The Marauders

~%*******%~ Chapter One ~%*******%~

Sirius Black poked his head around the corner.

"All clear," he whispered and the three boys skidded down the hallway. They stopped about halfway, in front of a tapestry of trolls learning to dance ballet. Sirius walked past the spot three times, his eyes shut, concentrating. After a moment a door appeared and they slipped inside.

"Hey, wait a sec. What happened to Wormtail?" Remus Lupin asked.

"He's here. The lazy ass claimed he couldn't keep up with us. I think he's just scared he'll be caught," James Potter said disappointed, "I don't know where his sense of adventure's gone, but he's been doing this a lot lately, haven't you Wormtail?"

He pulled a fat grey rat out of his shirt pocket and plopped it on the cold stone floor.

Few would believe what happened in the next couple of seconds. The rat began to stretch and grow, its paws morphing into human hands and feet. It's snout shrunk and whiskers disappeared. When the transformation was complete, in place of the rat was a chubby, round faced boy with watery black eyes and pale skin.

"Hello Peter. Glad you could finally join us," Sirius remarked sarcastically. Peter pulled a face and stood up.

"Guys, c'mon. Let's just get this finished and go back to bed. Now we just need some tables and chairs..." At Remus's words, both appeared as suddenly as the door. Each pulled up a chair and James set a blank piece of parchment on the table.

"Well mates, this is it. One final touch and we're finished. Ready?" asked James.

"As we'll ever be," said Sirius.

"Yup!" squeaked Peter.

James pulled out his wand and signed the page, "Mr. Prongs," followed by Sirius with, "Mr. Padfoot," and Remus as, "Mr. Moony." Finally Peter pulled out his wand and signed, "Mr. Wormtail," with a flourish.

"Done," Remus said.

"Let's test it," Sirius suggested and reached for the parchment. Just then the door burst open and two Gryffindor girls tumbled into the room panting. One jumped up, her flyaway ginger hair flecked with dust and dirt. She heaved the door shut and turned to help her friend up.

"Well I guess we showed them, huh," the redhead remarked solemnly. Her friend laughed a pretty musical laugh and dusted off her crumpled robes.

"That was bloody brilliant, Lily! We must do that again!" the friend exclaimed. Neither of them had noticed the boys.

"Kira, are you crazy? What would've happened if we had been caught, huh? We'd be expelled! Do you realize how awful that would be? Our wands snapped, forbidden to use magic for as long as--" Lily stopped her scolding when she noticed Kira's attention lay elsewhere.

Kira's face had gone pink and she shyly twiddled with a lock of her dusted auburn hair. Lily turned and flushed red- a color to rival her locks. Her bright green eyes traveled to each boy in turn, finally settling on James. Kira had locked gazes with a slack jawed Sirius.

Remus reached up and closed Sirius's mouth with a snap. "Excuse us, but we're kind of in the middle of something," he said, clearly perturbed. Peter squeaked in agreement, "Yea, now go on, get out!"

"Hey, wait a sec guys. Let 'em stay. Evans won't tell, will ya Lily?" James said cockily, nudging Sirius for backup. But to his dismay, and everyone's surprise, Sirius remained silent. He seemed entranced, his eyes never leaving those of Kira.

"No, we'll leave. C'mon Kira. Kira, let's go!" Lily tugged on Kira's arm and she slowly stepped backwards, but her gaze remained constant. After a while of tugging, Lily managed to get her to the door. Yanking it open, she dragged Kira through. Just before she shut the door, Kira spoke."

"Wait, you guys... erm... want to sit with us at breakfast tomorrow?"

"WHAT?!" Lily exclaimed at the same time as Remus. Peter jumped and James shushed them urgently, for it was late and they weren't allowed out of bed. Sirius, still looking at Kira, just smiled meekly and said, "Yea, see you tomorrow."

~%*******%~

The way back to Gryffindor common room was silent. Lily was fuming over their future breakfast guests and Kira was lost in her own world.

