Prophecy

Retribution

Chimera had already prepared the prank, and the last thing they were waiting for was the Slytherin house password. They were discussing ways to get it at lunch and finally Lisa spoke up. "I know how to get it, but I would rather we were the only ones that knew I had this."

Lisa led them to a small courtyard, and when she had checked to be sure that only the friends could see, she pulled a small crystal from her robes. The crystal was a milky white, and looked like a piece of quartz, except for a dim glow coming from it. James and Rose knew what it was, and exchanged looks. Rose asked, "How is a communication Magicrystal going to help us?"

Lisa grinned, and told them. "Simple really. This is not half of a set, but a different kind of communication crystal. It records sounds within ten feet of it and sends it to this ring. All we have to do is get it close to the Slytherin house entrance, and the next time one of them speaks the password to their common room, we'll know what it is."

Adam and Hangeld were looking confused. "Pardon me," said Adam, "but would somebody fill me in on what that thing is?" Hangeld nodded his agreement, and Lisa turned to them.

"Have you ever heard of Magicrystals Adam?" The look of confusion on his face was all the answer Lisa needed, and she began explaining just what it was. "North of here, near the border of the giant lands is a small village called Drakenoir. It serves a couple of purposes, but it's mainly there to mine a rare crystal." Indicating the one she held, she continued. "They are very similar to quartz, but these can hold a spell. Not only that, but they absorb small amounts of magic. This allows the spell to be self sustaining, and the spell will last indefinitely, or can be used over and over."

Adam thought about that and then asked, "Why doesn't everyone just use those then? It seems much easier than always casting a new spell."

Lisa shrugged. "The crystals are rare, and only fifty or so are found each year. This one cost my grandfather 1,000 galleons."

Adam blinked, and stared at the crystal with a new expression. "That thing is worth fourteen thousand pounds?"

The wizard born looked confused. "Pounds of what?" asked Melissa.

Adam explained that "pounds" in this sense referred to British Muggle money. "When my parents and I got my school supplies, we had to exchange them for galleons at fourteen to one."

Emma was staring at the crystal intently. "That's how your grandfather was always one step ahead of my grandfather. He had that thing in Minister Fudge's office didn't he?"

Lisa nodded. "Yes. Since the Malfoy name had respect then, Minister Fudge had to sign anything that concerned them, and Lucius knew all about it and could take steps. It was not this one though, he had three of them, and this one he used elsewhere. I took it to use in the house."

The other wizards stared at her. Lisa looked at them, and guessed the direction of their thoughts. "Just because somebody can have children, does not mean they should. Not every house is a home."

James nodded. "Right then." He stopped and blinked. "Bloody." he trailed off and turned to stare at a smiling Tiffany. "You can stop infecting my perfectly good English with those British slang expressions now thank you." He considered Tiffany's mirth and suddenly grinned at her. "Unless you want me to spend the next week thinking in valleyspeak?"

Tiffany stared at him as she looked at his memories. "You mean that "Like totally gag me with a spoon" stuff?"

"Totally for real dudette." James smirked as Tiffany winced. His expression turned thoughtful as he considered the crystal. He looked at Tiffany again. "I think you and Rose will take Lisa to plant the crystal."

Tiffany grinned as she followed his thoughts. "You want me to use the Marauder's Map to find the entrance, and Rose to use her sight to avoid Slytherins."

"Yes, and since this is for Lisa, and it's her crystal, she should get to plant it, don't you think?" James and Tiffany didn't really need words between them, being aware of each other's thoughts as they thought them, but it was easier to put their thinking into conversation, as it was what they were used to.

"Excuse me, but would somebody tell me what a Marauder's Map is?" Melissa was looking confused.

Tiffany explained about the map that allowed its user to see everyone moving around Hogwarts and find the secret passages. Adam was enthralled with the idea. "When you are done with that thing, may I have it for a few days?"

The group headed to class, making the last of their plans as they walked to class. James, Rose and Tiffany were carrying on a three-way conversation during Professor Binns lecture, as they began working on the signature spell for Chimera. The rest of the first year Gryffindors were becoming very familiar with the abstracted expression the three got when they used the links to talk to each other.

After classes for the day were over, Tiffany got the Marauder's Map from her room, and she led Rose and Lisa in the direction of Slytherin House's entrance. With Rose watching the future paths in her head, using them to avoid Slytherins and Tiffany's use of the Map, the crystal was soon planted. James kept track of them all using the links with his sister and Tiffany, telling the remaining members of Chimera what they were doing. Melissa was deep in thought while the other girls were gone, and she spent most of the time scribbling on a parchment she carried everywhere to make notes on.

When they had the crystal planted and the three girls back, they headed to the library to do the homework for the day. Lisa was wearing the small chip of the crystal that was the second half of the crystal. Set in a ring, every time somebody spoke within the range of the larger half of the crystal, Lisa heard it like a whisper in her ear. It took barely an hour before they had the Slytherin House password, (Purebloods) and they set their final plans. At dinner, Lisa was frowning slightly, and left the table when the Slytherin Prefect that Prefect Moore and she had spoken to got up to leave. She spoke to him for minute, and then came back to the table. Facing the inquiring stares, she shrugged. "I had to warn him to leave a couple of empty seats around the ones we're going to get with the prank. After all, I don't want them getting caught up in this."

