Black

XL // April Fools

Tuesday

1 April, 1978

The Hospital Wing

It would have been the best April Fools prank if my last diary entry was in fact, a prank.

For the past six years, pretty consistently, the Bloody Prat Quadruplet, now more fondly known as my best friend's boyfriend, my sort-of-not-really-but-also-definitely-was-but-technically-unconfirmed ex-boyfriend, my current I-think-we-haven't-had-the-actual-official-talk boyfriend, and Peter, have pulled a Merlin-defying prank, much to the consternation and/or glee of the Hogwarts school body.

A Completed List of All the April Fools Pranks Played by the Rogue Group of Four Hogwarts Students Collectively Known as 'The Marauders,' Compiled by One Evelyn K. O. Bishop

1. First year, they somehow managed to hex every Slytherin's hair a garishly bright gold and maroon stripe, which I did think was a bit overkill for being firsties. Lily of course told them off for it, and James Potter told her that they were just trying to make the hair the same colour as hers, but didn't mix the colour well enough. They received more backlash from Lily than they did the Hogwarts faculty.

2. Second year, they must have been feeling particularly rascally as they kept on brand with the hair related antics, but somehow transfigured Dumbledore's beard into feathers. Everyone found it rather funny, until they found that all of the owls temporarily had their feathers turn into Dumbledore's beard hair. I don't think Selene has ever really emotionally recovered from it. And I still don't know how they managed to pull the second part of this off, much to Black's unending glee.

3. Third year, they charmed all of the professors' chairs so that they would move every time they tried to sit down on them, which I thought was rather tame for them at the time, but was also reasonably grateful it kept their mischievous gaze off of me.

4. Fourth year made up for all the other years, where whoever was brave enough to eat food in the Great Hall that morning, discovered shortly after that they would be magically forced into a rock paper scissors match with anyone that day who ate the same food as them, and every loss would turn your skin a slightly more vivid shade of green. Black said I looked like Kermit the frog that day. How he even knew who Kermit the frog is remains a mystery to me. Lottie almost swore off eggs because of it,  but her addiction knows no bounds.

5. Fifth year they decided to delve into the horrifying world of charmed mistletoe, which was not the first time they had done this, nor would it be the last. Thankfully this time it was not kissing related, but instead forced everyone to participate in an ultimate dance-off competition. I was suddenly grateful for the amount of fitness  training I had to do for Quidditch.

6. Last year there was no prank on April 1st, rather instead on April 2nd, which I suppose was a prank in itself. The April 2nd prank involved itching powder in the laundry and is widely considered by many to be their most annoying prank of all time.

Today is the 1st of April again, and so one would expect a prank at any moment, however, as James bloody Potter is now laying in a bed in the Hospital Wing, one would also be reasonable to assume any potential pranking may now be delayed.

Unless, of course, the laying in the hospital bed part of it all is the prank.

It does seem unlikely.

This part of my diary entry does seem to be the part to relay the events of the last evening, but if I am being honest with myself (as I must admit I rarely am), I do not particularly wish to relive it in great detail.

He was there.

I dueled with him. Briefly.

It was the first time I thought I might legitimately die, but let's not dwell on that right now.