~%*******%~

Daylight would've been kind, even a shaking would've been better than the rude awakening Lily received the next morning. Kira, already dressed, whipped all the covers off. The frigid winter air worked more effectively than any alarm clock.

"Hurry, get up! We'll be late for breakfast. All the good seats will be taken," Kira said urgently. Lily dragged herself from her four-poster bed and started to dress.

"I can't believe you, Kira. I mean, what were you thinking? James?! Sure, Remus is nice and Peter...well, he's...shy, but James? I hate him and you know that. And Sirius is just as bad as he is, only he doesn't hit on me every chance he gets. I swear, Kira, if James sits anywhere near me I won't eat. I'll go to the library and study, but I won't eat breakfast with that.... that...." Lily stammered.

"When you guys are done shouting could you tell me why you didn't wake me last night? You know I wanted to go with you," one of the other girls said from behind the hangings of her four-poster. The curtains pulled back to reveal a pretty girl with shoulder length black hair and round brown eyes.

Kira stuck her tongue out at Lily and sat on the end of the girl's bed. A smug smile appeared on her face and her eyes flashed.

"Sorry Enna, but you wouldn't wake. Besides- you'll forgive me after you find out who's going to be sitting with us at breakfast today," she teased.

"Ooh! Who, who? Tell me!" Enna squealed excitedly.

"James, Sirius and Remus!" Kira replied. Enna's jaw dropped and she sat in her bed gaping at Kira. She turned to Lily for confirmation. Lily nodded and frowned.

"YES! I'm gunna sit with Remus! I'm gunna sit with Remus!" Enna chanted in a singsong voice.

"Oh, shut it Enna!" Lily yelled and pitched her pillow at her. It caught Enna full in the face and she fell back.

"Come off it Lily. You know you like James. Admit it, you've had a crush on him since first year," Enna teased, throwing the pillow back at Lily.

"I bet all that 'I hate him!' can be decoded as 'I want him so bad it hurts!' C'mon, Lily. You know you do," Kira taunted.

Lily blushed bright red to the roots of her ginger hair and bit her lip.

"Aha! I knew it!" Kira exclaimed and Enna started chanting again.

"Ok, fine. I admit it. James is really cute, but I still can't stand the way he acts around me!" Lily said, "But lets go. Like you said, all the good seats will be taken."

~%*******%~

"Sirius, stop that. Your hair is fine. Where's James? I'm hungry. I mean, c'mon. They're just a couple of girls. It's not like you're getting married. It's only breakfast," Remus complained as he watched Sirius pace in front of the mirror.

"Easy for you to say, Moony. It's not like there'll be a girl staring at you, watching you eat," Sirius pointed out. Just then the dormitory door swung open and James stumbled in clutching his side. His hair was ruffled and he was panting heavily.

"Pete... Peter..." he stammered.

"Whoa, take it easy. What happened?" Sirius asked as he and Remus helped him to the bed. After a few moments he started again.

"Snape ambushed me on my way back from the bathroom. Peter was behind me and I ducked, so the curse hit him instead. He's in the hospital wing now... Snivellus turned him into a turtle..." Here he paused as they all sniggered,

"Madam Anister says that it'll be at least a month if not more before he's out. He's going to miss Christmas break and the Winter Ball. Can't help but feel sorry for him."

"We can visit him later. For now--" Sirius paused to look at his two closest friends, "We've got dates!"

~%*******%~

The Great Hall was buzzing with murmurs and the chink of silverware could be heard as hungry students talked and ate.

The girls chose a place at the Gryffindor table and sat chatting, nervously awaiting the guys' arrival. Suddenly Enna stopped talking and tapped Kira's arm. She nodded across the hall at the Slytherin table. A greasy haired sixth year with a long hooked nose sat staring at Kira.

"Honestly, Kira, I think Severus has a crush on you. I see him staring at you in potions all the time. Remember when his cauldron melted last week? He wasn't paying attention to it because he was looking at you!" Enna whispered.