The group was distracted that night in the common room as they waited for everyone to go to bed. Finally, only Prefect Moore and Chimera were left. Prefect Moore grinned at them as he moved from the corner he's been sitting in to a chair within easy talking distance of the nine first year students. "I have checked your story, and done some research. Either this is the most elaborate prank ever conceived of, or you are on the level with your project."

James and Tiffany stared at him, and James' voice was cold as he spoke. "Did you read the research on Soulbonds?"

Prefect Moore nodded, his eyes searching their faces as if to see the ageing that was affecting them. James and Tiffany were ageing three years for every one year that passed. Only a week into the Soulbond, they were not showing the effects of ageing yet, except in their eyes. Both of them had a depth, an oddly adult look in their eyes. James had known before he came to Hogwarts what the fate of the Soulbonded couple would be, and Tiffany had learned during the Bonding. Dealing with the fact that they would die before reaching thirty had been a large part of the frenzy during the Bonding. While they had dealt with it, they were aware of their mortality in a way most eleven year olds were not. Rose's eyes reflected that oddly adult thinking also.

James measured Prefect Moore with his eyes, even as he spoke again quietly. "Then you know what we face, and why. Do you really think this is a prank?"

"No, I don't. What can I do to help?" was the quiet rejoinder.

James slipped into the links, speaking to both of the girls. "What do you think? Can he help us, besides being a prefect?"

"Brother mine, we're going to war. We can always use more troops." sent Rose, who was examining the paths. "Nothing I can see yet makes him a threat, and in the short run, he's going to be helpful while he's here at Hogwarts."

James frowned as his desire to have some help warred with his paranoia about telling other people what they were doing. While nothing they were doing was breaking any rules by wizarding laws, it was odd enough that the authorities might decide to do something about it anyway. With Fudge still in the Ministry of Magic, and the experiences of Harry and Ginny Potter during the Voldemort War as a warning, nobody wanted the project coming to his attention. James considered Tiffany's thoughts and what Rose had said and made his decision. "Rose, you wanted him, he's your responsibility. Be sure you make him understand I will not tolerate any breeches in security."

Tiffany smiled at James. "I knew you could share if you tried."

James rolled his eyes and shrugged. He spoke aloud, with one eye on Prefect Moore. "Calculated risk Greeneyes. I am trusting Rose's sight, and your feelings about him. If you're right, no harm." James cocked his head slightly, as he stared at the older boy. "If you're wrong, I think we can." he hesitated, looking for the word he wanted. "contain any possible damages."

Prefect Moore felt a shiver crawl up his back as he regarded the younger boy. Something in his voice, or the way James was evaluating him made the Prefect sure that he would not like James' attempts at damage control. He had run across the Evans name in the American wizarding papers, and one of the stories had been very disturbing. Prefect Moore grinned as another story came to mind. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it yet, but that little tidbit was simply too good not to use at some point.

He looked at them curiously. "Why are all of you still up anyway? It's quite late, even for a Friday."

Chimera looked at each other, and then at James. James buried his head in his hands and groaned. "He knows about the Project, he might as well know about this too." Rose filled the Prefect in on the prank they were about to pull, and about the magical signature they would be using to cover their tracks. Prefect Moore considered this thoughtfully, and then his eyes narrowed as several little things he'd found during his research fell into place.

He looked at the twins, and worded his question carefully. "You two wouldn't know anything about a new line of pranks at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes would you?"

The group grinned at him. Lisa arched an eyebrow. "You mean the Green Flower line? What makes you think we know anything about that?"

Prefect Moore smiled at them. "Two greened-eyed people, one of whom is named after a flower. Also, one of the students at the Sorting Ceremony had a Green Flower prank pulled on him, but that prank is not in the line being sold yet, which leads me to believe that whoever used it had access to the whole line. Now, it could be Emma, as her uncles own the shop, but when I see that ownership of the Green Flower Company is in America, and under the umbrella of Cumulus Businesses, which is owned by the Evans Clan, I start to wonder."

James shrugged. "You must have dug fairly deep to find that. Rose and I actually own it, but our parents will run it until we finish with the Project. We're going to use it to finance this little undertaking of ours."

Prefect Moore looked at them for a long minute. "Tell me something. How do two 11-year-old children know enough to create all those pranks? You haven't had enough training to know all the things you have to do to create those pranks, and some of that is very high-level magic indeed. The spell that allows the time delay feature is very difficult. In fact, I'm not sure I could do it."

James, Tiffany and Rose held a quick three-way link, with James relaying what the girls said to the other one. Tiffany was the first to speak. "I know why you can't say anything, but why don't you want me saying something? Our friends deserve to know this. It is going to have a major impact on the project, and I haven't sworn any oaths not to tell anyone."

