All's Fair in Love and War...Right?

Chapter 6: The Marauders' Mistake

"Ahhhhhhh!" The entire Gryffindor house woke up to the ear-splitting yell of four very bald boys.

"Blimey! Sirius, look at this!" James shouted at his best mate. Sirius didn't seem to hear him, as he was too busy gaping at his reflection in the mirror.

"It's gone," he uttered, rubbing his bald head in surprise. Peter's face drained of color.

"Remus, surely you know the counter curse," Peter said hopefully.

"No, Jessilyn would have used something that didn't wear off until a few days," Sirius said. Remus nodded his agreement grimly.

"What am I suppose to do?" James moaned.

"Wear a wig, mate. It's time to get up." Sirius patted James on the back and left to go get dressed. Peter followed him uncertainly.

"It's not that bad," Remus reassured James, who was still staring in disbelief at his reflection.

"Not that bad? My hair is gone!" he yelped.

"Well, you asked for it," Remus pointed out.

"Whose side are you on?" James demanded.

"Apparently the losing side." Remus then left James to agonize over his non-existent hair.

"It worked!" Lily yelled gleefully. The girls exchanged high-fives.

"I think we might actually have a chance of winning this," Brittney mused.

"Of course we do," Jessilyn said confidently.

"Oh yeah, where were you last night?" Helena asked.

"With you?" Jessilyn answered, confused.

"No, before that," Helena said.

"I was with The Marauders." Jessilyn admitted. The others grew quiet.

"Shouldn't you be spending less time with our 'opponents'?"

"I'm tutoring Sirius in Potions. You know they're all rubbish at it," Jessilyn lied smoothly.

"Oh." Helena let it drop.

"I wonder if they'll show up for class," Brittney said thoughtfully.

"I know they won't miss breakfast." Jessilyn laughed as the tension disappeared as soon as it came.

"Only one way to find out." Lily grinned as she held open the door for them.

The entire Great Hall burst into laughter as the boys walked in. Even Professor McGonagall cracked a smile. They strode proudly to their normal places at the Gryffindor table. Several students got up to get a better look. Peter was sweating buckets and Remus was very amused, although a tad nervous.

"If you do it proudly, it's not as embarrassing," James had said back in their dormitory.

"Right, imagine it as a fashion statement," Sirius had added.

Remus chuckled at his friends' attitude and slightly envied their confidence.

"Lovely hair, boys," Helena commented.

"Thank you," Sirius replied generously.

"Erm, you're welcome," Helena said, slightly confused.

"Do you like the new hair, Evans?" James asked,

"I do. Although it's too bad you can't mess it up anymore," Lily said sarcastically.

"I'm sure it'll grow back soon enough," James replied.

"Actually, no, it won't," Jessilyn corrected as Brittney giggled into her palm.

"You know you love it." Sirius lightly elbowed Jessilyn and grinned. Jessilyn rolled her eyes.

"It's going to be pretty hard for you guys to find a date for Hogsmede," Helena remarked.

"Isn't it the day after the first Quiddich match?" Sirius asked,

"Yes it is. You better catch the snitch, Jessilyn. We're playing Ravenclaw." James said this so seriously and looked so strange with no hair, it was hard not to burst out laughing. James scowled as everyone, including the other Marauders, chortled heartily.

"You'd better have your hair back by then or else you'll lose your windswept look," Lily taunted.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see." James swallowed the last of his breakfast and motioned The Marauders and Jessilyn.

"We've got work to do, au revoir." Sirius and the others got up to follow James.

"I'm sorry, I've got to run," Jessilyn grimaced as if tutoring was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Right." Helena looked away. Jessilyn shot an urgent pleading look at Lily, meaning "Will you say something to Helena?" She nodded, communicating in their silent language.

"Go, we'll see you later," Brittney said warmly. Jessilyn smiled at her and followed the rest.

"Do you honestly think she's tutoring Sirius? I mean, I'm not trying to be paranoid and I do trust Jessilyn, but wouldn't it be better if she hung out with them less?" Helena reasoned.

"They're her friends..." Brittney said.

"And besides, the more time she spends with them, the more things she can get from them. We'll need the help," Lily added.

"Okay, just mention something to her about not spilling all our secrets," Helena said in defeat.

"She wouldn't do that but we'll say something anyways. Come on, we've got a free period."

Jessilyn agilely slipped into an empty seat at the long conference table without disturbing James's lecture.

"Good, you made it," James said, pausing in his speech.

"You didn't miss anything important, just something about nicknames," Sirius filled her in.

"Nicknames?" Jessilyn repeated, arching her eyebrows at James.

"Yes! We all need nicknames. Of course, Remus has already got his: Moony. We don't know ours yet until we've transformed," James explained.

"We're doing pretty well. We can all turn a non-living object into a living animal without wands. Jessilyn, James, and I can do it silently and Peter's almost there," Sirius said enthusiastically. "We'll be able to join you in now time!"

Remus frowned and bit his lip.

"It doesn't matter that we're unregistered. It's not like we're going to commit crimes or anything," Jessilyn reassured him, reading his mind.

"Won't it be dangerous?" Remus asked again.

"Moony, we've been over this before. No, it won't because we'll be animals and werewolves don't bite animals," James said.

"Hmm, I think the name Moony is growing on me," Jessilyn mused.

"I think it's growing on me too," Sirius agreed.

"I told you. Ok, back to work!" James dismissed his meeting and the five of them spread out around the room, practicing the spell.