FIC: Going on Twelve, Part 2/2

[mollywheezy]

***

The next evening found Wil, Scorpius, Rose, and Al again plotting in the boys' dormitory.

"Well, we haven't heard back from Auntie Andromeda yet, what should we do?"

"We only sent her letter yesterday, Scorpius. She'll respond. Just be patient."

"I wish my granddad was alive to ask him. He and his friends always pulled pranks."

"Could we ask one of his friends?" Wil asked.

"They're all dead, too," Rose answered.

Al explained, "My granddad, James Potter, was best friends with Sirius Black. My older brother is named for both of them-James Sirius. When they came to Hogwarts, they made friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Remus Lupin taught Defense Against the Dark Arts when our parents were here. Peter Pettigrew worked for Voldemort. Voldemort killed my granddad and my grandmum when my dad was just a baby. My dad knew Sirius, but Sirius was killed when Dad was fifteen. Remus, who's the father of Dad's godson, Teddy, died in the Final Battle. And Pettigrew died during the war at some point, but Dad won't tell me that part of the story yet."

"Are there any portraits of any of them?" Scorpius asked.

"Brilliant! I'll write Teddy and ask." Al began to scramble for parchment and a quill.

"Dad said at Durmstrang professors always pass on notes and materials to their replacements. Maybe we could ask Professor Creevey if he has anything from Remus Lupin."

"Grown-ups never tell kids anything truly important," Rose declared.

"Uncle George told us about the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak," Al countered.

"I'm not at all sure Uncle George is a grown-up, and he only did that to make Uncle Harry mad."

"Good point."

Scorpius asked, "You have an invisibility cloak?!"

At the same time, Wil said, "What's the Marauder's Map?"

"Dad has an Invisibility Cloak that's been handed down through generations in our family. He was rather put out with Uncle George for telling us about it, too, and he said we would not be allowed to have it at Hogwarts. The Marauder's Map shows all of Hogwarts, even the secret passages, and where everyone is at all times. Dad wouldn't let us have that, either."

"Who are the Marauders?"

"That's what Granddad and his friends called themselves."

"Would Teddy know?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me anything, but Dad was around . . . We can ask Teddy. I don't think he'd tell on us, but he's always liked James better than me, so I don't think he'll help us either . . . I tried to snoop around the house before I came to Hogwarts, but I couldn't find anything. Dad's an Auror, so he's really good at hiding stuff."

"Maybe we could sneak into Professor Creevey's office and snoop around, see if Teddy's dad left anything behind?"

"Do you want another detention, Rose?"

"Well, no, but do any of you have any better ideas?"

***

The next day they had DADA before lunch. After class, Rose, Wil, Al, and Scorpius were very slow in packing up their things, so they were the last four in the room.

"Come on, you lot! I would like lunch today, wouldn't you?" Professor Creevey looked at them impatiently.

They hurried and packed up, and left. Professor Creevey closed the door behind them. They looked at each other and before he turned around to see them, darted into the boy's loo. Thankfully, to Rose at least, they were the only ones in there. Rose peeked out the door, and as Professor Creevey turned the corner, they left the loo and returned to the classroom. Rose tried the door to Professor Creevey's office, but it was locked.

"Alohomora!"

"Rose! What are you doing?" Al hissed.

The door sprang open. "I'm just looking," she answered primly as she walked in. Al, Scorpius, and Wil followed.

"What's that?" Wil whispered, pointing to a creature in the corner.

"I think it's a hinky-punk," Rose whispered back.

The four of them spread out, removing books from shelves to look behind them, and trying to open drawers, which were unfortunately locked and impervious to alohomora.

"WHAT are you doing?"

Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius whirled around to stare at Professor Creevey who was blocking the door to his office. They all looked at each other, trying desperately to think of an excuse.

"Don't even try to come up with a lie. Tell me the truth right now, and maybe I won't haul all four of you to the Headmistress' office."

Al spoke up, "We thought you might have something of my granddad's-maybe notes or stuff." Al shrugged and looked at the floor.

Professor Creevey was quiet for a moment. "Why would I have anything of your granddad's? I didn't know your granddad."

Rose answered this time, "He was best friends with Professor Lupin so we thought there might be a portrait or something."

"And at Durmstrang where my dad went to school, professors always pass on their notes and books, and things to future professors, and since Professor Lupin taught here, we just thought . . ." Wil shrugged and trailed off.

Professor Creevey sighed. "Why didn't you just ask me?"

Scorpius answered, "Because adults rarely answer difficult questions. They always say, 'We'll talk about it when you're older.'"

Professor Creevey sighed again and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "Professor Lupin taught Defense Against the Dark Arts the year before I started at Hogwarts. That was over twenty years ago. According to my older brother Colin, he was an excellent professor-by far the best for Defense, and one of the best ever. There is nothing here that was his, though. There have been a dozen professors in this office since then, two of whom were Death Eaters. Besides, the Final Battle of the Second War was fought at Hogwarts. Your parents, my brother, Professor Lupin, most of the professors here . . . were all part of it. My brother and Professor Lupin were among the many who were killed in the battle. Sections of the castle were destroyed. There was nothing in this office when I came to teach."

"Our Uncle Fred was killed, too," Al whispered.

"Your Uncle Fred was a sixth year when I was a first year, so I didn't know him very well, but he and your Uncle George were always entertaining everyone in the Gryffindor common room. They were a lot of fun. They even paid me to test some of their products." Professor Creevey chuckled. "Let's stop reminiscing while there's still time for lunch."