James and Rose both disagreed with her. James said, "Tiffany, this has been one of the best kept secrets of the wizard world for more than 5,000 years. You know only because of the Soulbond, but we don't tell anyone that is not a part of it. That includes that thing."

Tiffany thought about the secret that the Evans had been hiding for over three thousand years, and reluctantly agreed to keep quiet. James and Rose put on their best innocent looks and said in unison, "We just have a knack for charms. A gift you might say." Prefect Moore stared at them. After 6 years at Hogwarts and a year as Prefect, he'd seen too many "Innocent" faces not to recognize the expression on James and Rose's faces now.

Rose got the far away stare that meant she was looking down the future paths. "It's time to go. All the Slytherins are out of the common area now." Chimera smiled, and Tiffany got out the Marauder's Map. She laid it on the table, and they crowded around. Adam looked at it and spoke quietly. "We need to split up. Since we have these three to keep in touch, Rose can stay with Melissa here, to keep track of anyone coming into the Slytherin area. James and Emma can do the actual spell in the Slytherin common area, and Tiffany and Lisa will collect the items we need from the First year rooms."

Emma looked at him. "What are you, Daniel and Hangeld going to be doing?" The three boys grinned at her. James, Tiffany and Rose were grinning as well, and Emma, Melissa and Lisa looked at each other. Emma sighed, and spoke again. "I have the feeling that we were not told everything about this prank."

James flushed. "My fault. I am going to use them to make sure Finch has something to worry about in another part of the castle, and since we are going to be busy, I didn't tell you all about it."

Tiffany was looking over James's memories. "James, you're almost lying. You don't tell anyone everything, except Rose."

James blinked and looked at his memories through Tiffany's eyes. "You might be right Greeneyes. I'll have to watch that. I can't expect us to work as a team, if I'm keeping things they need to know from them."

Emma made a suggestion. "Adam, you're running the show, you need to have contact with the groups. I'll trade places with you."

Adam thought about that and agreed. With the missions assigned, they left through the portrait and headed toward their areas.

In the hallway at the last intersection before the Slytherin House entrance, Rose and Melissa hid, while the three that would be creating the distraction took the Map and headed for the north tower. The rest of the group went to the Slytherin Entrance. Lisa gave the password, (Purebloods) and they went into the common area. The Slytherin common area was similar to the Gryffindor one, but it had more alcoves and smaller tables. James and Adam set up the items needed for the prank as Tiffany and Lisa headed up the stairs to the first year girls rooms. Rose was watching the Paths, and relaying to James, who relayed in turn to Tiffany. The two girls came back with the things they had chosen to cast the prank on, and sat in an alcove, waiting for James and Adam to finish casting the prank. It did not take long, and they returned the girls things, and went after the first year boy's things.

At the north tower, Emma, Daniel and Hangeld were setting up the disks that would be used to keep Finch busy. Hangeld was keeping an eye on the corridor as Daniel and Emma worked in silence. With the wooden disks in place, Daniel cast the time-delayed activation and the two of them rejoined Hangeld. He was frowning. Motioning them closer, he whispered in their ears. "Mrs. Norris just went into that room. We'll have to take the back stairs down." The three of them had just started down the stairs when a yowling started behind them. They spun around to see Mrs. Norris staring at them from the doorway of a room. The three looked at each other and fled.

In the Slytherin common area, the prank was finished, and the group was heading out the entrance. As they got to the corner where Rose and Melissa were hiding, Rose sent a warning to James. "The Bloody Baron is coming this way."

James and Tiffany got the news at the same time, and looked at each other. They pulled Lisa and Adam in to corners, and waited tensely. The Bloody Baron drifted down the hall past where Rose and Melissa were without seeming to notice anything. As he got to the area where the other four were, he stopped and looked around. "I can feel your presence. Why don't you come out, or do I need to call Mr. Finch?" James and Tiffany stepped out of hiding.

"No need for that sir." James said calmly. "Tiffany and I were merely exploring." The Bloody Baron looked at them. A light of recognition sparked in his eyes.

"You're that Soulbonded pair from Gryffindor. What are you doing down here?" asked the Baron. He looked past them to the hidden door of Slytherin House. "I think it's a bit strange to find you down here."

James shook his head. "Actually, we were exploring all of Hogwarts. You just happened to find us here. If you had been an hour later, you would have found us somewhere else."

The Baron looked at them and frowned. "It's still against the rules for you to be out this late at night. Go to bed."

Tiffany spoke for the first time. "Why? So I can lay there and stare at the ceiling?" When the Baron looked confused, she elaborated. "The Soulbond does things to us. One of those things is that we only need about three or four hours sleep each night." Tiffany grimaced as she continued. "So I can lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling, or I can sit in the common area." She grinned at James. "Or I can join the Yank as he wanders around Hogwarts."

