Padfoot and Moony

Pranks and Houses

After Transfiguration the following day, the four boys wandered down to the Great Hall for lunch. They ate quickly - Snivellus and his friends had finished their own food in the first ten minutes and slipped away.

It was extremely difficult for them to get Peter to not eat the entire table's worth of food, which he would have quite happily done if they hadn't been rushed. Instead he gathered up some bread rolls and little puff-pastry pies in his robes so he could eat on the way to find Snivellus.

They spotted him in the usual place, at the base of a massive redwood which stood not too far from the edge of the grounds. Hiding slightly out of view, James fished a silvery invisibility cloak from his bag and pulled it over himself, vanishing from beside them. Sirius chuckled and beckoned the others to follow him.

"Hey Snivellus!" Sirius yelled as they approached the group, smirking. Many other students had come to watch, all standing a little way back, whispering.

"My name is Severus," Snivellus said angrily, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

Sirius barked out a laugh and shook his head, tutting. "Still don't know your own name, Snivellus? How'd you even get into this school?"

Severus started at them, rage bubbling in his stomach. Why weren't his friends helping? They just sat there, quietly, looking with distaste at him. "I am not stupid!"

"Never said you were," Sirius said nonchalantly, bouncing on his toes. Suddenly, Severus clutched at his side and started laughing - a weird, strained laugh, as if.. As if someone was tickling him. James. Sirius barked out a laugh and Peter echoed him, stuffing another bite of bread roll into his mouth.

Then, Severus stopped laughing and straightened up, wide eyed. "What was that?" He snapped at Sirius, his voice laced with panic.

"No idea," Sirius drawled, watching as Severus' underwear suddenly dropped to his ankles. The crowd roared with laughter and Severus turned very red.

Remus, however, did not laugh, and felt as uncomfortable as Severus must have, helplessly trying to pull up his pants, but James was obviously standing on them or something so Severus couldn't lift them. He stood there, not doing anything, an uncomfortable feeling churning in his tummy. He wanted to shout at James, get him to stop it. Still, he still did nothing. He didn't want to embarrass himself or go against his friends.

When watching an invisible James mess around with Severus became boring, Sirius turned and bowed to the crowd, and James took this as the cue to go, creeping away across the grass.

Sirius glanced over at Remus as they walked back up to the classroom for History of Magic. He had a sickened look on his face, obviously still thinking about the prank. Remus had never been one for pranks which the person getting pranked didn't find it funny, and Sirius got where he was coming from, but his meanness did seem to control him quite a lot of the time and he didn't quite mind the idea of making a fool of weak, pathetic Snivellus.

Sirius flung an arm around his gangly friend's shoulders as a nice gesture, but Remus shrugged him off. Sirius frowned, "what's that for, Remy?"

"Go away," Remus muttered and walked faster towards their classroom, leaving a confused Sirius along with Peter and James, who both looked just as perplexed.