Lupin's True Love

August 20, 1973

Veronica shifted her body slightly as she felt something make its way over her toes. She had managed to bite back her scream when she heard Melissa's muffled gasp of fear. She tried to lean over the edge of her bed when she felt a slimy something scrambling up her leg.

"'Roni?" Fear radiated in Melissa's voice.

"What, 'Lissa?" Veronica tried to move the slimy thing off her legs.

"Is there something in your bed?"

I'm starting to wonder. "Why?"

"Because something slimy just crawled over my leg." Melissa's shriek was echoed by the other girls as they flung back their covers and scrambled from their beds.

The six girls looked back at their beds and saw what had been crawling all over them. In the middle of each mattress sat several frogs and toads with their buggy eyes focused on their victims. One of the frogs croaked which started the others croaking. Veronica's face clouded over slightly while Petunia ran around the tent trying to dislodge the toad that was entangled in her blonde hair.

Lily stopped her sister and untangled the frightened toad from her hair. "They must pay!"

"And they will. Remember the potion Orlando gave me?" Veronica's gaze skimmed over each of the girls for any other adventurous frogs and toads before grabbing a box from the corner.

"What about it?" Melissa watched her best friend starting to put the frogs and toads into the box.

"It'll make them change colors for three days with only one drop. What would happen if we were to put let's say ten drops in each balloon?" Veronica turned to the girls with a wicked grin.

"They'll still be changing colors when we get back to school." Emma rubbed her hands together.

Melissa looked around the tent at the delighted witches. "That's great for the four of you. You'll get to witness our handiwork and their humiliation at school but what about Petunia and me? What are we going to do for revenge since we can't watch those morons make asses of themselves?"

Veronica glanced at the furious Petunia and the slightly miffed Melissa. "I suppose we could get Mom and Mrs. Weasley to turn them into piñatas..."

"We'll all get to beat them, right?" Lily looked excited about beating up poor defenseless James and arrogant Sirius.

"Yes. We'll all get to pound them into oblivion." Veronica hefted the box containing the frogs and toads. "But first I think we should free these poor creatures."

The girls stepped from the tent to find James and Sirius rolling around in the dirt, Alastor sitting on a bench laughing at the poor girls, Peter chuckling into his chubby hands, and Remus near the boys tent holding up his hands as if to say 'I had nothing to do with it.'

"'Roni. They. Must. DIE!" Melissa managed to grind out the lat word through her clenched teeth.

"I agree." Petunia started toward the jokesters as her parents and Remus' parents stepped from one of the tents.

"Petunia!" Rose's shout made Petunia stop in her tracks. "What do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"They're asking for it, Mother." Petunia's hands dropped to her sides.

"She's right, ma'am." Patricia clenched her fists tightly. "Those morons..." She jerked her thumb at James and Sirius still rolling in the dirt. "...Managed to put frogs and toads into our beds."

"They. Must. Die." Melissa's arms were stretched out in front of her. Her hands opened and closed slightly as she approached the laughing boys. "They. Must. Die."

"Melissa!" Jonathan grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air slightly. "You can't kill them."

"But I want to." Melissa struggled slightly in Jonathan's arms.

Thomas and Evelyn stepped toward the group of angry girls. "If you kill them, you can't get back at them for pulling the prank." Thomas gave Veronica a slight smile.

"Mom?" Veronica turned to Evelyn.

"Yes, dear?" Evelyn smiled softly at the mischievous smile on her daughter's face.

"Could you turn the morons into piñatas so we can beat them up?" Veronica managed to pull off the innocent look.

"Hmm. I'll have to see if Molly's up for it. After all we never got back at them for changing our hair colors." Evelyn grinned like a maniac as she wandered into the Weasley tent.

"I didn't like the way Mum was looking at us, guys." James was downright scared. When his mum agrees to torture him it always scared him.

"Neither did I." Sirius knew Mrs. Potter could be cruel but surely she wasn't so cruel as to allow six very upset young ladies beat his head in with a stick. Then again maybe she was.

Daniel simply shook his head as he picked up the box that Veronica had dropped outside the tent. "I'm going to set these poor animals free down by the lake. Remus would you help me?"

"Sure thing, sir." Remus hurried after Daniel leaving his friends to the mercy of six very upset teenage girls.

