Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) Book Three (Marauders Era)

Chapter Ninety-Nine - The 'Nice' House

Author's note: CW for a lot of period accurate homophobia

Also... I start a new job next week! It's essentially a 9 to 5 so I don't know how much it will mess up the schedule. I'll still get a chapter out a week and I hope to keep it Tuesdays. But there is a possibility that I'll have to move it to Sundays. I won't know for sure until I've actually started my job. Next week it will still definitely be Tuesday though.

-x-

The final few days of February went by in a bit of a blur. James and Sirius had detention almost every single night, although thankfully Peter and Remus weren't wrangled into the aftermath of Cluck You. But between classes, the four of them ran a bit wild through the school; they were constantly putting pranks around and hexing other students. The weather was warming up, and the coming spring was affecting everyone, even though there would be plenty more snowstorms before winter completely ended.

Remus didn't tell the others about Spinnet's complaint, not wanting things to get worse. He didn't say anything to Spinnet, either, even though part of him wanted to. He did, however, break into Spinnet's desk and get out his box of tea drops. A cheap, easy way to make tea. Just drop one in hot water and bam. Not the best tea, but quick, and popular among the students.

He took out one of the drops, carefully opening the package and using a sticking spell before rolling it in some whizzing worms. He enchanted it to match the color even though he doubted Spinnet would notice, repaired the little packet, and put it back in the box. That night it was fun to see Spinnet screaming as his mug filled with worms. Not so much to see him lob the mug at Sirius and the two get into an argument. They pushed each other and got their wands out, until Remus managed to get between them. He admitted he was the one who put the worms in the tea, but that didn't help anything. Spinnet tried to use the Bat Bogey hex on him. Remus dove out of the way and the hex hit James instead, and a big fight ensued. Luckily, it was broken up before anyone outside the dorm (as in: Prefects) found out, but there was lingering tension afterwards, and Remus wished he hadn't tried to get revenge.

On Tuesday it rained, but the downpour didn't dampen any spirits. After Muggle Studies, James and Sirius seemed more hyper than usual. Lewis had shown them a program about medieval jousting and assigned them a paper to compare it to similar sports that wizards had done back then. James was thrilled about having to do a paper about sports. He kept teasing Remus about it, but Remus didn't care; he was interested in history.

After lounging around for a bit, Sirius suggested they try jousting. Remus pointed out he couldn't fly, and Sirius said it didn't matter—they weren't going to fly. They nicked cleaning brooms and rubbish bin lids, and went to a long, empty corridor. Remus thought perhaps they'd be riding bicycles... but James and Sirius were to be the horses. James carried Peter piggyback, and Sirius bullied Remus into getting on his back. It took several tries before they actually managed to run at each other, and every attempt ended up with all four of them on the ground. They were soon covered in bruises, aches, and pains. Well, except Remus. But that didn't stop the others at all. Then Dumbledore and McGonagall turned the corner just as Peter's broom slammed into Remus's shield, sending him flying; Peter lost balance and went down as well. James and Sirius were laughing while Remus scrambled up, beet red. Dumbledore merely looked amused, although McGonagall's lips were in a tight line again.

"Are those school property?" she asked, peering down her nose at them.

"No Professor," James lied breathlessly, trying to stand in front of one of the lids.

"You're looking very pretty today, Professor McGonagall," Sirius added with a wink.

Dumbledore raised his sleeve to cover a smile, while McGonagall sighed. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Please return those immediately."