Lupin's True Love

August 21, 1973

Veronica and Lily placed the last of the potion filled water balloons into several buckets before draping their black school cloaks aver their shoulders. Petunia had pulled on a pair of black bellbottom pants and matching t-shirt while Patricia and Emma were fighting over a black tank top. Veronica shook her head as Melissa bounced toward the opening of the tent.

Remus' voice floated through the closed flap. "Sorry, guys. I'm not going to meet those girls. After what Veronica did to me when she saw Allisandra flirting with me on the beach." Veronica opened the flap slightly and saw Remus fake a shiver. "No thanks. I don't want to go through that again." He turned on his heel and stalked back into the boys' tent.

"Fine. We'll just tell the girls that you were too chicken to come with us." Sirius stopped off into the woods followed by James and Peter.

Veronica turned back to the other girls and grinned. "And they're off."

"To a world of terror." Melissa rubbed her hands together.

"Let's give them a few minutes to get to the tree before we follow them." Lily picked up a bucket and stepped from the tent only to run into her father. "Evening, Daddy."

Daniel raised his eyebrow at his daughter. "Do I want to know what you're doing with those buckets of balloons?"

The girls all looked at each other and turned back to Daniel. "No."

"Very well. Just don't get caught by your mother, Lils and Pets." Daniel walked past the fire and slipped into his tent.

Lily grinned maniacally after her father disappeared into the tent. "We won't, Daddy."

"You know if we do, we'll just blame you." Petunia smiled at her younger sister. "Let's go torture some boys."

Melissa shook her head as she followed the others along the path to the tree that the boys were to be meeting their dates at. None of them saw Alastor, Jonathan, and Thomas following them. Moments later the girls surrounded the boys and his behind several large trees.

"I wonder what's taking those girls so long to get here?" James ran a hand through his messy black hair.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "You know girls. They take forever. I mean you live with Vee."

"Yeah but these girls seemed so different from Vee and Lily."

Peter sank to the ground and stared at his friends. "All girls are the same, James. They only want your money and prestige."

"Not so, Peter, old boy." Sirius dropped beside Peter. "Look at Lily. She wants nothing to do with James and Vee tries to hit him every chance she gets."

"I wasn't talking about them." Peter huffed slightly as he glared at Sirius. "I was talking about the hundreds of other girls that flirt needlessly with him."

Veronica hooted like an owl once causing the boys to look around nervously. She hooted a second time. That was the signal for the girls to aim their water balloons. She hooted a third time and the clearing was filled with potion-filled water balloons. James and Sirius yelped as they tried to avoid the flying balloons. Three hit James on his head while Peter scampered around on his hands and knees trying to find somewhere, anywhere, to hide. Sirius started to shout at the surrounding trees all the while looking for the culprits.

"Damn! It was a trap!!!" James dove for cover while the balloons flew over his head.

"Well, don't every say that we never warned you!" Veronica flung her balloon at Sirius. It broke over his head while Lily and Petunia's balloons hit his back and his chest.

"That'll teach you to treat these girls like you do!" Thomas reached into Veronica's bucket, grabbed a balloon, and chucked it at his son.

"They have back-up!" Sirius dove for the trees but was pelted with a good dozen balloons. "I surrender!"

Jonathan charmed the next dozen balloons to head for James and Peter. "I suggest you boys give up before these girls really give it to you!"

Peter turned into a simpering pile of flesh and clothing. "I give up! I never wanted to meet those girls! It was all their idea!"

"That's two down!" Lily's voice rang across the clearing. "Do you surrender, Potter?"

"Never!" James covered his head as he was pelted with several balloons. "I'll never give up!"

Patricia stepped into the clearing. "I suggest you give up, Potter. We might be willing to go easy on you."

"Never, Patty. I'll never surrender." James grabbed Patricia and held her like a shield in front of him. "If you want to hit me, you'll have to hit her."

"Patricia, on three, execute Plan 45." Veronica watched as Patricia elbowed James while Lily and Melissa rushed him from behind and pulled him off of her. "Everyone get clear!"

The girls scattered from the clearing. Thomas, Alastor, and Jonathan levitated the remaining balloons over the clearing and dropped them onto the cowering boys. Veronica motioned to the girls and they filed into the clearing and watched as the boys started to change colors. They went from red to green to yellow to black within a space of twenty seconds. The girls looked at each other and started to laugh. They bounced off back to the campsite and left James, Sirius, and Peter to Thomas, Alastor, and Jonathan to sort out. The boys learned a hard lesson that day. Never flirt with girls you barely know or you might find yourself changing colors for eleven days.