"You aren't going to take us to Headmistress McGonagall to have her expel us?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Not today."

"Or give us detention?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, since I didn't give Teddy detention when he broke into my office for similar reasons, I don't really think it would be fair to give you lot detention. Besides, I know what sort of mischief Al and Rose's parents got up to at Hogwarts." Professor Creevey actually winked. "There are two conditions, though. Firstly, none of you is ever to use a WWW product on me or in one of my classes. Secondly, you four have just become my class volunteers when I need someone to do a demonstration. In my Hufflepuff-Gryffindor class I have more volunteers than I can use, but no one in your class ever raises a hand. That will change."

"Deal," Rose declared, smiling.

***

The next morning, an unfamiliar owl landed at Rose's place at breakfast. When she opened the thick envelope, she realized it was the letter from Andromeda they had been waiting for, as well as a large piece of folded blank parchment. Rose immediately stuck both into her bag, barely suppressing her shriek of joy.

"Wha-?" Al started.

Rose waved for her friends to lean in, and whispered, "Auntie Andromeda sent us The Marauder's Map," Rose bounced up and down in her chair.

"Seriously? Teddy hadn't already given it to James? That's brilliant!"

"We'll meet tonight after classes and look at it in your room. I didn't read the letter either."

"Tonight." They all nodded in agreement.

***

Rose, Wil, Scorpius, and Al had never had a day go by more slowly. They were so jittery that one or more of them was scolded in every class. Thankfully they didn't get detention or lose any points. They gobbled their dinners and raced back to the first year Slytherin boys' dormitory.

They all piled on to Al's bed, sitting cross-legged in an approximation of a circle. Rose pulled out the letter from Auntie Andromeda and began reading aloud.

Dear Rose, Scorpius, Al, and Wil,

I was so pleased to receive your letter! I couldn't be happier that my grand nephew, my adopted niece and nephew, and their new friend are in Slytherin. Finally I will not be the only Slytherin at "family" gatherings.

I admit I am appalled at James' behavior. We fought a war to prevent attitudes like that! I am certainly willing to help you prank such a deserving recipient.

I have enlisted Teddy's help as well in this endeavor. He quite shared my sentiments on the situation. He has enclosed the Marauder's Map. I do not know whether or not you have seen this ingenious invention, but I am quite proud that my cousin Sirius was one of the four who created it. Use the map wisely . . .

As for the prank itself, I would recommend some of the excellent products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes or a Shortening Hex. I have included detailed instructions below.

Good luck with your plans. Please let me know of the outcome.

Mischievously Yours,

Auntie Andromeda

Rose squealed when she finished reading, and the boys laughed with glee.

"So what's a Shortening Hex?" Scorpius asked.

"Auntie Andromeda just drew diagrams of the wand motions and left the spell. She didn't say what it did. Maybe she thought we'd know?" Rose stared at Auntie Andromeda's letter, even turning it over to check the back.

Wil scrambled off the bed. "Cast the spell on me Rose, and we'll see what it does."

"Are you sure?" Al asked. "What if Rose can't undo it?"

"Quit worrying, Al. Auntie Andromeda wouldn't have suggested anything dangerous." Rose stared at the diagrams again. "Ready, Wil?"

"Ready."

"Abbreviare!"

They all watched Wil intently. "Well?" Al asked.

Wil looked at Al, craning his neck back to see, even though he was the tallest of them. "Wow. You're tall. Or maybe I'm just short." Wil took a step, and tripped over his robes, ending in a heap on the floor. "These robes are way too long for me! So are the legs of my trousers!" Wil attempted to climb back up onto Al's bed, but it appeared to be too high for him to make it. All four of them laughed.

Through her giggles, Rose pointed her wand at Wil and said, "Finite Incantatem!"

Wil got back on the bed, shaking his head. "Merlin, that's weird. I thought I was suddenly much shorter!"

"Thanks for trying the spell out, mate." Al smiled at Wil. "We have got to do that to James!"

"How though?" Scorpius asked. "We can't cast it on him in the corridor or anything, so how could we?"

"We need to cast it while he's asleep, so he wakes up thinking he's shorter," Rose answered.

"We'd have to get into Gryffindor Tower to do that!" Wil exclaimed.

"We have The Marauder's Map." Al tapped the map with his wand and stated, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

All of them stared, transfixed, as lines swirled and appeared on the map. Rose spread it out on the bed in order to see better.

"Look! There we are!" Rose pointed to four labeled dots huddled in a group.

"And there are James' and Fred's dots in Gryffindor tower," Al added.

Rose giggled. "Dominique's dot is with a boy's." The boys made faces at her. "Get your minds out of the cellar. Their dots are in the corner of the Hufflepuff Common Room. They can't be getting up to much."

"This map is amazing!" Wil couldn't contain the excitement in his voice. "We could wander around Hogwarts, find anyone we wanted, know what everyone's doing and where they are, and we'll always be able to see professors coming so we wouldn't get caught!" They all smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Look!" Rose pointed to a small dot on the map labeled "Cinnamon". They all stared at Cinnamon's dot perched near Gryffindor Tower. They saw the dot move up and then apparently into the tower. They lost it for a bit, but then the dot reappeared in the corridor outside the Slytherin dormitories.