The Baron watched them for a minute. "I knew a Soulbonded pair in life once. I remember how they burned out and how they felt an urge to be doing something all the time. I suggest that you be more careful about being caught. Peeves would cause you trouble just to do so." With that final word, the Baron floated through the wall and disappeared.

James and Tiffany waited a minute, and motioned the other two out. Lisa and Daniel joined them, and they headed down the hall towards Rose and Melissa. The six of them headed back towards Gryffindor House and waited in the common area for the others. When they did not show up after about twenty minutes James asked Rose to look for them. Rose looked down the Paths and found them trying to avoid Mr. Finch and Mrs. Norris.

In the north tower, the three had run down the back stairway, only to be stopped when one of the stairways was moving into a new position. Emma looked at the Marauder's Map, and frowned. "This is going to take us back towards the front of the tower now." They crowded around the Map, looking for a way to avoid Finch and his cat. Emma traced a path. "Look here. If we cut through this room, and take this first hallway, we can get around them both." The trio headed down the hall, looking for the doorway they needed. Daniel was the first to spot it, and he tried the handle. As the door opened, they pushed inside, and Emma looked back, searching for Mr. Finch or his cat. Because of this, she was the only one that missed the sight of Peeves staring at himself in the mirror. Daniel and Hangeld exchanged disbelieving looks as they watched Peeves striking muscle poses in the mirror. Emma turned around saying, "I don't see Finch." She trailed off as Peeves spun around, still in his last pose. Emma smiled at him. "We'll make you a deal Peeves. We didn't see you and you didn't see us. Agreed?"

Peeves looked at the smirking first years. He started to say something and closed his mouth, considering what they had seen. "Deal. I didn't see you out of your house, and you didn't see me at all." Peeves rose, and vanished through the ceiling.

The three friends grinned and headed for the door they needed. Opening it a crack, Daniel looked out in the hall. "It looks clear, let's go." Emma was looking at the Map, and agreed with him. She led them out into the hall they needed and down to the left. At the corner of the hall, she looked at the Map, and found Mr. Finch and Mrs. Norris approaching.

Emma frowned. "How long until that prank goes off? We're about to be trapped here if something does not distract those two."

Daniel looked at his watch. "We've got to avoid them for another three minutes. If we do, they'll be much too busy to bother us anymore."

Emma looked at the Map again, but before she could say anything, the howling of a wolf came echoing up the stairs. Daniel and Emma jumped, but Hangeld just cocked his head, listening to the howling. "Bloody good imitation." Hangeld said admiringly. The other two looked at him, confusion clear in their faces. Hangeld shrugged. "My Father keeps a lot of animals, and not all of them are as dangerous as Hippogriffs and Dragons. That is a good imitation, but only an imitation."

Emma looked at the Marauder's Map again, and grinned. "James and Tiffany are at the base of the tower. I bet they're the ones doing it." She watched as Finch and Mrs. Norris went racing down the stairs toward the sounds still echoing up the staircase. "We're clear if we hurry." She started for the staircase again, watching the Map as she led the two boys around the staircase the caretaker and his pet were on. With the Map, they were clear of the tower and almost back to Gryffindor when James and Tiffany met them. Tiffany was shaking her head at James.

"James, if you keep leaving prank disks around, marked with the Green Flower or not, somebody's going to catch you." Tiffany was saying as they headed for the Fat Lady's portrait.

James shrugged and gave a reply that was going to become very familiar to all of them before long. "Calculated risk. If the Green Flower line catches on, soon there will be disks everywhere. I have a lot of them without markings, but without markings they can't actually blame Rose or I for them, because once you buy a disk, figuring out how to make one is not that hard." He smiled then. "Besides, this is all in fun, and without taking a few chances, it wouldn't be as much fun."

The five students were in the hallway with the Gryffindor common room entrance when a faint sound started up from the direction of the north tower. James cocked his head, listening to it. As it grew louder, the wizard born stared at each other puzzled.

Hangeld had the best hearing of the group, and he was the first to ask, "What is a 'weem a wop', and why would a lion sleep at night?"

James and Tiffany just grinned. James cautioned them about listening to the song now blaring out of the tower. "It's contagious you see. If you listen to it too much, it gets stuck in the back of your head, and you'll find yourself humming it for days."

The group went into the Gryffindor area where the rest of the first years and Prefect Moore were waiting. With the portrait closed, the commotion from the tower was not audible, and they had fun explaining it to the rest of the group. Adam had heard the song before and shuddered. "Why did you place all those disks? Couldn't you spell the song into one disk?"

James and Rose grinned as Tiffany answered him. "Of course, but with only one disk, it wouldn't be in stereo."

Tiffany frowned, searching James's memories. She finally found 'stereo' in them, and she looked at them. Looking at James, she frowned slightly. "It's going to take awhile to get used to this. I could see the word when Adam asked the question, but I didn't know what it meant."

