The Marauder's Secret

padfoot_puppyeyes

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance, Humor
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 5
Published: 30/03/2004
Last Updated: 25/11/2004
Status: paused

Lily Evans is desperate to catch the Marauders and prove that it's James and friends pulling the pranks on all of Hogwarts, they never leave anyhing for her to go on. See how Lily's determination lead to an all-out war between herself and the maurauders...then how she ended up dating their leader!loads of comedy, at least I think so. I'M TRYING TO RESPOND TO ALL REVIEWS, BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO ALL OF THEM YET. I'M SORRY IF I HAVEN'T REPLIED YET, TRY BACK IN A FEW DAYS!

Chapters

1. Sneaking, sqweaking, snakes and Sirius

2. Honor and War of the Best Sort

3. Purity of Heart

1. Sneaking, sqweaking, snakes and Sirius

AN- as I've said in my other fanfics, I'm grounded. So I've been re-reading all of the Harry Potter series again, and I happened to notice something in the chapter “Snape's Worst Memory”. While the Marauders do use their nicknames amongst each other, they never openly revealed that they were the alleged pranksters themselves. Some may argue, “but Snape seemed to know, because in the first book when he called Lupin, he knew who the Marauders were.” Wrong again. I've checked and re-checked my sources, and while Snape would know who Moony was, (they use there nicknames in public in the fifth book,) he never once mentioned the word “marauders”, although he said something about the manufacturers. So this nifty little idea popped into my head. Hope you like. Please, take a second to read and review, even if it's just a smiley or one word. Thanks- Padfoot_puppyeyes

Disclaimer-I'm thirteen. `Nuff said.

Sirius Black-

“Shush, Evans hears us and were in for it! It's her watch tonight!” James Potter hissed. “Ouch, Padfoot, get off.”

“Did you ever consider that we'd get too small for all of us to fit under eventually?” Remus's voice was calm, despite the odds of getting caught. If anyone was likely to catch us, it was Evans, and as Head Girl, she seemed pretty eager to rid Prongs as her partner. She'd been determined to prove we were behind the pranks pulled on everyone, including her, and had had it out for us since fifth year, when we'd turned off her alarm clock, switched her robes for clown suits, and left our usual calling card, saying something to the effects of “quit clowning around”. There was absolutely no evidence to bring against us, but somehow she'd known anyways. Damn Evans and her intellect.

As I was considering this, Prongs was answering Moony's question. “If you haven't noticed, as we grew so did the cloak. I put an enlargement charm on it second year, when Wormtail tripped on the hem and your feet stuck out. It was too close of a call. I spent days in the library perfecting that one.” Under the cloak, James made a face like he was thinking hard, but not really getting anywhere. “Hmm… come to think of it, I think that was the last time I was in the library.” I chuckled at the joke, weak as it was. None of us were nervous. That was the whole reason we performed these nightly rituals in the first place, whether they tricked one person or a whole house. The adrenaline rush and sense of humor was just too much for anyone to pass up. Thus, the boys of the seventh year had, in their fifth year, become the Marauders.

“Padfoot, did you bring the potion?” James asked in hushed tones, and I nodded, showing him the vial. “And you're sure it works properly? I do this for comedy, but no one's dying because of my dangerous sense of humor.”

“Why do you think Peter missed lessons all day? Yeah, it works, and I'm sure it wont hurt them. All it did to Peter was give him his…voice.” All three of us sniggered, amused with the way things had turned out. With any luck, lessons tomorrow with the Slytherins would be amusing. I wont give the prank we were about to pull out to you viewers yet. If I'm going to tell the story properly, I have to tell it in order. Which means I have to tell you how the determination of Evans lead from a simple feud between Head students, (Lily and James) became an all-out war.

The red head had known we were coming. That, or she just always waited outside of the Slytherin Common Room, waiting for pranksters such as ourselves to come wandering over. It really wouldn't have surprised me anyways, since no one but Slytherines liked the Slytherines, and we weren't the only ones wanting to prank them. We were just the only ones brave enough to. Anyways, either way, Evans sat determinedly at the door to our goal. Not that we were going to let her stop us. I transformed into the giant black dog that was my animal form and padded ever so carefully to the bathrooms nearby, were I proceeded to break every mirror loudly, yelling and playing my role as an actor. As planned, Evans came running, eager to tell off some miscreant. The problem was, I thought, as she passed my hiding stop in the hall, she had no idea that she was leaving the area the “miscreants” were entering.