"Oh my gosh!" Rose shrieked. "I know how to get into Gryffindor Tower without being seen!" Rose jumped off the bed and the others hurried to follow her. She led them down the hallway to the owl tunnel Harriet showed her. Cinnamon was perched just outside it, and fluttered to Rose's shoulder as soon as she saw her.

"What? It's just the owl exit you told us about . . ."

Rose interrupted Al, "We can fly out the tunnel on brooms. It comes out right next to Gryffindor Tower. I would think we could get in through a window . . ."

"Just one problem, Rose. That opening is tiny. We can't fit . . ."

Rose interrupted Wil this time, "I bet I can. Here, hold Cinnamon for a minute. Give me a boost, Al."

Al interlocked his fingers, squatting so Rose could step into his hands and he lifted her to the entrance. Rose had her top half in the tunnel, and scrambled forward on her stomach while Al pushed her feet. She made it to the back, and with a bit of maneuvering was able to stand up.

"Lumos!" Rose held her wand above her head.

Before she could say anything else, she heard a much deeper voice than that of her friends say, "What are you three doing over here?"

Scorpius answered, "We're bringing Rose's owl to her, Harry. This is Cinnamon."

Rose held her breath in the tunnel hoping that Harry couldn't see the light from her wand. She didn't dare say the spell to extinguish it. Her mum always said she was smart, but Rose certainly couldn't do a non-verbal spell.

"I think Cinnamon can find Rose on her own. Why don't you three go back to your dormitory? It is getting rather late."

Rose heard footsteps walking away. How would she know when the corridor was empty and Harry was gone? In her excitement, she hadn't been thinking properly. She should have brought the map with her!

Rose stood perfectly still for as long as she could stand it, straining her ears for any sound. She finally whispered, "Nox!" as quietly as she could. She crouched down to leave the tunnel, peering out into the dim corridor. She didn't see anyone so scrambled around until her feet were pointing out, and scooted forward on her back this time.

With no one to help her, it was a rather tricky process, but Rose slowly scooted until there was air under her feet, then she flailed until she was fully out of the tunnel with her feet on the floor. She was glad the boys weren't around. If they had been in the corridor they would have all seen her knickers with such an ungraceful exit. Rose could just hear her mum's scolding her for being unladylike. That was a rather frequent occurrence at home . . .

Rose hurried back to the boys' dormitory where Al, Scorpius, Wil, and Cinnamon were all waiting for her. Cinnamon squawked loudly, smacking Rose's head with her wing as she landed on her shoulder. "Ow!" Rose complained as Cinnamon flew off down the corridor. "I don't believe for a minute that was an accident, Cinnamon!"

The boys chuckled at Rose's scolding from her owl. "Shut it! You lot weren't stuck in the tunnel."

Scorpius quit laughing. "Harry really did almost catch us."

"We need to think of some way we can communicate without being seen or heard." Four foreheads scrunched in concentration.

Al shrugged, "We'll have to think about that. But Rose, you really think you can get into Gryffindor Tower through that tunnel?"

"Yes, I do. Being short has to be good for something."

***

The next afternoon found Rose, Scorpius, Wil, and Al once again in the boys' dormitory, staring morosely out the porthole in the wall at the churning water.

"It's raining really hard." Rose pouted.

"We'll just have to wait until tomorrow to fly over Gryffindor Tower." Scorpius comforted Rose.

"Any thoughts on ways to communicate?" Al asked.

They all shrugged and shook their heads.

***

Thankfully, the rain subsided by the next day. Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius grabbed their brooms as soon as lessons had ended and hurried to the grounds. They were barely outside of the castle when they took flight, aiming straight up. They had decided to fly around every tower to not draw suspicion that they were only flying near Gryffindor.

Rose loved to fly. Rushing around amongst the towers and turrets of the castle with the wind blowing her curls, darting in and out between her friends was brilliant. She had to continually remind herself that they were on a mission. But she could still have fun on a mission, right?

As they neared Gryffindor Tower, Rose saw an owl fly under a gable. She dropped on her broom and watched as the owl flew into a large opening. She flew back up, waving her arms to signal her friends. She'd found it.

They all joined Rose staring below the gable into a large opening. "This has to be it!"

"I think you're right, Rose," Scorpius replied.

"And it's only a few meters from the windows of Gryffindor Tower!" Al added happily.

"Assuming they open from the outside . . . we should check," Wil suggested. They flew over to peer into the windows of Gryffindor Tower.

Rose flew very close to the window to look at the lock. It certainly looked like one that could be spelled open. She didn't want to test that theory in broad daylight with quite a few students inside Gryffindor's Common Room, though.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" The loud voice startled Rose, and as she whirled around to see who had spoken, she almost fell off of her broom. Al was immediately by her side to help her regain her balance.

"Who said that?" Rose asked.

"Said what?" Al looked around in confusion. Al pointed to the window of Gryffindor Tower and gave a feeble wave, as Lucy opened the window and stuck her head out.

"I'm sorry, Rosie! I didn't mean to scare you. I was just teasing. I would never want you to fall." Lucy worried her bottom lip, looking at Rose with concern.

"That's OK, but how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Talk to me so I heard you and Al, Scorpius, and Wil didn't?"

"It's the Walkie-Talkie Charm. Well, that's what Mum always calls it. It has a formal name. Didn't Uncle Bill give you Frivolous Charms for First Years for your birthday? He did everyone else . . ."

Rose blushed. "He did, but I received quite a few books for my birthday, and I haven't finished all of them yet."

"Well, the charm is in there, so you can look it up. I am sorry I scared you, but what are you doing up here?"

