Legacy of the Marauders

Chapter Three Stupid Things

Sirius, Remus and Peter woke up because they heard James singing, or trying to sing, to the melody of Humpty Dumpty,
"Wake up you slugabeds!
Get off your lazy asses!
If you don't get ready,
we're going to be late for our classes!"

Remus yawned and groggily got out of his four-poster, and Peter did likewise. Sirius just kept sleeping and snoring rather loudly. Remus shook Sirius, Peter pulled off his blankets, and James dumped icy cold water all over him. He shook his head like a dog and remained asleep. The three of them tilted his mattress so that he slid off and hit the stone floor with a hard thud. No effect. They gave up and got dressed and headed to Charms.

Remus was taking notes from tiny Professor Flitwick as he reviewed for the N.E.W.T.s. James and Peter were playing tic-tac-toe.

"Do you think the person who made tic-tac candies also invented tic-tac-toe?" inquired Peter.

"Tic-tacs; one and a half calourie breath mints! Breathe friendly!" said the voices inside Peter's head. They were constantly reciting advertizements. This random fact is not in any way significant to the plot, and it is never going to be...I don't think...

"I dunno...It might be worth investigating," James answered. He won the fifth game against Peter that lesson and remarked, "I do not want to play anymore."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Peter asked.

James gazed at Lily in fascination, and did not respond.

Suddenly, Sirius bounded angrily through the classroom door. Glowering at his comrades, he demanded, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

The three chaps burst out laughing.

"Mr. Black, please take your seat," squeaked Flitwick. "I'm sorry, but I am going to have to give you a detention for your tardiness."

Sirius exalted, "Now I'm one up on Prongs!" The two of them had an ongoing competition since first year of who could get the most detentions before graduation.

The rest of the day passed without incident until it was time for the Christmas feast.

"Are you guys ready to do this?" James gravely questioned Sirius, Remus, and Peter outside of the crowded Great Hall.

Remus inclined his head in an affirmative.

"As ready as I will ever be," commented Sirius.

"No. I can't do it," Peter whined.

"You have to," said James. "We all lost the bet and we all have to do it."

-Flashback-

As the Marauders sat around the tree by the lake Peter picked a wildflower out of the ground and sniffed it. "Hey, it smells pretty!"

"Brilliant deduction," commented Remus with slight sarcasm. He was not as cheerful as usual because he had P.M.S., Pre-Moon Sickness.

"What did you expect it to smell like?" Sirius scornfully inquired.

"Hot chili peppers mixed with coconuts," answered Peter truthfully.

"You're insane," James told Peter simply.

"Well, it's ridiculous-" Remus began but was cut off by his friends laughing, "Ridikkulus!"

He waited for their laughter to abate before continuing. "To think that a flower would carry that aroma, but I think it sounds quite nice as a food combination."

Peter fearfully edged away from Remus. "Are having odd taste buds contagious?"

"Oh, yes," joked James. "And the results can occasionally be fatal."

Peter edged even farther away.

Sirius chuckled, "Calm down, Wormtail; he was only kidding. It is just that Moony gets weird food cravings around his time of the month."

"I do not," Remus contradicted while dunking a chocolate bar in a glass of pickle juice.

James watched the up and down dunking motion and it reminded him of the rising and falling of flying broomsticks in Quidditch (almost everything made him think of the sport). "Who do you think is going to win the Slytherin verses Ravenclaw game next week? I'm sure Ravenclaw'll beat the evil candles."

"Definitely," Sirius stated.

"Those candles won't know what hit them," agreed Peter.

"You shouldn't call someone a candle; it's rather offensive. Anyway, I think that they both have a probable chance of winning. Each of the teams have been practicing frequently," pointed out Remus fairly.

"Yeah and Prongs and Evans will have a child together," Sirius sarcastically remarked.

James jabbed Sirius hard in the ribs with his elbow. "The Slytherins have not won one match this season. Not to mention all of the jelly beans that the Ravenclaws have been eating."

Remus conceded, "I suppose you're left; no one can beat the Ravenclaws at anything once they've eaten jelly beans."

James nodded. "If Ravenclaw loses I swear, I'd (Loud music suddenly started playing so you could not hear what James said.)."

"Really, Potter?" came Lucius Malfoy's drawl as he strode over to the Marauders with Crabbe, Goyle, and Snape. "I would love to see that. Would you care to make a wager?"

"I reckon so," said James casually. "What did you have in mind?"

"If Slytherin loses the four of us have to do what you said, but if Ravanclaw loses then the four of you must do it," Malfoy coolly stated. "Unless the legendary Marauders are scared-"

"Never!" James exclaimed. "We'll do it!"

Peter groaned. He did NOT want to agree to this. James had a tendency of speaking for the entire group and the others did not mind. Sirius invariably supported James one hundred percent and it never irritated Remus, not much besides his lycanthropy bothered him, thus Peter never brought it up. James is like a brother to me, yet sometimes I wish that I had a say in things. Someday I will, he thought.

Malfoy grinned wickedly, "Excellent." He and James shook on it and the Slytherins walked away.

-End of Flashback-

"Could I just ask one question?" whimpered Peter.

James nodded. He was abnormally anxious about what they were about to do, so he had a determined expression on his face that he typically wore before he played a Quidditch match or watched Cinderella. That movie never failed to make him cry hysterically; he thought it was beautiful when the glass slipper was put on Cinderella's foot and the prince knew that she was his one true love.

"Does this outfit make me look fat?"

"Yep."

"But black is supposed to be slimming!" cried Peter.

"Sorry, but you still look wide enough to listen intently to quills," elabourated James.

Sirius stated, "Prongs, even if that made sense it would be stupid."

"Stupid things are funny," James insisted.

"Sometimes stupid things are just stupid," argued Sirius.

"STUPID THINGS ARE NOT STUPID!"

"THEN WHY ARE THEY CALLED STUPID?"

"BECAUSE I LIKE THE COULOUR ORANGE!"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH IT?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"YOU'RE STUPID!"

"SO ARE YOU!"

"AWESOME!" Sirius randomly regained his composure. "Let's get this over with."

"Wait!" called Sapphire, rushing over to them. "Before you guys go in there I want you to know that no matter what anyone says about you after you do this I shall always-" She broke off sobbing.

"Always what?" questioned Remus gently, embracing her tightly.

"I shall always let you all play with my hair curlers," she murmured through her tears.

"Thank you; that means a lot to us," the four Marauders informed her solemnly. Then they walked into the Great Hall...