I joined my friends at the front of the Slytherin common room, saying the password. Sometimes, I thank god James became Head Boy. It gives him access to all of the passwords, and before this year, we would've had to have waited for someone to open the door and snuck quietly next to them under the cloak.

Anyways, there they were, many of them sleeping. We weren't planning on getting the girls- there wouldn't be very much humor in that- but aimed for the boys. “Remember, we have a limited amount of time. One of them bound to wake up soon, I mean, aren't snakes usually early morning risers?” James muttered darkly under his breath. I took the blue vial and eyedropper out from my cloak pocket and handed two similar vials to the other two. Combined, the Marauders, minus one, worked diligently to finish handing out all of the contence of the vial. Quietly, I finished distributing the potion remains, and then watched Remus place our calling card with our “signature” on it. Already silently congratulating each other on our overwhelming success, we grabbed the cloak, not bothering to put it back on, and stepped outside the stiff and cold Slytherin Common Room.

We never saw Evans until she took the picture of us and said aloud “I knew it!” She was practically crowing in delight, and raced away, presumably to get the filmstrip published. James started laughing as soon as she turned the corridor. Both Remus and myself gaped at him, wondering if our Prongs had lost his mind, until James answered, between bouts of laughter, at our horror-mingled questioning glances. “Oh, that Evans never stops amusing me! She used a muggle camera!” This must have been the third time Evans had caught us, but it looked like this time we truly were busted. Then James explained, “Oh, you don't remember, do you? I remember when she tried to use a muggle video camera on us, and caught it all on tape, remember that?” We nodded, and I started laughing too as I remembered what had ended up happening to that form of proof. Muggle objects tend to go hang-wire at Hogwarts. That combined with the fact that, if muggle cameras were at all like ours, you needed to use flash in darks places, meant that Evans had lost…again!

The next morning, or later that morning, however you prefer, Evans was looking quirt put out, and sent a glare our way. She knew what would happen if she spoke up without evidence-everyone would laugh or show a form of doubt. So she just kept her mouth shut, but you could already tell she was plotting a new form of proving us guilty. Or she was focusing on her food and the conversation around her. Why couldn't Evans, like the other females of the castle we all occupied, admire the pranks and take the fall when we pulled one over on her? I wasn't sure, but I had to admire her determination on something so trivial. I think that may have been why James was so determined to win over Lily Evans heart. Whatever it was, that was one battle I was pretty sure poor Prongs would never win against Evans.

The Slytherin boys entered the common room as one, and Snape departed the group while the rest sat at the table and began to wordlessly eat. He walked right up to the professor, handing him a piece of paper that I could only assume was our calling card. I'd memorized the words on it perfectly anyways, and didn't need to read it aloud to know what it said. I'd watched James writing it after they had called Peter a squib, and then called “James's Evans'” a mudblood. It had infuriated James so much, he had written this message and thought up one of our best pranks yet.

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all next time.

~The Marauders

It was worth the weeks of planning to see the sour look on Snivellus's face. “What is the meaning of this, Mr. Snape?” Dumbledore, asked at the Head Table eating breakfast. A blind man could have felt the jovial air around him however. The Headmaster was one of the many reasons we hadn't gotten thrown out of Hogwarts. He loved our jokes, so long as they were harmless. But I don't think even Dumbledore knew exactly who we were, though he may have had an idea. That combined with our pure luck and careful ability to cover our tracks made it impossible to make a connection to the Marauder's pranks and us.

Take last night, for example. We had been sure to hand the house elves a light sleeping drought to put in the Slytherin foods, so we had very slim chances of one of them waking up on us. We wore gloves to cover fingerprints, and often James wrote the card, because of his amazing and amusing ability to change his handwriting.