Scorpius replied, "We were just flying around the castle to look at all the towers. You know, get an aerial view of Hogwarts."

"That sounds like fun. I'll leave you to it. I have to get back to studying." Lucy made a face. "O.W.L. year and all." She waved, closed the window and walked away.

"Let's go back to your dormitory," Rose suggested. "I think I have a plan . . ."

***

"Let me get this straight. You want to fly up the owl tunnel just before dawn, break into Gryffindor Tower, find James' room, hex him, and sneak back out? What are the rest of us supposed to do?" Al asked.

"I'm the only person who's small enough to fit in the tunnel, but I'll need to have all of you. Someone needs to help me in and out of the tunnel-it's definitely easier with help. Someone needs to be watching the map-I don't want to take it with me in case I get caught. And someone else needs to be working the Walkie-Talkie Charm to let me know if the coast is clear."

"I'll do the charm," Scorpius volunteered.

"I'll watch the map," Al said.

"I'll help you in and out of the tunnel, and help Al with watching the map," Wil declared.

"Then it's a plan!" Rose smiled nervously.

"If we are going to pull off such a huge prank, I think we need a name like my granddad and his friends," Al suggested.

"Do you have any ideas?" Scorpius asked.

Al answered, "We should call ourselves Marauders: The Next Generation."

"You just want to have some connection to that dumb television program you and Uncle Harry like so much," Rose scolded.

"It's not dumb! It's brilliant!" Al insisted. Scorpius and Wil looked on in confusion.

"What idea do you have for a name, Rose?" Wil asked as Rose and Al continued to glare at each other.

Rose looked surprised and then shrugged, "Well, I haven't really thought about it . . ."

"How about we call ourselves Marauders: The Next Generation until one of us comes up with something better?" Scorpius suggested. All of them nodded.

"So when do we want to do this?" Wil asked.

"Why wait?" Rose answered. "How about tonight?"

***

Rose's alarm went off at an insanely early hour. She dressed quickly in jeans and a jumper, grabbed her broom, and crept down the corridor to the owl tunnel. She only waited a minute before the boys joined her, Al looking at the map with his lit wand.

"You all came?!" Rose hissed. "What if Snape's portrait saw you?"

"We made sure it was empty before we walked past," Wil answered.

Scorpius pointed his wand at Rose, "Communicatio!"

"Ready?" Wil asked. Rose nodded, and Wil lifted her into the tunnel. Rose scooted to the back where she could stand, and Wil handed her broom to her. Rose gave a final wave to her friends as they peered into the tunnel, then mounted her broom and pushed off.

The moonlight somehow shone into the tunnel, and Rose could see without lighting her wand. She flew up and up for longer than she thought possible, and finally emerged from the other end.

She waited under the gable and whispered, "I'm ready to enter Gryffindor. Is anyone around?"

"The Common Room's empty." Rose heard Scorpius say through the charm.

Rose flew to the window of Gryffindor Tower. "Alohomora!" Rose whispered. To her delight, the window opened. Rose slipped through, quietly leaning her broom against the wall beneath the window. She sneaked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, and as quietly as possible, opened the door to the second years' dormitory.

The first bed she checked was Fred's. Rose closed the curtain and moved to the next bed. It belonged to someone she didn't know. She moved to the bed across from Fred's. She found James. Rose pointed her wand at him and whispered, "Abbreviare!" As she quietly and quickly retreated, Rose hoped her spell would last long enough to matter.

Flying down the owl tunnel was much scarier than flying up since Rose worried about crashing into the ground. She paused about halfway down and lit her wand just to be safe. She made it the rest of the way without incident, put out her wand, and whispered, "I'm back. Is the coast clear?"

"No one's wandering around Slytherin. We'll be right there."

Soon after Rose saw Scorpius' face appear in the tunnel and handed him her broom. Then Wil appeared and Rose crawled forward, allowing Wil to pull her out of the tunnel. "Thanks. It's much easier with help."

Wil nodded and the four of them returned to the boys' dormitory, where Rose could fill the rest in on every detail of their prank. They were too excited to go back to sleep, so they talked until dawn, then got dressed for lessons and went for an early breakfast.

Once in the Great Hall, Rose's excitement was wearing off, and the lack of sleep was catching up with her. She poured herself a cup of coffee. She hadn't had any before. She rarely even drank tea, usually just milk or pumpkin juice.

Rose took a sip of plain coffee and made a face. Al laughed at her. "What do you expect, drinking coffee?"

"You need to put cream and sugar in it. Then it tastes better," Scorpius suggested.

"You've had coffee before?" Al asked in surprise.

"My parents have let me try it a few times."

Rose added large amounts of cream and sugar, and tasted it. "Much better. Thanks, Scorpius."

"May I try it?" Al asked. Rose handed Al her cup. He made a face. "It'd be better just to drink milk with sugar and leave the coffee out. Yuck."

Scorpius laughed. "It's not that bad, Al."

"May I try it, Rose?" Wil asked. Rose handed him her cup. "That's not bad! I think I'll have some, too." Scorpius poured himself some coffee, too, but Al wanted nothing to do with it.

After a couple cups of coffee, Rose finally felt awake. They had all finished eating, so Rose said, "We might as well go to class a bit early."

The four walked into the Entrance Hall just in time to see James fall down the stairs, Fred hurrying after him to see if he was all right.

"I tripped over these blasted trousers! They're too long!"

