Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) - Book One (Marauder Era)

Chapter Sixty-Nine - An Argument

When morning came, the four boys practically leapt into their uniforms, huge grins on all their faces which they tried their best to wipe away as they went down the stairs. In the Great Hall they chose seats a fair distance from the underwear, one that gave them all a good view of most the tables. Especially the teachers' table. Remus wondered what Dedenne would do. She wouldn't claim them as hers, he knew that completely, but he knew she'd give a terrific reaction. Is this bad of me? he wondered as he piled sausages on his plate. Then he remembered all his Ps and Ds, and the little bit of sympathy disappeared.

About twenty minutes later the Great Hall was fair full, as full as it would get at any point during breakfast, so James flicked his wand, sending the spell shooting upward. Remus tried his best not to watch--tried not to give away--but out of the corner of his eye he saw the yellow. Soon there were whispers and loud giggling. Now he finally looked up, casually glimpsing Dedenne as his eyes traveled upward. She hadn't looked yet. Drat. Still, there was her underwear, flapping proudly from the rafters, absolutely humongous.

The entire hall began laughing, fingers pointing. Now Remus glanced to the teachers again and yes her face was going redder and redder as she realized just what was going on. He quickly looked back up in case she spotted him. That'd give it away. James and Sirius were laughing hard, pounding their fists against the table, while Peter had his fist shoved in his mouth, tears going down his round cheeks. Remus finally gave into the laughter, sliding down in his seat a bit, covering his face while he wheezed.

Then Flitwick was trying to get the underwear down. The bra and panties pulled at the twine attached the the rafter and they were all stretched out for a moment then SNAP! The twine went and the underwear went fluttering down to the Hufflepuff table.

"They like yellow, so it fits!" Sirius said very loudly as the Hufflepuffs shrieked, several of them flailing away from the cloth. Then the underwear jerked up and went flying through the air, to the teachers' table, shrinking as they went until they were normal sized, dripping bits of this and that from where they landed on the table, in some food. Then whoosh, through a side door.

"Ooh, here comes McGonagall," Peter whispered.

Indeed she was walking stiffly down the aisle, her eyes locked on the four of them. "Did you lot have anything to do with this?" she demanded when she came close enough. Only to James and Sirius, really. Remus sat up straight again, trying to stop himself from giggling any more. He wasn't sure if they'd be caught or not. He didn't think they left any evidence behind.

Sirius fluttered his eyelashes. "Really, Professor, just because someone's caused some mayhem, does it automatically make it us?"

"Yes," she replied flatly. "Whose--undergarments--were those?"

"No idea," James said with a shrug. "We didn't do it."

"They were pretty big though, maybe Hagrid's got a girlfriend?" Sirius suggested sweetly.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Mr. Black," McGonagall snapped, clearly not having any of it. "I'll ask you again--"

"Honest, Professor! Neither one of us put the underwear up there!" James said, crossing his hand over his heart. "Jolly good one, though, wish we had thought of it." McGonagall gave them a narrowed look then swept back up to the teachers' table where Dedenne still looked quite apoplectic.

McGonagall still seemed cross with them in Transfiguration even when James managed to transfigure his piece of driftwood into a roughly done statue of a lion. They were having a rather artsy class, attempting figures out of wood. Subject matter up to the student, so it came to no surprise that James's became a lion. McGonagall just looked at the Gryffindor symbol and gave a long sigh as if it were too much for her to deal with.