Anyways, when Dumbledore asked this, the sour look on Snape's face got worse before he managed to squeak out in an extremely high-pitched voice “Every boy in my house has been hit with a potion I have yet to learn.” My smile grew slightly wider. James had invented this one himself. The only one better at potions than Snivellus would be James, though he rarely let his talent show through. “I need to find an antidote. I wish to be excused from lessons for my cause.”

At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he said. His voice was so high and girly it was hard to tell. By now three-fourths of the Great Hall was laughing at the Slytherin table and urging them to say something.

“Dumbledore excuses Snivellus, but the other Slytherins, squeaky or not, had to attend all of their classes, most of which were with the Gryffindors. So for the rest of that day, and a good portion of the next one, everyone got a good laugh at the Slytherins

But from the glare Lily sent them, this wasn't over.

I NEED 3 REVIEWS IF ANYONE WANTS AN UPDATE!

2. Honor and War of the Best Sort

AN- I have someone very important to thank. An anonymous review gave me an idea of what else could happen in this fic, and got me re-thinking about it, again. Because of their suggestion, I have decided not to give up the fic just yet. It'll probably only have six or seven chapters, but in the end, it'll show how the Marauders lost their precious map.

Disclaimer- Hey, I'm fourteen now! When I wrote my first disclaimer for this story, I was thirteen. How about that!

YOU NEED TO KNOW! There was information in an interview given to JK Rowling that revealed that Lily was in Ravenclaw. It broke my heart, because it ruins so many possibilities and good stories, but it made the plot for this fic better.

James-

“I can't believe we're doing this!”

“I can.” I replied To Peter's moaning. “I don't want to get caught!”

“But Evan's might have messed up again.” Remus pointed out. “I mean, you are blowing this way out of proportion. She could've already even turned us in!” Moony had a point, but I was determined not to admit it.

“Nah. She doesn't want us gone that much. If she admitted that she had the footage, it's be admitting that she was up at two in the morning, and that would mean she'd lose her position too! This'll be easy, Moony. We'll just slip in, unnoticed, and switch the footage with this footage. Not that difficult, really.”

“But the girls' dorm stairs are different!” Remus insisted. “And it's in the Ravenclaw common room. They all sleep on needles, and we didn't have any idea we'd need to sneak in there tonight! I mean, there's no sleeping draft, no-“

“The Ravenclaws sleep on needles?” Sirius asked, looking amused.

“It's an expression, Padfoot.” Remus hissed, annoyed.

“Besides, I can do a sleeping charm long enough for us to slip in there and grab the camera.” I argued. We had spent the last hour, ever since Evans had caught us on an actual Witch camera, (it followed us, which it can be programmed to do, explaining how they get all of those celebrity photos that the famous people don't want taken,) planning how to not only get her back, and dispose of the evidence against us, but also how to do all of this within two hours.

“And have you actually practiced this sleeping charm before hand?” Remus asked sarcastically. I don't know why he still bothers, because he knows I never did.

“Well, no. But that's why you're coming.” I answered, snickering.

We had been able to get up the stairs before to the girls' dorms, just never in a common room besides our own. But how much different could they be? All we had to do was levitate each other up the staircase, then do a simple unlocking charm on the doors. Not that difficult, really.

It went just the way it was supposed to. We slipped in, quietly, Sirius levitated me up, Remus levitated Sirius up, Peter levitated Remus up, and Peter stood guard in the common room. I unlocked the doors, Remus cast the light sleeping charm we'd learned earlier that day, (well, the one we were supposed to be trying to learn, I wasn't really paying attention,) without decapitating anyone, and Sirius got into Evan's trunk, no problem.

She was laying there, her red hair spread over the pillow, a look of peace on her face. For once, she wasn't glaring at me, or yelling at me, or cursing me, hexing me, or basically causing me any harm.

“LETS GO!” Sirius didn't yell it, he hissed it, but I got the message, as he hissed it right in my ear.

So we left, me taking a last longing look at Lily, before heading out. It was one of the first times after a prank that I hadn't felt like laughing.

“What do you see in her anyways?” Peter asked me, as we headed back to the common rooms to try to get at least two hours of sleep.

“She has this determination. I can't have her. She's beautiful. And she has a fire about her…” I drifted off, and left the other three to think about that, until Sirius snickered.

