is?"

Lily laughed, "I'll bet their Peters."

"No, way," Dara countered, "They're definitely not. I'd say one of the other threeÂ…"

Lily was in a very giddy mood, "Which one? Let's bet!"

"Bet?" Dara laughed, "And how will we find out who's right? Oh, I can just SEE myself going up to them and saying, 'Excuse me, but could you settle a debate that we're having? After we broke into your dorm room preparing to snoop around and steal anything we thought was cool, we came across some underwear on the ground. We just have to knowÂ…Boxers or briefs?'"

Lily collapsed into laughter, grabbing a bedpost to steady herself and Dara shook her head, grinning.

"No, really," Lily asked, "Let's bet. Ten galleons says I'm right and you, missy, are dead wrong."

Dara couldn't resist a challenge, "Fine. I say they'reÂ…" she thought hard, "James'."

"Fine," Lily replied, "It's a deal."

They shook hands and got to business, that is, searching the room. Dara went to the other end of the room and Lily started through the piled by the door.

"Nothing!" Dara growled impatiently, "Not even a bloody dungbomb! They have to have a stash somewhere!" She searched impatiently.

"Nothing in here either, save a few dirty socks," Lily informed her, "Let's call it quits. They might be back soon."

"You're right," Dara agreed and stretched. As she did so, the map fell out of her pocket. She picked it up and regarded it for a moment. Her face lost its color and it didn't take much to figure out why. Lily could hear the footsteps outside the door, which she was standing next to. Then she uttered two words that slurred into one.

"Ohshit."