"I know. I'm afraid he's going to ask me to the Winter Ball. Knowing me, I'd say yes just 'cause I felt sorry for him," Kira replied worriedly.

"Pity Dates never go well, Kira. If he does ask, tell him you'll think about it and we'll go with to say no, okay?" Lily offered.

"Huh, you make him sound like a drug dealer. What, is he selling faery dust or something?" a voice teased from behind them. The guys had arrived. They took their seats across from the girls and they all started piling food onto their plates. Remus, looking pale, hardly touched anything.

"C'mon, Moony. You have to eat something," James said nudging him. Remus speared a sausage link and shoved it in his mouth.

"Happy?" he said, his mouth still full of food.

The rest of the meal was silent. Remus, after swallowing the sausage, had taken to staring at Enna, who in turn stared right back, her cheeks becomingly pink. Kira kept smiling, glancing up at Sirius every once in a while, only to let her eyes fall again when he saw. Lily alternated between looking anywhere but at James and glaring at him.

Kira, without warning, slid her foot up Sirius leg, causing him to look up abruptly. She was looking at him, smiling, so he relaxed and joined the game of footsie.

Enna sat up suddenly and glared at Remus accusingly. He looked startled and confused, so she turned to Kira and Sirius who had locked gazes, each with an identical grin plastered on their faces, oblivious to the world. She glanced under the table. Casually she slid her foot into the tangle. The trance broke and Kira kicked Enna hard.

"Ow!" she cried.

"What is it?" Lily asked, taking a break from glaring at James.

"O, nothing. Just... pinched myself is all," she lied and glared at the smirking Kira.

"So what are your plans for Christmas Break? Are you all staying or... what?" James inquired after they had finished eating.

"I'm staying- my sister Petunia has been really nasty lately," Lily answered.

"Jealousy?' Remus suggested.

"Yea, I think so," Lily said.

"I think I'm staying. Mum's going to write and tell me what the plan is," Enna said, crossing her fingers, "I hope I can stay."

"I'm staying too- as long as my mum agrees not to chaperone the dance," Kira said with a groan.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Kira's mother, Professor Lenya, was the Transfiguration teacher. She had a reputation for being strict, especially with Kira. Most of the Gryffindors pitied her, because no 16-year-old girl wants their mother breathing down their neck every minute of the day.

"Speak of the devil," Remus muttered.

Professor Lenya had spotted her daughter and was on her way down from the teacher's table.

"Hi honey. I need to talk to you about the break," Professor Lenya said as she took a seat next to Kira, "I was wondering if you were okay with me going home to spend Christmas with Andrew. I'd be back a couple of days early, so I can get my lessons in order, but if you'd rather I say..."

Kira shook her head, "You go. Have fun, and don't forget to tell Andrew Happy Christmas for me," she said and smiled sweetly.

"That's m'girl. I'm leaving next Friday night. Break starts the following Saturday, so behave yourself," she warned, giving Sirius a fond but meaningful glance, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, mum," Kira said and kissed her mum in the cheek.

"Happy Christmas Professor Lenya," chorused the other five as she rose from her seat.

~%*******%~

Later that cold Sunday out on the grounds, Enna shoved Kira teasingly.

"So what's the deal with you and Sirius playing footsie under the table this morning, huh? I always took you for the quiet, shy type who admires her crush from afar," she mocked.

Kira smiled smugly, "I don't know. I usually am, but he just bring the wolf out of me, you know?"

Enna shoved her playfully. Lily, who had been silent most of the morning, suddenly shouted, "DUCK!"

A snowball whizzed out of nowhere, narrowly missing Lily and barely brushing Kira.

"Sorry!" James called as he jogged into view, "Did I hit anyone?"

"Can't you do better than that? You missed by at least a hundred feet!" Enna mocked.