“It's all about the hair, then?”

“Sirius, English, please.”

“Well, everything you just said has to do with the red hair.” Sirius replied, while Remus started laughing, obviously catching something I hadn't. “Red heads are always determined to do what they want, stubborn to a fault, and the fire and beauty…”

“Padfoot, sometime you are impossible.”

“Maybe, but can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face tomorrow when she sees we have that?”

By now I felt like laughing again.

* * *

Even Remus is allowed to mess up, just not as often as the rest of us. I'm not sure if it was nerves, or if it was even a mistake and not intentional, but the seventh year Ravenclaw girl's dorm came into lunch, still exhausted. They had been taken to the hospital wing earlier when not even “Enervate!” had been able to wake them up.

Anyways, Remus told me later that he had used a more powerful charm than we had planned, so everything was thrown off, and at first we weren't sure we would be around when Lily showed McGonagall the `evidence' that proved us guilty of what was just short of three hundred pranks. Lily looked like she was about to jump up in the middle of Charms and run out of the classroom and into McGonagall's, and it seemed like the only thing holding her back was her love for Charms. It was pretty funny to watch, seeing her squirm like that, thinking she had enough proof to get us a few detentions and the loss of the House Cup, when all she had was… you'll see.

And about halfway through Transfiguration, when Lily still hadn't turned us in, but was glaring at us threateningly, Sirius had to say, “Evans, love, I know we're good looking, but I don't like girls who are too obvious about their affection. And I thought we were keeping our relationship a secret until we could get James to say your name without asking you out, remember?” It took me a moment, I am ashamed to admit, to realize that he was joking.

Padfoot wouldn't ever betray me like that. None of the Marauders would.

Finally, Lily lost her patience. Luckily for us, she didn't want us gone when she presented her proof. She wanted us to watch our years of dedication and hard work go to waste.

My first thought on this is, that was stupid. Mocking us wasn't a good idea, and it was hard to believe such an idiot, (a beautiful idiot, but an idiot,) could be in Ravenclaw. Sirius, if not all of us, would see that she knew not to tease us later on. Right now, we were too busy to think up plots.

But not for the reasons she thought we were. See, she was sure we were busy trying to think of how to get ourselves out of this. And we were busy admiring how easily we'd gotten into it in the first place. And trying to keep from laughing, because that would've given away that we were the marauders. We would've known what was coming.

And the prank that had almost gotten us caught? That comes later.

But the double pranking, (two in one night, in case you're an idiot, because it seems the beautiful ones always are,) was quite a success on our behalf.

Lily first said, “See how they've got the shadows under their eyes? It's because they couldn't sleep last night. Want to know why?”

“Bad dreams?” Sirius asked, and all four of us snickered.

“No. They were out again last night, and I have the proof.” Lily stated this proudly, handing the tape we had made over to McGonagall.

I think Peter, (and maybe Sirius,) laughed so hard when he saw the tape and what was on it, for the seventh time, he wet his pants. Again. It's just one of those things you have to be able to see to laugh about. But once you see it, even if you've seen it countless times beforehand, you can't help laughing. I suppose it's time for some explaining, isn't it?

We knew that Lily Evans would try to hand us in to McGonagall, because one; McGonagall has had it in for us since we started school, (yes, our first prank was literally the day we started school, though Padfoot and I are guilty of at least a dozen more beforehand at my house,) and two; she always does.

So McGonagall held the small glowing ball that was the tape in her hand, and carefully set it in a box that projected the image to enlarge it. And instead of showing us sneaking about the school at all hours of the night, it showed something much more entertaining. McGonagall, who was a cat animagus, was playing with a ball of catnip. Not just playing, but sniffing. Rolling. Rubbing it against her face. And best of all, the ball of catnip happened to have come from the drawer of her desk.

Even better, Lily had been sure of her evidence, so she had asked anyone who wanted to know who the marauders were to stay behind.

And because of how many enemies we had, everybody stayed.

But as long as the prank wasn't on you, we had discovered, it was all right to laugh. So the class laughed, (rather loudly,) at McGonagall's behavior, while she flushed and ripped the glass ball from the screen.