"Traitor!" James blanched when he saw his mother and Molly leave the Weasley tent. "We're in trouble."

"You said it, James." Sirius was trying to figure out if he could make it to Mr. Potter and Remus.

"We're in agreement with the girls on this one." Molly crossed her arms as she stared at the cowering boys. "You boys just need to learn to stop pranking these girls. Besides we still need to get back at you for the last prank you did to us."

Molly and Evelyn raised their wands and pointed them at the boys. "Torcer por piñatas!"

James and Sirius' screams were cut short by the fact that the two boys had been replaced with tissue paper and looked like donkeys. Lily and Patricia rubbed their hands together while Veronica and Melissa went in search of two very stout sticks. The piñatas tried to move away but Thomas grabbed the one that was James and hung him from a nearby tree.

He looked into the piñata's eye. "You'd better take your medicine like a man, James, or Veronica will torment you for the rest of your life."

The eyes of the piñata widened slightly and you could see it shaking. Melissa handed the first stick to Lily while Veronica handed her stick to Petunia. Jonathan hung the piñata that was Sirius from a second tree and hurried to stand with his wife.

"Okay, girls, I'm giving the six of you five minutes each to beat the tar out of them." Evelyn sank onto one of the benches and watched Lily and Petunia take their stances.

Lily stretched slightly before taking a swing at the James piñata. "This is for putting frogs and toads in my bed."

Petunia reared back with her stick and pounded the Sirius piñata on the head. "Never do anything so stupid again!"

They switched piñatas and started to pound the other one before handing the sticks to the next two in line. Patricia blanched slightly as she taped her stick against James but she full out pounded Sirius' head while Emma pounded James but tapped Sirius. Veronica passed on her turn knowing that she could pay them back at school. Melissa grinned manically as she gripped the stick. The two piñatas shook so much that Melissa could barely hit the cowards. Thomas pointed his wand at them and the shaking stopped. Melissa nodded her thanks and walloped each piñata for every frog and toad that had been in her bed.

She dropped the stick and wiped her hands on her pants. "I'm done. 'Roni, are you sure you won't join us in the torment of two pranksters?"

"Positive, 'Lissa." Veronica watched as Molly and Evelyn changed the boys back into themselves.

"I hope the two of you have learned your lessons about playing pranks on these girls?" Evelyn's emerald eyes narrowed slightly at the battered boys.

"Yes, ma'am." Sirius limped toward the boys' tent. "I'll never prank them when you're around, Mrs. Potter."

"That's good to know, Sirius." Veronica crossed her arms. "How about you, James? Do you agree not to play any more pranks on us?"

James shook his head. "You may have won this battle but the war is far from over." He laughed manically as he wandered after Sirius.

"Good. I wouldn't want life to get too dull." Veronica's laughter scared Sirius and James worse than her threat.

Evelyn looked between her two children and shook her head. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when they would actually declare war on each other."

"At least it's only a pranking war." Rose sank onto the bench beside Evelyn and Molly.

Veronica and the other girls huddled together. "Are we still going to do tomorrow's prank, 'Roni?"

"Of course, Lily. The only thing I wanted to let you know is that Remus is going to be helping us." Veronica bit her bottom lip.

"What?!" Lily looked taken aback at this news.

"Why?" Patricia's jaw dropped open.

"You know he was in on this prank." Melissa crossed her arms.

"Didn't any of you see him?" Veronica sighed when she saw all the shaking heads. "He had his hands held up in surrender. Then he went to help your dad release the frogs and toads, Lily."

"Okay he can be left out of it." Emma rolled her eyes slightly. "But are we still going to put ten drops of that potion in the balloons?"

"Oh yeah." Lily nodded her head to the point they thought it was going to fall off.

"Okay. The prank starts at midnight. We'll be there early to throw the balloons." Veronica looked over her shoulder. "I'll let Remus know in the morning."

"I guess that means we should go and get some sleep?" Petunia crossed her arms.

"Of course, Pets. Come on everyone. Let's head to bed." Patricia headed toward the tent.

The girls made their way to the tent one at a time. Veronica was the last one into the tent so she saw Remus return with Daniel and gave him a slight smile and wave before disappearing behind the flap of the tent.