"Guess I'll just hafta try again!" he said and with that heaved another one at Lily. She ducked and it hit Kira instead. Her eye's narrowed dangerously and she stooped down, packing a good-sized snowball in her hands.

"Hey, James! Eat snow!" she yelled and hurled it as hard as she could. James dodged it just in time, but Sirius wasn't as quick on the uptake.

A full-fledged snowball battle ensued, the three girls against the three boys. Lily made a pile and bewitched them to fly at the boys of their own accord. They whizzed around their heads, returning like guided missiles if they missed.

Exhausted, wet, and cold, they trooped inside after a good three hours. The fat lady tsk-ed them muttering about water hazards as they passed through the portrait hole. The six of them collapsed before the fireplace, Remus and Enna seated crossed legged on the floor, James and Lily in opposite armchairs, and Kira and Sirius curled up together in the third chair.

Other Gryffindors trickled in through the portrait hole and up to their dormitories. Most were staying at Hogwarts for the holidays because of the up and coming Winter Ball. Over the next four weeks a scramble would arise for dates. No one wanted to go alone.

"What classes do we have tomorrow?" Remus asked to break the drowsy silence.

"Care of Magical Creatures in the morning, followed by Transfiguration. After lunch we've got double potions with the Slytherins and then I'm done for the day. You guys might have a couple extra classes though. That's just my schedule," Lily piped.

Sirius and James exchanged glances and identical evil grins spread across their faces. Kira groaned.

"Hey, could you three marauders please just give it a rest for the next week? I really don't want to start the break off with negative 280 points," Enna pleaded.

"Marauders... I like the way that sounds... guys, we've finally got a name for ourselves- The Marauders," Sirius announced.

"I'm serious--" Enna started.

"Last time I checked, I was..." Sirius remarked, causing snorts of laughter from both James and Remus. Kira giggled.

"Honestly guys. Behave yourselves this week," Enna scolded.

"Psh. Yea, like they'd actually pass up the chance to embarrass Snape," Lily scoffed, "I'm going to bed." She rose from her chair and cast one last glance at James. Shaking her head she went up the stairs to the girls dormitory.

Remus and Enna both dove for the vacated chair. After a short scuffle, Enna proved victorious and settled into the cushions. Remus sat at her feet and leaned back against the chair. Absently Enna began running her fingers through his hair, a subconscious habit she had picked up years back.

"You know, she lasted longer than I thought possible," Kira commented. She turned so that her legs lay across Sirius's and nestled her head on his shoulder. He shifted to settle her more comfortably. For a while they were content just to sit quietly and watch the slowly dying flames.

One by one, James, Remus and Enna retired to their rooms. Kira drifted off to sleep, her steady breathing lulling Sirius. When the flames died to glowing embers, Sirius, too, had dozed off.

~%*******%~

Sirius woke with a start. The moon was setting and Kira was nowhere to be seen. He sat staring absently at the moon.

"Tomorrow's the full moon," he thought, but it took a moment for this to hit home. Suddenly he was wide-awake. A smile stole itself onto his face as he realized something that would make potions the next day just bearable.

~%*******%~

Most of the Gryffindor 6^th years slept through Care of Magical Creatures. They were caring for flobberworms again today and the only exciting thing that happened was when a huge barn owl swooped down and snatched Lily's worm.

Transfiguration was more interesting. Professor Lenya spent half of the class explaining the difficult process of human transfiguration. James, Sirius, and Remus exchanged glances and secretive smiles appeared. No one noticed-- save Enna.

"Professor, is this the same thing as becoming an Animagus?" Jeni Frull interrupted suddenly.

"They are quite similar, yes. However, it is a spell that requires extreme concentration, which you will also need to learn to pass your apparition tests after break. Nothing must cross your mind save the details of the animal you wish to transform into, just as with changing a certain part of your body. Any stray thought and you could end up seriously deformed and, unless immediately assisted by the Magical Reversal Squad, you could end up that way permanently. There have been cases where people have ended up with tails and paws for hands, and what not because they hadn't focused enough." Professor Lenya went on to detail the registration process and the fact that, because of the potentially dangerous effects of the spell, incredibly few unregistered Animagi existed.