She threw it against the ground, intending to break it. And break it, she did. She has a surprisingly strong grip and arm for someone who looks so old. (I would know from all of the times she's caught me in the act of hexing someone and dragged me down the corridors by my ear.) But we had thought to charm the glass ball, so instead what happened was, the glass cracked open, and a rainbow-colored illusion of letters appeared making the words,

It's all about honor, and if you're honestly going to turn us in, as we suspect, you have none. This is student against student; don't bring staff into it.

It wasn't our funniest note, but the message was clear. We were honestly fine with people like her trying to catch us, it made it a challenge, and in Padfoot's animal-like mind, a game. It was like being on the run, or doing something like our pranks just for the thrill, the risk of getting caught.

But in my eyes, dragging the teachers into it was cheating. Something against the rules of the set game.

Lily looked strait at me and glared, and I could almost hear her saying it wasn't over.

* * *

“SHE CUT MY HAIR!” Sirius howled, throwing things out of his way as he stomped across the room. “THAT-SHE-I-…” Sirius was clearly at a loss of wards, and I had no idea what he was talking about. I had just woken up to the loud, angry, stricken Sirius that was presently stomping about the room.

“Padfoot, what are you talking `bout-“

“Your-your-“ He seemed to be debating what say carefully. “Your soul mate decided to play barber shop.” I pulled the hanging back farther to look at Sirius and try to understand.

“My soul ma-“ I paused, as I realized who he was talking about. “Lily. What do you mean she-“

I couldn't continue any farther with my sentence. I had just seen Sirius, and some things were worth early mornings. His scalp was bald in some areas, some areas were dyed pink, or green, and in some places the long, almost shoulder-length hair was still intact, but curled with a curling iron or done up in bows.

“Well,” I said, studying my friend's head, still laughing, “She's a little immature, but she could be improved with work. Not bad, not bad at all. She as potential, even. How did you know it was her?”

Still fuming, Sirius handed me a crumpled piece of paper. On it were the words,

Payback, Black. Watch your mouth next time. I was going to wash it out, but I decided I didn't want to go anywhere near it. Who knows how many mouths it's touched. Hope you like the new look. I know everyone else will.

Tigerlily.

Behind the word `tigerlily' was a beautiful, magical flower. Sirius was right. It was diffidently Lily.

“We going to tell someone about this?” Wormtail asked, still half asleep. “I mean, about Evans slipping up into the boys dorm?”

But I think we all already knew we couldn't. After what we had said yesterday, it would have been going back on our word. No one said anything, because the question could be answered by silence, so Remus picked up the note while Sirius struggled to get the bows and curls out. After a moment, Remus said,

“You'd think Evans would be smarter than that. I mean, a simple spell will return it back to it's, er… faded glory.” Padfoot's pride and joy was his hair, just like Lily's pride was that she didn't stoop down to date one of the Marauders. I didn't say anything, but after what Sirius had said yesterday, it seemed a little like a fair trade.

Anyways, the four of us, (Sirius's hair restored,) marched down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and were greeted with a rather unpleasant surprise. (On Padfoot's behalf, that is.)

Flyers were spread throughout the hall, a stack of them on the trays breakfast was sent by the hose elves up on. And it seemed the whole school did like Sirius's new due.

“This,” Sirius said, face red as he kept his eyes down and shoveled food in is mouth, “means war.”

AN- Is you like this chapter and want more, at least five reviews are appreciated. And don't say I want the reviews because I'm not a good writer, or I don't have passion… that will just peeve me. if you don't lie I, please review with a reason concerning my writing. Sorry if that came across as rude, but I'm a little upset at the moment. Anyways, hope you liked it! also, any ideas you have for pranks and other things are really appreciated. Without them, I may have to stop writing this fic!

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3. Purity of Heart

AN- hey guys! Next chapter, sorry it took so long, and I hope you like it. If you want to see the next chapter, or a preview of it, check out the bold bottom.

Lily-

“What do you mean, you got Black back?” Severus repeated, for the fifth time this morning.