Fred looked warily at James, "Your trousers are rolled up to your knees, mate."

Rose couldn't help herself, and she giggled.

James scrambled off the floor and came towards her. "You did this to me!"

Rose didn't say anything, but stared at James. Al shouted, "If Rosie did this, then tell me how?"

"I don't know how, but it had to be her. She laughed!" James pointed at Rose as if her laughter completely incriminated her.

"I think everyone's laughing, James," Al said. "Have you seen yourself?" Al chuckled. James' tie was tied, but then folded up under itself and pinned so it only reached halfway down his chest. His trousers were rolled up to his knees, his robes were knotted around his waist, and even though he was taller than the first years and even taller than Fred, he was looking up to talk to them.

In frustration and fury, James grabbed Rose by her hair. Rose screamed, and Al, Wil, and Scorpius wrestled James off of her.

"What is going on here?"

"What happened?" Professor Longbottom and Professor Slughorn had approached from different directions and spoke at the same time.

Rose sniffed, tears on her cheeks as she held a hand to her head. "James pulled my hair, and it really hurt!"

"She did this to me!" James pointed an accusatory finger at Rose.

Professor Slughorn examined James with a raised eyebrow. "Miss Weasley is responsible for dressing you improperly? I should think you were old enough to dress yourself . . ."

Everyone around laughed. James, cheeks flaming, glared at Fred. Fred quit laughing.

"Mr Potter," Professor Longbottom addressed James, "what makes you think Miss Weasley did this to you?"

"I think there's a spell on me. I feel short," James mumbled.

"Finite Incantatem!" Professor Longbottom flicked his wand at James.

"That's better!" James began to arrange his clothing properly.

"Good. You will have detention with me tonight for pulling Miss Weasley's hair."

"That's not fair! She used magic on me!"

Professor Slughorn interjected, "What evidence do you have that Miss Weasley used magic on you?"

James huffed.

"And how did she get into Gryffindor Tower?" Professor Longbottom added. "She wouldn't know the password."

James crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"Let's get you four to class," Professor Slughorn herded the Slytherin first years to the dungeon.

As Rose left, she heard Professor Longbottom tell James, "You have to stop attacking other students!"

***

"Crying was a nice touch, Rose," Wil said, as the four of them were piled on Al's bed discussing the day.

"I wasn't completely faking. His pulling my hair really hurt."

"You just played it up for dramatic effect," Al added.

"That's true," Rose admitted.

"We should prank him again for pulling your hair," Scorpius said.

"Probably."

"You have that look, Rose," Al said.

"What look?"

"That I'm-up-to-mischief-but-am-trying-to-seem-innocent look."

Scorpius and Wil laughed.

"Well, I do have an idea. I wasn't going to do it because it's very mean, but since he pulled my hair . . ." Rose removed a small, square paper from her pocket which was covered in even rows of reddish-brown dots and held it out for the inspection of the others.

"Spider Spots! Brilliant!" Al shrieked.

"What are Spider Spots?" Scorpius asked.

"They're Uncle George's newest product, not released to the public yet. Dad said if I ever used them in our house or anywhere near him, I'd be grounded until I was of age."

"But what are they?" Wil pressed.

"You put them on someone, and they look like freckles, but then later they turn into spiders," Al answered.

"Not real spiders, of course. But they look and feel real enough," Rose added.

"So your dad must really hate spiders then?"

"Oh, he does," Rose said.

"No one is more afraid of spiders than Uncle Ron," Al declared, "but James is a close second." Al grinned mischievously.

"Can I see one?" Wil asked.

In answer, Rose took one of the Spider Spots from the paper and placed it on the back of Wil's hand. Then she tapped it with her wand, and a small spider appeared and began crawling around.

"Wicked!" Wil said, holding up his hand to admire the spider.

"How are we going to catch James by surprise if those have to be activated by wand?" Scorpius asked.

"You can activate them by wand if you want, but you don't have to. If left alone, they will turn into spiders anywhere between half an hour and four hours after touching a person's skin," Rose answered.

"So if you use lots of them, the person will find spiders on themselves all morning?" Rose nodded, making Scorpius shudder.

"When do you want to do it?" Wil asked.

"We should probably wait a week or so to let last night's prank die down a bit."

"Good idea." Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius put their hands together in a four-way handshake, all grinning.

***

The next morning while the four were eating breakfast, they saw two different owls drop red envelopes to the Gryffindor table-James caught one and Fred the other.

"Cover your ears!" Rose whispered to her friends. Rose was very thankful to have her own ears covered when the voices of her Aunt Ginny and Aunt Angelina rang out and echoed around the Great Hall. Scorpius, Al, and Wil took her advice as well.

When the shouting ceased, and Fred and James sat at the Gryffindor table looking embarrassed and angry, Rose whispered, "I can't believe they did that!"

"What?" Al asked. "I try not to listen to Mum when she's that angry. At least it wasn't at me."

"I couldn't really distinguish words with the two voices shouting at once," Scorpius admitted.

"Apparently, James and Fred were caught out of bed in the middle of the night in the dungeons. I guess they must have been trying to find the entrance to Slytherin."

"That wasn't very smart of them," Wil muttered.

"No," Rose agreed, "especially since the whole world knows about it now."

They finished breakfast, conversation in the Great Hall returning to normal levels, and when they came to the Entrance Hall, James ran at them screaming, "This is all your fault!" He pushed Al, causing Al to fall, landing hard on his bum. Scorpius helped Al off the floor.