They spent the rest of the period in front of mirrors, trying to change the color of their hair. Lily managed a very becoming shade of lilac and Kira pulled off a bright blue. When the bell rang everyone hurried off to his or her next class. Lily and Kira headed down the corridor, talking animatedly about what they would become if they were Animagi.

Enna hung back to talk to Remus.

"--so after potions, okay?" Sirius was whispering as the walked out of the classroom. Remus was pale and looked as if he would pass out at any moment. A single grey hair stood out from the other light brown strands.

"Remus, there you are... are you okay?" Enna asked, pretending she hadn't heard Sirius. Concern etched her features as she approached him, gingerly placing her hand on his ashen cheek.

"We'll... uh... catch you up later Moony..." James winked and dragged Sirius by the arm down the corridor.

Remus put his hand on Enna's and smiled weakly.

"I'm fine. Just... a little tired is all," Remus lied mechanically, his voice weary and weighted. Emma looked into his tawny eyes, searching for the truth, for she new he was lying. All she found was a cloudy veil, a mask hiding him from the world. She frowned.

"Alright, then. Maybe you should get to sleep earlier. I guess I'll see you in potions," she said and, still frowning, walked off to find Kira and Lily.

~%*******%~

After a quick lunch of corned beef sandwiches and pumpkin juice, James, Sirius and Remus left for potions early, leaving Enna, Lily and Kira to chat.

"What's wrong with Remus? He looks near fainting," Kira asked Enna.

"He wouldn't say," she replied, debating whether or not to tell them what she overheard Sirius say before.

Lily, who had been completely silent since Enna had joined them in the Great Hall, said, "I wish it were James that was sick. Stupid egotistical prat."

Enna looked to Kira, confused.

"James decided to show off today in the library. Snape came in and went to get a book, so he sent a tripping curse at him. He fell flat on his face," Kira explained, trying hard not to laugh, "Then, when he had come back to sit down at one of the tables, James made the chair disappear as he went to sit on it." Kira lost control and started to snigger uncontrollably. Enna giggled. It turned to full-fledged laughter when Kira suddenly snorted.

"You guys, it isn't funny! He's so horrible, really. I thought maybe he had matured a little yesterday, but he's just so insolent! One of these days he's going to hurt someone," Lily fumed.

"Lily, calm down! You know he's only trying to impress you!" Enna said between giggles.

"Yea, he really isn't that bad. Just get to know him. I used to hang out with him all the time in first year. He's funny, sweet, and an all around nice guy," Kira said calming down.

"Yea, sure. Easy for you to say! What happened to you? You used to back me up on this! Are you positive you ever even saw James? You were probably too engrossed with Sirius to notice! I'm surprised you two haven't snogged the living daylights out of each other yet! You're such a tart!" Lily shouted. Heads were starting to turn.

"Lily, calm down! You're going to make a scene!" Enna hissed.

"And you! You have been so infatuated with Remus that you've started singing about him in your sleep! Some of the things you say I wouldn't repeat to a deaf blind hag! You're courting expulsion with those two. Both of you used to back me up. I thought you had more sense than this!" Lily yelled, standing up.

By now everyone in the Great Hall was staring at Lily with rapt attention. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she grabbed her bags and ran off towards the main stairs. Whispers spread like wildfire throughout the Hall. Both Enna and Kira were thoroughly shocked and embarrassed. Meekly they collected their things and headed down to potions. Eyes bore into them as they passed through the hall to the corridor at the opposite end.

~%*******%~

Every hurried step down to the dungeons was colder than the last. They pulled their robes tighter around themselves. Their breath appeared in white clouds as they exhaled. By the time they reached the potions classroom, both were shivering.

The bell rang just as they heaved open the heavy door.