“You saw the flyers. Who did you think Tigerlily was? I'm positive that the Marauders are Black, Pettigrew, Lupin and-“

“Potter.” Severus spat, his disgust showing. “Yes, I now. I've known ever since third year. You've known ever since they gave you that clown suit. But we don't have any proof, and…wait. You mean to say, you snuck up into their dorm in the middle of the night and cut Black's hair as revenge for what he said to you in Transfiguration a few days ago?”

“Yup.”

“That was you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well…congratulations.” Severus didn't show his feelings to anyone very well, but already I could see him gloating.

“Thanks. Don't tell anyone, okay? I only told you because I need the sleeping draught antidote, so that they can't pull one over on me while I'm sleeping.”

Snape nodded abruptly and pulled one out of his jacket, handing it to me. When I gave him a strange look for it, he replied, “I take one every morning this week. It's the week.”

“Is it really? Already? Well…I think this week will be a little more interesting.” I replied, taking the antidote, and handing him the money.

Severus Snape and I are by no means friends. He's still nasty, still calls me mudblood, and still forgets to wash his hair. But when it comes to business, he's always very careful about how he acts, and we get along rather nicely. I bought wizarding developing fluid from him for my cameras, and all sorts of potions and products that the teacher lets him make after class.

And as to the week, that was something I would have to watch out for. It was always the time when the Marauders stuck the worst, the last week of October. All of it led up to the master prank that the Marauders did on Halloween, and each year the pranks became bigger and better.

A small part of me, (a very small part of me,) didn't want to battle them this week. The entire school looked at this as a week of laughter, and with the small attacks that are happening all around by a new dark wizard, the entire school needed it.

And they never focused the pranks on just one person this week. At some point, everyone in the great hall (including James and friends, who wouldn't want to get caught and pinned as the Marauders,) would be pranked. Even teachers didn't bother to try finding `the Marauders' this week, and I had always halted my search for a week, to let the school have it's fun. People had actually gotten angry with me when I had tried to catch Potter and his gang on this week, and I wasn't about to ruin anything.

But this was war, and I doubted that they would stop targeting me, so I had to keep up my guard and fire back.

I spent so much of my time that day watching my back, I don't know how Potter managed to slip me a note that took me ten minutes to realize was there. When I did notice, however, I was cautious to open it. There could be a prank in it, some type of poison or puss.

There wasn't any, though, just a note.

Alright, Lily, so you're pretty good at this.

Prongs, don't compliment her. She cut my hair!

Did a good job though!

MOONY!

Right, well, anyways, you're up for a war, and we're ready. But as in all wars, there are rules, and a strict code of honor that we always stick to. First off, no poison. Antidotes are fine, but poisons can really do damage, particularly if you are allergic to them like I am. Second, no real physical damage. This is about embarrassment, not pain, and it always has been for us. I hope you'll keep it that way. And the third rule I believe we've made quite clear. No adults. This includes caretakers, teachers, and Headmasters. That's the only rules we're sticking to, and we're asking you to oblige to these.

Oh, very diplomatic, Prongs.

Thank you

I had to bite my lip to stifle a giggle as I read the note. They were pretty funny when they wanted to be, but I wouldn't let that keep me from accomplishing my goal. If the Marauders wanted war, war it would be. I knew internally that by cutting Sirius Black's hair, I had won the second battle.

When I walked into the Great Hall for dinner, though, I realized that they had won the third. Battle that is.

Everyone was staring at me in amusement, and I couldn't figure out why. I had been on my guard all day, so there's no way that the Marauders could've done anything… until I realized that in the last few minutes, I had been completely absorbed in that note. Many people were whistling and cat-calling, and slowly, carefully, I turned my head and looked down.

Sticking out from under my skirt was a moving tiger tail.

Just as slowly, and just as carefully, I turned to the Marauders. Each of them were in side-stitches.

Narrowing my eyes at them, I looked to Professor McGonagall for help, who told me to go to the Hospital Wing and see if Pomfery could remove it. She looked towards the Marauders, but ran into the same problem as always. There was no proof.

And I ran into another problem. I couldn't have told on them, because I had promised not to. Rules were rules, and I had always followed them. I couldn't go back on my word and break the rules now.