Melissa cocked her head at them. Her eyes were bright as she examined them. "Would you two mind if I asked a couple of questions?" she said. James and Tiffany shrugged. Melissa got out her parchment, and began reading off questions she had been saving since the first night. Most of the questions were about the mental and emotional effects of the Soulbond, and the pair took turns answering them as the rest of the group headed to bed. After a few more questions, Melissa flipped her parchment over, and started asking about the physical effects of the Soulbond.

"If I cut one of you, does the other one get cut, or just feel the cut?" The pair looked at each other, and shrugged. Melissa made a note to try that as an experiment later. "How do you deal with physical sensations that you have not had? For example, what do you do when one of you has to use the bathroom?" James and Tiffany both turned red, and James spoke.

"Melissa, save that question. We're still trying not to think about it."

Melissa looked up from her notes, but her eyes were far away, as she spoke again. "You really should come to terms with it. You do realize that you are the first couple to ever Soulbond before puberty don't you? And that you're going to experience all of it from both sides?"

James and Tiffany stared at each other, and then turned to Melissa. She was unaware of them, as she continued making notes.

"Greeneyes, I never even thought about that, did you?" asked James.

Tiffany was hiding her face in her hands. "Are you kidding? I never even considered it." She raised her head and looked at James. "What do you think it's going to be like?" James could only shrug. Tiffany could feel his thinking, and she realized that they both had the same problem. They were the oldest children in their families, ands they had no idea what happened when someone hit puberty. Tiffany had an idea though. "We can ask Emma. She has older siblings."

James stared at her. "You can ask that question. 'Excuse me, but could you ask your brothers what going through puberty is like?' I need to know because I'm about to do it myself." James blushed. "It would be even worse for me. 'Excuse me Emma, can you tell me if I'm feeling Tiffany's PMS, or just a stomachache from too many chocolate frogs?' he sent. Tiffany blushed thinking about something she had overheard at the Burrow.

She buried her face again as she read James's memories. "Please tell me that 'wetdreams' are some sort of myth."

James blinked and then buried his face in his hands. "Somebody shoot me now."

Melissa finished her notes and looked up. "I envy you two." She said wistfully. "You have the perfect opportunity to experience everything from the inside." She sighed. "Do you have any idea how much a researcher would give for that chance?" She looked at them, and raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

James and Tiffany stared at her. James glanced at Tiffany. "She's serious you know. She would love to do this."

Tiffany was still thinking about the other thing. "She's welcome to it." James saw what she was thinking about and blushed.

He shuddered at a sudden thought. "Is this something you will be doing?" Tiffany saw what he was thinking about, and blushed again.

She got up and started up the stairs to the girl's rooms. "I can't look at you and discuss this. Yes, all women do that. We have to." She reached the room she shared with Emma, and began getting ready for bed. "We're going to have to think of something Yank. I don't really feel like going through Hogwarts with a permanent blush on my face."

James had headed for the stairs when Tiffany did, and he was getting ready for bed when Adam stood up and went to his trunk. James had looked over there when he saw the movement. Tiffany flared into embarrassment as he/she/they saw Adam. James looked away quickly, but the sight of Adam in the boxers was already stuck in Tiffany's head. James got into bed and pulled the curtains closed. "I never thought of this either. We will be seeing each other's roommates in situations we shouldn't."

Tiffany was still embarrassed by what she'd seen. "Hasn't anyone told Adam about pajamas?"

"Why? I wouldn't be wearing them either, if it wasn't for the Soulbond." James replied. "What are we going to do about this? Somehow I don't think our friends are going to like the idea of a member of the opposite sex seeing them, even if they are not actually in the room."

Tiffany agreed, but didn't have any suggestions as what they should do. "Is this something we should take to Professor McGonagall you think? We were told to report any difficulties to the House head."

"We're going to have to. We might have to get private rooms or something. There is too much chance of embarrassing somebody this way." James grinned as Tiffany remembered Adam again and her embarrassment flooded the Soulbond again. "How long is it going to take you to stop doing that every time you think of that?"

Tiffany sent him a mental image of her sticking her tongue out at him. "Just you wait. One of these days, you'll see something that embarrasses you." She thought about something he'd said earlier. "Or maybe you will feel it."

James winced as he followed her thinking. "It's not that that embarrasses me, but it seems unnatural. How can you do that?"

Tiffany smirked at him mentally. "It's a girl thing. And with that thought, I'm going to bed Yank." Tiffany smiled at James's parting thought, and drifted into sleep.

The next morning, all the Gryffindor first years were up early. James and Tiffany watched in bemusement as even the two meter tall Hangeld walked carefully around the bleary eyed Lisa. James looked at Rose, and tilted an inquiring head in Lisa's direction. Rose grinned, and settled into a deep windowsill next to James's chair. "Lisa is not a morning person. We've learned to avoid her until after breakfast at least."

James smiled as Lisa frowned at Rose. "Our Lisa couldn't be that bad, could she?"

Lisa stared at James. "I hate mornings. I hate happy people in the morning, and I seriously think they should be against the law." Lisa's voice held the utter conviction of a person roused before she wanted to get up.

James smiled innocently. "Then I take it you're not going to be happy when we start exercising in the morning before breakfast?"