"Ms. Lenya, Ms. Cabarell. So glad you could join us," Professor Kuraré sneered icily, "Ten points from Gryffindor, for your untimely arrival."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but James elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut it," he hissed and gave him a warning glance.

Professor Kuraré was the head of Slytherin house, taking points for the slightest thing from any house but her own.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Mr. Potter?" she said rounding on James.

"No, Professor," he said politely, barely managing to keep the scorn from his voice.

The girls took their seats behind James and Sirius, who were sharing a cauldron. Severus Snape, who happened to be sitting directly across from Kira, gave her a look as if to say, "Sorry about her." Kira allowed a small smile to grace her features.

Remus was sharing a cauldron with Vera Kazaniwskyj who kept trying to flirt with him over the brim. He, however, kept stealing glances behind him to flash a quick smile at Enna.

"I have been asked by the Ministry of Magic to conduct an experiment. A wizard from Bristol, Damocles Belby, has discovered a potion that will make a werewolf docile during the full moon. This is a very important discovery, since there have been quite a number of werewolf attacks recently around London," Professor Kuraré was saying. The whole class was listening attentively, especially Remus.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Belby has had a problem with his memory- he forgot to write down the amount of the ingredients. Professor Dumbledore has asked me to have my 6^th and 7^th year students test the potion. You will each be assigned a different set of the measurements. Do not look off another's sheet. You will be working alone on this," she continued. With a wave of her wand cauldrons appeared in front of those students sharing.

"Snape, pass these out," she told Severus, the ice slightly melting from her voice. Severus had always been exceptionally talented with potions. Each page of his potions book was nearly black with notes written between lines, and in the margins.

He walked up and got the papers, passing them out quickly. When he got to James and Sirius, he dropped the papers on the dungeon floor and walked on. Sirius bristled, but a promise was a promise.

Severus slipped a small folded piece of parchment with the directions he handed to Kira. No one noticed.

She took the note and slipped it into her bag before starting on the potion.

~%*******%~

It took most of the period for everyone to finish. Most people's potions didn't look like they were supposed to- greens, purples, and blues... Vera's had turned bright pink and Enna's was a hot fuchsia. Kira's was closer to the right shade, but it wasn't smoking, as it should.

Suddenly Vera yelped and jumped up onto her stool. Remus's cauldron had turned into a sieve and the potion was leaking all over the table and ground. Professor Kuraré hurried over and cleaned up the mess with a wave of her wand.

"Evidently, that was not it," she said sneering at Remus.

Before she could deduct more points from Gryffindor, another shout caused her to look behind her. Severus Snape's cauldron was smoking lightly and he was smirking.

"Well done, Severus. If you would kindly bring your direction sheet and a sample of the potion up to my desk," Professor Kuraré said, showing only the slightest bit of satisfaction.

She went to her desk scribbled a note. Then she pulled out an envelope from one of the drawers of her desk and put the directions and the note inside. With a flick of her wand a package appeared which she carefully placed the sealed sample of the potion in.

"Um, Professor..." Severus started.

"Take this to the owlry and send it to the Ministry, Snape," she said, as if she hadn't heard him, "The rest of you, clean up your workstations and pack up. The bell-- what is it Snape?"

"Those ingredients aren't correct- I changed something. Instead of only two pinches of monkshood, I added four," he said quickly. Professor Kuraré's eyes narrowed, but she only changed the ingredients and sent him on his way.

~%*******%~

As they were walking out of potions, Sirius complained.

"I swear, one of these days I'm just going to snap. If any one of us said we'd changed the ingredients, we'd have had detention for a month!"

"Blatant favoritism, stupid wench," Vera said in passing.

"Who's she? I saw her flirting with Remus all through the class. I'm surprised she even finished the potion," Kira mused.

"That's Vera. She and Remus were almost and item, but she got hooked up with a Hufflepuff 5^th year last year. I take it they broke up," James explained.

"Ah. Rebound?" Enna suggested hopefully.