“Lily? Do you have anything to say about this?” McGonagall asked, as she always did. But instead of the usual, I replied,

“Well, it is the week,” looking straight at James Potter and his merry little gang. It must have been the response they had been looking for, because even Sirius Black gave a slight nod of approval. And… this was weird. James Potter had smiled at me in what almost looked like pride, and…I couldn't help smiling back a little. I know that it was a dry smile, but I hadn't thought about it before hand.

He turned back to his meal, and I went to sit at my table and have mine, but as I thought back on that smile, and how his eyes had been shining at me, I'm pretty sure my smile became a bit wider.

More pranks followed the first few. I put an illusion on Remus Lupin to make it appear to everyone but himself that he had the bottom of a worm, and put the sign, `Gryffindor Bookworm' on his back. They made my nose big as a hag's with warts and gave my normally orange hair black streaks, with a note that said, “I'm into the holiday spirit!” `Small' things like this continued for a while, and I'd like to think that both parties involved were enjoying them. I know I was.

I took to planning while I wandered the halls at night, on patrol, instead of trying to catch Potter. And when I did see Potter… when I did see Potter, my stomach kind of did a flip, and it wasn't from anger or fear anymore. Oh, I knew what it was from. I mean, I may not date James Potter, but I did date, and I knew this feeling. It was a small form of a crush, but I didn't act the way one usually acts around their crush. Instead, I was really competitive, and outgoing. It was actually becoming annoying, because I wanted to flirt back with him when he flirted with me, (which he always did, and everywhere. Example? Uh…classes, hallways, patrol, meetings, quidditch games…everywhere.)

Instead, however, I had to force myself not to trust him.

I was thinking this whole thing over out in the halls when I heard someone whispering across the hall. In a moment I knew it was James Potter's voice; a soft and smooth tenor.

I wasn't going to jump out like I usually did, and I wasn't going to try taping anything, because that didn't go by the rules. Instead, I was going to take whatever prank it was that they were planning and lay it back on them.

But Sirius Black's voice wasn't so small, and so whiny.

I turned the corner carefully and saw James speaking not to the rest of his little gang, but to a child. A little…Slytherin?

“Are you really one of the people that have been pulling the pranks all week?” He asked, as James guided him by the shoulders back to the Slytherin dorms.

“Yes I am.”

“Then why are you going to get me in trouble? I was just doing what you do.” He boy argued.

“Because I'm a hypocrite.” James replied solemnly, and I could tell that he meant it. When the kid continued to whine, James finally said, “I stopped you because that was dangerous. I don't know where you learned that curse, Regulus, but if your brother finds out that you even attempted to use it on someone-“

“She's just a mudblood! She probably wouldn't even know that it happened!”

“She has muggle parents, but she's not a mudblood! And she would know that it happened, because she would feel pain.” I heard James argue. “I don't want to fight with you, Regulus. Sirius still hopes for you. He knows that your mother and father's views of muggleborns can't be changed, but yours can!”

“You're the reason my brother ran away in the first place! It's because people like you put ideas in his head. But he's a pureblood, and he can't change his bloodlines. It's not like you can do anything about that.”

“Not that I wouldn't if I could.” James muttered darkly.

“You only like mudbloods because you're in love with one.” James gritted his teeth, and I could tell he was very close to saying something he would regret. And this kid would probably tell on him for it.

“Look, Regulus, Sirius may have faith in you, but I don't. Here's your detention, and here's your wand. You're lucky I don't break it.”

“I don't get you!” Regulus, the kid, growled. I had to agree. I didn't get James Potter either, “You're a pureblood too! It's the only reason my parents let Sirius hang with you! But you get your name dirty by associating with mudbloods.”

After that, James slammed the door to the common room, shaking his head.

I laughed the next morning with the rest of the Great Hall when Regulus Black came into room, dragging dirt in behind him, covered in the stuff himself. I hadn't been the one to pull this prank, but that didn't make it nay less funny. James, it seemed had taken all of Regulus's comments to heart.

The clean area on the back of Regulus's robes looked like a note. As I read the clean dark area, I smiled.

It isn't the purity of blood that matters. It's the purity of heart.

STUCK ON YOU- Sirius is sick of James talking about Lily, and decides to humor himself and everyone else and do something about it. I think the title gives a little away.

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