The rest of the first years stared at James. Emma was the first to speak. "What are you talking about?"

James grinned as he replied, "We have to be physically strong for some of the things we're going to do, and physical training, or PT is the only way I know to build strength."

Lisa glared at him. "Couldn't we do that after classes?"

James put on a pious expression, but the humour in his eyes gave him away. "We could, if you'd like to do twice as much PT. It is more effective to do it in the morning."

Lisa turned to Melissa. "Is that true? Is it more effective in the morning?"

Melissa shrugged. "I don't know. I've never studied it, and I don't know anyone who has in the wizard world. It's not something we normally worry about. I can find out easily though."

Lisa groaned. "Great. Not only do I have to get up early, I have to be active as well."

Talk turned to the upcoming prank. As the rest of the Gryffindors started coming down the stairs, they were greeted with the sight of nine laughing first years. Prefect Moore was one of the first ones down, and he joined the group. "Everything worked last night I take it."

James nodded but cautioned the older boy about talking about the prank. "After all, we don't want anybody but us knowing about it yet." Prefect Moore agreed, but told them he wanted to talk to them later, somewhere they were not likely to be overheard. With that comment, he went to breakfast, leaving James to stare at his back.

"What's he up to Rose?" James asked his sister. She looked with the Sight for several minutes.

"I can't tell. It's nothing bad to us, or the prophecy, but it reaches very far into the future, and I can't tell what it is." Rose looked absent as she followed the Paths her inner sight opened to her. "He's in all of our futures though so we had better make sure of him. Melissa and I will speak to him today."

The group went to breakfast early enough to get seats that let them watch the Slytherin table. James grinned at Lisa. "When are you going to activate it?"

Lisa considered the matter. "When the owl post arrives I think. Everyone will be looking for mail, and I would rather nobody saw me pointing a wand at them when this goes off." People started coming in for breakfast, and the first year Slytherins were among them. As was Slytherin custom, the first years sat at the end of the table. Breakfast started, and went normally until the owl post arrived. While everyone looked up to see if they had any mail, Lisa pointed her wand at the Slytherin table, and cast the spell that activated the spell they had set the night before.

She turned to James when nothing happened after a few seconds, and James anticipated her question. "There's a 90 second delay, so that you have time to put your want away and be doing something else when it goes off." Lisa nodded, and the group went back to eating, although they were all watching the Slytherins.

Exactly ninety seconds after Lisa activated the spell, all nine of the first year Slytherins turned a shocking green. It was a bright green, which nearly glowed, except for the broad yellow stripe running down their backs. Laughter started as people noticed the new color of the young Slytherins. As the laughter spread through the Hall, they began looking around to see what people where laughing at. When they realized everyone was laughing at them, Martin Crabbe looked over at Lisa. Lisa smiled at him, and raised one finger to her temple in mocking salute.

The Slytherin Prefect that Lisa had been dealing with walked up to the nine students. Studying their confusion, he spoke. "You don't have a clue as to what's going on, do you?" The group professed their ignorance to Prefect Grey, who walked away without enlightening the puzzled group. As Prefect Grey sat down, phase two of the prank took affect.

All nine of the victims turned pure black, with a white stripe running down their bodies. From the startled looks on their faces, it was evident that the victims could see this color change. At the same time, a horrid odor rose from them, causing all of them to gag, and those people closest to them to choke and cough. The group rose and ran from the hall with loud laughter and that odor trailing after them.

The pranksters were hard put to maintain their ignorance about the cause of the color and smell, as it was nearly the only topic of conversation for the rest of breakfast. As the group left, two Prefects approached them. Prefect Grey, of Slytherin house merely grinned at Lisa. "Our deal still stands. The second year and up Slytherins will not touch the first year Gryffindors, unless you start it. But next time, try not to make such an odor pranking them please." Lisa grinned and put on an innocent look.

"I didn't do that to them. I wouldn't even know how to go about making something like that." Prefect Grey stared at her. Lisa smiled again. "I swear I did not make that prank." Prefect Grey pondered that statement. He started to say something, and then shook his head and walked away. Prefect Moore just looked at Lisa. She grinned at him, and made sure Prefect Grey was out of earshot before answering the question in his eyes. "I told the whole truth. "I" didn't make the prank, James and Rose did. "I" didn't do that to them, Chimera did. And as much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't know how to make something like that by myself." Prefect Moore just shook his head, and told James and Rose that Dumbledore wanted to see them.

Prefect Moore escorted them to a staircase hidden behind a Gargoyle. He whispered a password in the Gargoyle's ear and led them up the stairway. At the top of the stairs was a single door, which he knocked on. Albus Dumbledore's bid them come in. The group filed in. James and Rose had been in the office before, but the rest of the group looked around curiously.

"I believe I said James and Rose, not all the first year Gryffindors." was Dumbledore's opening comment.

"Yes Sir, you did." James said quickly. He continued, "but since we'll just tell them all about it anyway I figured it would be just as easy for them to hear it first hand, as to have Tiffany relay it through the Soulbond."