~%*******%~

Back in the common room, Lily sat staring at the book she was reading. She silently vowed to stay away from Kira and Enna until some sense had entered their thick skulls and they broke it off with those... those... Something caught her eye. A piece of parchment was stuck in the armchair James was sitting in the previous night. It was blank, but something about it seemed... unusual.

"Must be spelled" she mused. Pulling out her wand she tapped the paper and said, "Reveal." Nothing. She tried again, "Show yourself." Nothing again. But then...

Loopy writing began spreading across the page.

"Messr. Prongs presents his greetings and compliments to the gorgeous Ms. Lily Evans, and begs her to go to the Winter Ball with him."

Lily was astonished- who was this "Prongs" and how did he know her? But she barely had time to consider this when a different, trimmer script graced the page.

"Messr. Padfoot acknowledges Messr. Prongs compliments, and would like to add that, beautiful as Ms. Evans might be, Ms. Kira Lenya exceeds her beauty by far."

At the mention of Kira, Lily made to put the paper down, but stopped when, yet again, words began to appear.

"Messr. Moony would like to add that both Ms. Evans and Ms. Lenya are just darling, but Ms. Enna Cabarell is much more stunning and he fancies her most."

Lily waited, expecting more.

"Messr. Wormtail agrees with all of these, but can only express his sincere hope that his closest friends will draw their attention from pretty faces and concentrate more on their studies."

Again, Lily waited, but nothing more appeared. Carefully, all previous events forgotten, she slid the parchment into her bag and retreated to her room to await her friends.

~%*******%~

"So, what's it say?" Enna prodded as they scampered up the dormitory steps.

"What's what say?" Sirius said, starting up after them. A sudden grinding noise rent the air and the stairs flattened, becoming a slide. The three of them slid down, landing in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. James had fallen off his chair he was laughing so hard. Sirius stood, his face crimson. The girls glared at him.

"Thanks a lot. Now how are we supposed to get back up?" Enna said. No sooner had the words left her mouth than the stairs ground back into place. Huffily they proceeded back up the stairway.

They scurried into the room. As soon as the door shut they burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face? He was so red! He looked like a tomato!" Enna wheezed.

"Haha! Ooh! Man, that is memory for you. Something to tell the grandkids- 'When I was young, I tried to follow a couple of girls up to their dormitory and ended up on my ass, redder than an apple!'" Kira howled.

Lily coughed. The laughing ceased abruptly.

"Oh- sorry. Didn't know you were up here..." Kira mumbled.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I was a real prat earlier- I'm sorry," Lily apologized, "Here, I've got something to show you."

Lily pulled out the parchment from her bag and set it on her bed. Kira and Enna gathered around to see.

"Watch. Show yourself," Lily said, tapping the page with her wand.

Once again, loopy writing raced across the page.

"Messr. Prongs is flattered by the constant badgering of the beautiful Ms. Evans and would like to see more of this badgering in person, rather than writing. Once again, would she be so kind as to accompany Messr. Prongs to the ball?"

Kira and Enna watched, enthralled, as Mr. Padfoot added his comments.

"Messr. Padfoot agrees considerably with Messr. Prongs, but would much rather have the badgering done by the glorious Ms. Lenya, as she is much more worthy of his time and attention."

Kira blushed and smiled. Enna elbowed her teasingly as Mr. Moony furthered the comments.

"Messr. Moony would just like to say that both Messr. Prongs and Messr. Padfoot have their heads screwed on completely backwards and upside down! The only badgering her wants to see done is by Ms. Cabarell. Ms. Cabarell is the only real witch of the three and she makes Messr. Moony howl with delight."

Kira and Lily mocked Enna as she smiled shyly and blushed also. Lastly, Mr. Wormtail summed up the commentary.

"Messr. Wormtail has no comments to add, as he still stresses the importance of study and does not condone the courting of girls at this crucial point in his scholarly efforts."

"Girls, I think we have ourselves a couple of secret admirers!" Lily grinned.

I