Rose yelled, "You great prat!" and pushed James. James managed to stay on his feet. Fred stood behind James tugging on his jumper. "Come on, Jamie, we're going to get in trouble again."

James drew back his arm to slap Rose, but she ducked quickly, and he slapped Wil instead.

Rose cried, "I'm so sorry, Wil!"

"What for? You're not the one who slapped me!" Wil grabbed James by the front of his jumper.

"Detention! All of you!" Victoire stood there, hands on her hips, looking positively murderous.

"That's not fair!" Rose yelled at Victoire. "James pushed Al! We didn't even do anything!"

"Did, too!" James yelled at Rose. "You pushed me!"

"Only because you made Al fall! And you slapped Wil!"

"I was trying to slap you!" James yelled back.

"QUIET!" Professor Longbottom had joined them in the Entrance Hall, his face very red. "What happened?"

Victoire, Fred, James, Rose, Wil, and Al began talking at the same time.

"STOP!" Professor Longbottom rubbed his temples with his hands for a few seconds. "Mr Malfoy, since you were the only one not yelling, please tell me what happened."

"Well, Sir, James pushed Al, yelling that it was his fault. Al fell. I helped Al up. Rose pushed James back since Al couldn't. Then James tried to slap Rose, but she ducked, and he slapped Wil, instead. Wil grabbed James, so he couldn't hit anyone again. Fred was holding on to the back of James' jumper. Then Victoire told us to be quiet and said everyone had detention."

Professor Longbottom looked at all of them. "Is what Mr Malfoy said an accurate assessment of what happened?" They all nodded.

"And why did you give everyone detention, Miss Weasley?"

"They were causing a disturbance, Professor Longbottom, and not for the first time."

"There actually is not a rule against 'causing a disturbance', Miss Weasley, so those detentions will not stand." Victoire looked angrier than ever. "Fighting, though, is very much against the rules. Detention tonight for Miss Weasley, and two for Mr Potter for starting the fight. I'll see both of you at six o'clock this evening. I'll be seeing you for quite a few evenings, Mr Potter, since you have yet to serve your detentions from last night. All of you need to get to class." Victoire stormed off in a huff. James and Fred walked off one way, pouting and grumbling. The Slytherins went the other way, not saying a word. Professor Longbottom watched them all leave.

***

After her detention that evening Rose went to the boys' dormitory where Al, Scorpius, and Wil were waiting for her.

"I'm sorry you got detention again, Rosie," Al said immediately.

"Me, too," Scorpius added. "I should have said something different when Professor Longbottom asked."

"No you shouldn't, Scorpius. You just told the truth. That's a good thing. I shouldn't have pushed James, but he's such a prat!"

The boys nodded in agreement.

"Victoire was being mean, too!" Al muttered. "If Professor Longbottom had let her have her way, all of us would have had detention."

"When we prank James next week, we need to prank Victoire, too. Both of them definitely deserve it after today."

"True," Al agreed. "So Spider Spots for both of them?"

"No, we need to think of something better for Victoire. She's not the least bit afraid of spiders."

***

"You ready to do this again, Rose?"

"Yes, but since I'm going into two different dormitories this time, please tell me more often if the coast is clear."

"I will," Scorpius said. "I finished the note, how's it look?"

Rose took the note from Scorpius and examined it. "This was a great idea!" Rose smiled. Scorpius blushed, but looked pleased.

"Here, take this, too," Wil handed Rose a blue stocking cap.

"What for?"

"I just thought since you have to go to two different common rooms, it'd be a good idea to hide your hair. What if Ravenclaw has portraits that tattle like Professor Snape's portrait?"

"Blimey! Good thinking." Rose tucked her hair up into Wil's cap. "If nothing else, it will keep my hair out of my face when I'm flying."

"And with the blue cap, if a Ravenclaw portrait saw you, it would probably think you were a Ravenclaw."

"I wish I was small enough to go through the tunnel, too!" Al pouted.

"I'm sorry, Al. We'll have to think of a different type of prank for next time."

***

Rose made it to James' room just as smoothly as the time before and planted the Spider Spots. She had a second of panic when James twitched as she put a spot on his nose, but thankfully he settled again. He slept even more soundly than Dad.

She left Gryffindor Tower on her broom, and flew to the window of Ravenclaw Tower. Rose hoped Ravenclaw's windows opened as easily as Gryffindor's. They did!

Rose left her broom near the window and crept to the landing of the girl's staircase where Victoire's private Head Girl Quarters were located. She quietly spelled the door open, and crept to Victoire's bed. She placed the note Scorpius had "written" on her nightstand and began to creep back out again.

As she approached the landing, Scorpius shrieked in her ear, "Professor Flitwick is coming! He's at the Ravenclaw entrance! RUN!"

Rose didn't need to be told to run, as she'd started as soon as she heard Scorpius. She grabbed her broom, and clambered to the ledge as the door to Ravenclaw Tower burst open.

"Stop right there!" Professor Flitwick yelled in his squeaky voice.

Rose didn't listen, but pushed off into the night. She heard Professor Flitwick yelling behind her as she flew away. Rose flattened herself to her broom, and flew as fast as she could around the towers and down the owl tunnel without stopping. Scorpius was making a running commentary in her ear the entire time.

"Professor Flitwick is waking up Victoire. He's sent out three Patronuses, probably to the other heads of house. Only Wil is going to come help you. Less chance of only one getting caught rather than three of us. And he's biggest so he can help you the easiest. Just go straight to bed and pretend to be asleep. We'll regroup tomorrow."