Albus nodded thoughtfully as he looked at the students. "I see." He told Prefect Moore he could go, and waited until the older boy was gone before speaking again. "Have you heard from your parents yet?" he asked, speaking to the twins. James shook his head.

"They said they'd owl us if anything important came up, but other than that, we're to study and work on our part." said Rose.

Albus looked at Adam. "How do you feel about all of this Mr. Brooks?"

Adam frowned, and took a long minute to consider the question. "I'm not sure." He said finally. "I can't argue with the proofs they gave me, but it all seems very strange to me." He grinned suddenly. "Of course, flying broomsticks and magic in general seems fairly strange to me also." Adam was the only muggle born wizard in Gryffindor this year, and had had less than 4 months to become accustomed to being a wizard. Albus nodded in understanding and directed his next question to the group at large.

"You all know that you are going to have a problem hiding what you're doing from the rest of the school don't you?" he said.

Lisa responded. "We will, but we've started working on that, and we have the Gryffindor Prefects covering for us as well."

Dumbledore looked at James. "You actually told them about the prophecy?" James shot a glance at Rose before he responded. "I didn't, Rose did, and from what I understand, she didn't mean to. But once the cat was out of the bag, we decided to use the prefects." James regarded Dumbledore levelly. "I am sure we can contain any problems that might arise."

Dumbledore regarded James thoughtfully. Albus was already worried about the lengths Robert Evans would go to fulfill the prophecy, and now it appeared that James might be just as bad. If Albus Dumbledore had known just how far James was willing to go to win he would have been much more worried. Fortunately for his peace of mind, Dumbledore did not have foresight.

Albus opened his last topic carefully. "That was an interesting prank this morning. I did however recognize the base spell used in the odor portion of it." He paused, but was confronted with nine innocent faces, although some of them were not as good as others. "The problem is, that some of the ingredients used to create that effect are not kept here at Hogwarts. In fact, they are not even allowed here, and there is a spell that should have warned me about the presence of those things."

James and Rose looked at each other. James looked from Rose to Albus, and then at Tiffany. He sighed and spoke quietly. "Rose and I have rather special trunks. They have Merlin's hidden rooms built into them." The wizard born people in the room stared at them, and Albus cocked his head.

He spoke quietly, but there was a firmness that had not been there a moment before. "You brought two of those things here? You are aware of what would happen if they collapsed, aren't you?" Adam looked around, and cleared his throat.

"Could somebody fill me in on what a Merlin's hidden room is, and what might happen if it collapsed?" he asked quietly.

Lisa answered him absently, with her eyes on the twins. "Merlin's hidden room is a space, created by magic. A wizard can make it any size, but it's a delicate spell. It has to be tied to a wizard's magic to be maintained. If the wizard's strength fails, the room collapses. When it does so, it destroys everything within an area equal to the size of itself."

Dumbledore looked at the twins. "Just how big are your hidden rooms?"

James and Rose began finding something very interesting with their hands. Albus looked at Tiffany, but she too was examining her fingernails with great interest. "If you will not tell me, I will have no choice but to have your trunks sent home. I cannot have a potentially dangerous situation like this here."

James sighed and looked at the Headmaster. "They're both the same, twelve feet square." Adam made the conversion to British measurements and paled.

"If they failed, they'd take most of our room with them." He said. Thinking a bit more, he looked at James. "Just why do you have something like that anyway?" James sighed again but didn't say anything. Albus looked at the three green eyed children, finding a tension that was all out of proportion to the subject. Dumbledore was filled with a sudden forbidding.

"Mr. Evans, I think there is something I need to know going on here. You will tell me about it now." Albus Dumbledore's voice was stern and held a steely note that said he was quite serious.

James turned to the rest of the first years. "I wish I could tell you about this, but I can't. Would you give us a few minutes with the Headmaster please?" The others blinked.

Emma looked angry as she spoke. "You are hiding something from us. I thought you were going to be honest with us."

James winced. "It is a Clan secret, and nothing to do with the prophecy. In fact, I cannot tell you, as I have sworn not to, under the Pendragon Ice Binding Oath." Emma lost her anger. The Pendragon Ice Binding Oath was quite possibly the perfect Oath and it was the most feared. An outside force could not break it, and the only wizard that had ever broken it deliberately had never been seen again. The Pendragon wizard that had cast the Oath on him had sworn until his dying day however, that the oath breaker was still alive.

The students filed out of the room, leaving James, Rose and Tiffany with Albus Dumbledore. James checked to make sure that the other were not hiding outside the door, and turned to the Headmaster. "The rooms are safe. They are tied to the entire American Evans clan, every one of us bound by blood. All of us would have to die before the rooms would collapse."

Dumbledore nodded. "Then I will not worry about that, however that leaves open the question of what is in those rooms that requires an oath as serious as the Ice Binding."

James looked at Albus hopefully. "Would you take my word that there is nothing in there that anyone can use to harm the school?" Albus raised one eyebrow and merely regarded the young American until James looked away. "I didn't think you would. We have some prank supplies in there; I'll give you a list later. We also have a copy of the Evans clan spellbooks, the Pendragon spellbooks, and a dozen more hard to find books that might help with the prophecy."

Albus nodded, and spoke again. "I will want to see a list of those books, but nothing you have mentioned yet would require that oath."

James muttered something, and Dumbledore asked him to repeat it. "I said we have the Draconian Codex in mine." Albus Dumbledore paled, and he stared at James with something very like fear behind his eyes. Behind Dumbledore, Fawkes stirred, looking at the group. Dumbledore took a deep breath, and thought about everything he'd ever heard about the Codex. The Codex was the ultimate spellbook, containing spells that could be found nowhere else. Wizard history said that the last time the Codex had been used, it had taken more than a thousand wizards and witches to stop the single wizard that had it. In the process of stopping him, the island of Atlantis had been destroyed, and so many people had died that no accurate count could ever be made. Beyond history, legend said it was the First Spellbook, used in the creation of the world.

Albus stopped his racing thoughts and asked the single most important question on his mind. "What are you doing with that, and why is it here?"

Rose had moved over to a window and was looking outside. She answered the question quietly. "The Evans clan has guarded the Codex for more than three thousand years. Ever since the destruction of Atlantis, we have watched over it, and kept it from being used or stolen. It must be tied to one person though, and right now, James is that one person."

James looked up at Dumbledore, and his eyes were tired. "Trust me Sir, I would rather not have it at all, but it is a trust given to our family, and I am the current holder of that trust."

Albus Dumbledore sat and thought about the Codex, and the dangers of the book. Several pieces of something he had been puzzling over fell into place, and he looked up. "Have you heard the legend of the Guardians?" James and Rose shrugged.

"Who hasn't?" asked Rose. "According to the legend, several thousand years ago, nearly every wizard and witch alive then got together and created a single family of wizards who seek out and destroy evil magics. To accomplish this task, they were given extraordinary power and gifts. If they cannot destroy them, they hide them forever." The twins blinked and looked at the Headmaster.

Albus Dumbledore was about to continue this line of questioning when all three of the children went blank. A presence entered Albus's office. The presence exuded power in waves that nearly brought Albus to his knees.

"Albus Dumbledore, pursue not this question at your peril." The voice that spoke in Dumbledore's head was sexless and neutral, but still carried the feeling of power that filled his office. "These children will soon face the greatest evil ever to walk the face of the earth, and they do not need any distractions." Albus cleared his head, and took a deep breath.

"Who are you?" Albus thought about that question and rephrased it. "What are you?"

"Who or what I am is not your concern. You must train these children to the limits of their skills. That is your task Albus Dumbledore." The voice softened somehow, becoming compassionate. "Far sooner than they think, these children will have their souls tested. I gave Elric that line about heartache because these children must have steel in their souls, and yet keep compassion in their hearts. Protect them Albus Dumbledore, but think not to shelter them. The storm comes, and they will be the world's shelter, or its destruction." With that final ominous note, the presence was gone as suddenly as it had arrived. The three students looked at Dumbledore.

James shook his head. "I'm sorry Sir, I must have missed that last question, would you repeat it?" Albus Dumbledore just shook his head. He needed some time to think about the things he had heard in the last few minutes, but he had one more thing he needed to know.

"Is there any chance at all that anyone could find that book while it is here?" he asked quietly. James and the two girls held a long mental conversation, and then they all turned to Dumbledore.

James spoke quietly, as if he feared being overheard. "The shields around the room prevent any scrying or detection, and the only people that can enter the rooms are myself and Rose. Tiffany might be able to because of the Soulbond, but even if somebody did get into the room, they could not use the book without Rose and I releasing the wards around it. I don't know about Rose, but the end of the world would have to be starting before I'd use that damn thing." Albus blinked in surprise to hear the normally polite James swear.

"Even then," added Rose, "I think I might let the world end rather than open that book." James thought about that, and nodded agreement.

Tiffany spoke up. "I think I would try to stop them if they did try to use it. I have not even seen it, only James's memories of it, and it scares me to death."

Albus sighed. "Then I will leave it at that, with one rule. You will not open the room that thing is in while it's at Hogwarts without telling me in advance. Is that perfectly clear?" The three agreed and started to leave. Dumbledore stopped them. "I know about your feud with the Slytherins, and as long as nobody is hurt, misses classes or meals, I will not interfere. However, if you get caught, I will have to do something about it, is that understood?" James grinned with the mischief bright in his eyes, and the two girls knew what was coming.

"Calculated risk Sir. But win, lose or draw, we're still going to play the game." James smiled, and then a thought passed through his head, and he regarded the Headmaster carefully. Tiffany felt the direction of his thoughts, and shushed him mentally, promising to talk to him about it later. The three left, finding the rest of the group sitting around the Gargoyle. The reunited group headed outside to talk.