Rose reached the bottom of the tunnel, and practically threw her broom at Wil followed quickly by herself. He helped her out of the tunnel in record time, and they ran for their respective dormitories. Rose jumped into bed with her clothes, shoes, and broom, and flung the covers over herself. She remembered the stocking cap, and stuck it under her pillow, breathing heavily. She had only been in bed for a moment when her door opened. Rose held as still as possible, not daring to move. She was still breathing heavily and could only hope she sounded asleep. After forever, her door quietly closed again, and Rose breathed a sigh of relief. It took her quite a while to fall asleep, but she finally did.

***

The next morning was another coffee morning for Rose. There was no time to discuss things with her friends because Professor Slughorn was wandering around amongst the students rather than sitting at the staff table. They saw Professor Longbottom, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Mitchell wandering amongst the students from their houses, too, but couldn't quite figure out why. They did not see James and his spiders, however, which was rather disappointing.

They actually didn't see James all day or hear anything further about their prank. After dinner the four once again sat on Al's bed talking behind closed curtains.

"That was so close!" Scorpius whispered.

"You're telling me! If Professor Flitwick were taller I think he could have made it across the room and grabbed my broom before I could escape!"

"Maybe we should quit pulling pranks for awhile. The way the professors were wandering around at breakfast today was rather unnerving."

"Definitely," Al said. "I don't want Rosie getting in trouble again."

"Not like I'm real chuffed by the idea either," Rose said. "That would earn me a Howler for sure. Mum actually threatened in her last letter, but at least she didn't send one."

"I'm sorry we didn't see the spiders on James, though. I wonder if he figured it out before they were activated?" They all shrugged.

***

The next morning, a Howler arrived for Victoire during breakfast.

Rose was thrilled, until the Howler began screaming in rapid French. "Why couldn't Uncle Bill have sent the Howler instead of Aunt Fleur?" Rose whined to Al. "Anyone know French?"

Scorpius shook his head, "Just a bit of Spanish."

Wil shook his head, too.

"Isn't your mum French?" Al asked Wil.

"Yes, but she thought being bilingual was enough so I learned Bulgarian and English as a child. I've learned a bit of French since then, but not enough to understand that."

Rose sighed. "Victoire will never tell us what happened."

***

Since it was such a fine day, Rose and her friends decided to go for a fly after lessons. As they darted in and out of rocks around the lake, their disappointment over not seeing the effects of their prank was lost in their laughter.

They saw Molly and Lucy leaving the Quidditch Pitch and waved. Molly said something to Lucy and ran over to them, as Lucy waved and continued back to the castle.

"So. It's been an interesting couple of days, hasn't it?" Molly winked.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know what you mean, Molly." Wil, Al, and Scorpius shrugged, too, for good measure.

"OK. Whatever. I thought you might like to know James got detention again."

"What?" They all asked together.

"James woke up with a spider on his nose and went completely mental. He finally managed to get it off, but then there was one on his arm and his foot. He went crazy, stripped naked and ran into the shower. He wouldn't get out to go to breakfast with Fred, and told him to go ahead. I saw Fred leaving and he told me, so I went to check on James. He wouldn't leave when I told him to either, because he was washing off the spiders."

Rose giggled.

"Well, I guess he thought there might be spiders in his bed because he stuffed all of his bedding into the bathtub, and ended up flooding the second year boys' dormitory, and the first years' beneath it. Professor Longbottom was not happy. Besides, James was in the bathroom so long he missed both of his morning classes. So he has detention from Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick, whose classes he missed, and for a week from Professor Longbottom for the flood. That's in addition to however many he already had for wandering around the dungeons in the middle of the night. I can't keep count. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry showed up."

"Did you see them?" Al asked.

"I saw Aunt Ginny when she came into the Common Room to drag James out to the hallway to yell at him. She said she wouldn't let him play Quidditch if he got any more detentions."

"Not let him play Quidditch!" Scorpius shrieked. "Was she serious?"

"She's serious," Al said. "Mum never makes idle threats." He shook his head. "James would die if he couldn't play Quidditch."

"He wouldn't die," Molly said, "but it is the worst punishment ever." They all nodded in agreement.

"Is James okay?" Al asked.

"Not particularly. He's decided Roxie put the Spider Spots on him because she was angry with him for getting Fred in trouble, so he's not speaking to Roxie, and Fred's mad at him for accusing his sister."

"Fred hasn't stopped speaking to James, has he?"

"No, I don't think Fred would ever do that, but the Gryffindor Weasleys are not getting along terribly well. Everyone has written to Louis, but he refuses to take sides. He's still speaking to everyone, but it's easy for him not to be involved since he's at Beauxbatons. Lucy and I are still speaking to everyone, but Lucy is not pleased with James for how he's treating Roxie . . . If things continue like this, Christmas will be miserable."

"Christmas is forever from now!" Rose whined.

"It's less than three months, and that will go by much more quickly than you think. The only happy family members we have are Dominique and the two of you."

"I'm not happy with how things are with James," Al said quietly. "We always had fun together until a couple of weeks before I started Hogwarts." Molly just nodded.

"You haven't mentioned Victoire," Rose asked. "What's going on with her?"

Molly looked at Rose shrewdly. "Professor Flitwick thinks Teddy broke into Ravenclaw Tower morphed to be a small girl."

"What!" Wil, who had been listening quietly, exclaimed.

"Flitwick has charms on Ravenclaw Tower. Victoire's door was charmed to alert him if it opens in the middle of the night. The steps to all of the dormitories are charmed to alert him if a member of the opposite sex is on them. The door charm activated, but the opposite sex charm did not, so he thinks it was Teddy. The note from Teddy to Victoire asking her to meet him was a clue, too. The only thing is . . ." Molly looked thoughtful, "why would Teddy run away from Victoire's room? Victoire could hide him easily enough, or Teddy could have morphed into one of her friends and pretended to have had a nightmare. Why run away? I can't see Teddy running away from Vic, especially if he went to all of the trouble to fly all the way to Hogwarts. And why leave a note to Victoire asking her to meet him if he was already in her room?"

Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius shrugged and fidgeted but didn't say anything.

"Well, I don't know. Professor Flitwick didn't catch whoever it was, and there's no proof of anything, just theories."

"What happened to Victoire?" Rose asked quietly.

"She has detention next Saturday-the day of the first Hogsmeade weekend, so she won't be able to see Teddy as she had planned, and she's lost her Head Girl privileges until the first of November. She still has the duties, but she's had to move into the seventh year dormitory, and several other things. Not having her own room seems to be the worst of it, though."

No one responded.

"I have my own theory of who pranked James and Victoire, which I haven't, and won't, share with anyone else, but give them a break, okay? I'm not saying they didn't deserve it, but I don't think the pranksters, whoever they might be, meant it to go this far."

Rose, Al, Scorpius, and Wil again remained silent.

"I do have to say, though, these unknown pranksters are in a class with Uncle George and Uncle Fred. Absolutely brilliant! I wish I knew how they pulled it off." Molly smiled.

Rose broke into laughter, which everyone joined in.

"Come on," Molly said. "It's almost time for dinner. Let's go back to the castle."

As they walked, Rose whispered to her friends, "I think I have a fun idea for something nice we can do . . ."

***

It had been a quiet two weeks-no detentions, no fights, and the four Slytherins hardly ever saw James, although Fred waved to them from across the Great Hall on occasion.

Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius walked together to the Quidditch Pitch, each carrying a portion of a long bundle, laughing as they stumbled and bumped into each other. When they arrived, they hurried into the stands-all of the Gryffindors who were trying out were already on the pitch.

Rose said, "Ready?" The others nodded. They climbed onto their seats near the top, after making sure no one was behind them so they wouldn't block anyone's view, and unrolled their bundle-a large banner.

Peeking over the top of the banner, they saw Molly's face when she noticed it. She laughed, and gestured towards them, apparently telling Fred and James, whose backs were to them, to look. When James and Fred turned around, their mouths dropped in shock, then they smiled and waved, before turning back around to pay attention to what Molly was saying about the tryouts.

Rose nodded, satisfied. "Our banner turned out well didn't it?"

"It was a good idea, Rosie," Al said.

"Frivolous Charms for First Years has been very useful," Scorpius declared.

After the tryouts-James and Fred both made the team as Chasers-they came up to the stands to see Rose, Al, Wil, and Scorpius.

"That banner's brilliant!" Fred said. "Look at all the details!" Fred pointed to the four snakes-one with red curly hair, one with blond hair, one with brown hair, and one with black hair and glasses-who were cheering for two lion cubs on broomsticks, with large glittery letters proclaiming "Good luck James and Fred!"

"Thanks," James said, looking at his feet and blushing. "I'm sorry I was such a prat. Will you forgive me?" James looked up at Al.

"Sure," Al replied. "That's what brothers do."

James nodded. "I'm sorry I hit you, Rosie."

"I forgive you, too." Rose smirked, "Besides, I think you've been in sufficient trouble to cover it."

James snorted. "I think I've been in enough trouble for a lifetime."

All six of them grinned, and began walking back to the castle together, laughing and joking.

***

Rose, Wil, Al, and Scorpius sat in the stands dressed in red and gold, cheering as their Gryffindor family members were winning the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

"Look!" Rose pointed to the Ravenclaw section of the stands where Victoire and Teddy were sitting together. They were both wearing blue, but Teddy's blue hair was streaked with red and gold.

"Is Victoire still in trouble?" Al asked.

"She got her Head Girl privileges back last week," Rose answered.

Al looked around the stands, too, as the game was in a bit of a slow spot. Al pointed to the parents' section, "A bunch of our family is here!" Rose looked where Al pointed and saw her mum and dad, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey, and Uncle George and Aunt Angelina. All except Mum and Dad had children playing in the match, but Dad would use any excuse possible to watch Quidditch. Al and Rose pointed everyone out to Wil and Scorpius.

"I'll be twelve on January third. Mum and Dad said I could ask all of you and your parents to come to a party at my house. Maybe you could ask your parents' permission while they're here?" Wil said.

"That'd be brilliant!" Rose and Al exclaimed together.

"Sounds like fun," Scorpius added. "I'll write Mum and Dad and ask. My birthday isn't until summer, but Mum and Dad always have a big New Year's Eve Party. I'll ask if I can invite all of you to that. It'd be a lot more fun if I had friends my age around."

"Sounds like we have fun plans for the Christmas holidays!" Rose enthused.

"I'm sure our parents will let us come. My mum and dad are happy I've made friends. Look! James is trying to score!"

They turned their attention back to the game. As James put the Quaffle through the hoop, they all cheered.