Sizzle Sizzle--Marauders

[Paige Letosat]

Tonight was the night of the Masquerade Ball. This meant that the Marauders and their friend Paige would be pulling the prank of the year, if not the decade. The group was always pulling pranks and Paige had even been on in a few of them. Most likely because she had once dated James Potter, the leader of the group it would seem, for a few months and was still good friends with most of the others. There were four of the Marauders, they called themselves that and so did many other people who knew of the inside name. Peter Pettigrew, a slightly overweight boy who was sort of shy at first. Remus Lupin, a quiet boy who Paige had only talked to a few times but still considered him a friend. Sirius Black who seemed to make the most trouble out of them all, in and out of school mind you. Then there was James Potter, probably the Gryffindor heartthrob for all but three girls in their house. Paige, her friend Angelique and possibly Lily Evans. Lily was a good friend of Paige's too but she wasn't as exciting as Angel could be. Lily liked to stay safe, of course there was nothing wrong with that but Paige liked a little risk in life.

Looking around the ball everything seemed to be going fine. Kids in the younger years danced with partners, some boys but most girls stuck together in a clump on the dance floor and gossiped. Across the ball was a group of Slytherin boys who were looking at three girls next to Paige, one had an intent gaze at Paige who quickly turned away, disgusted by the look in his eyes. She knew that look, he'd looked hungry. Not for food but for her, her body most likely. While she'd never believed it, Paige had always been told she was a pretty girl. Paige liked to nod and smile when she was told this but besides how big her eyes were at times she just never really saw herself as the pretty person of the group. If she were with the Marauders then of course she was the prettiest, but maybe also the quietest sometimes. She was compared to James Potter sometimes. A bit cocky and always getting exactly what she wanted. Paige was just like that and she loved to be how she was around the people she enjoyed being with.

Glancing around the room and adjusting her mask she stared at the doors, just waiting for them to come through and see her waiting. Paige wasn't even sure how they were going to pull this off, she knew they needed to be very stealthy with how they would. If she were to be caught putting the puking pasties into the pudding then doing some itching powder over the feathers that floated, and sprinkled glitter over people, then she'd get weeks of detention. Too bad most of the older kids who she'd once been friends with in her first and second years had now graduated, they'd always been helpful.

[sirius black]

Sirius has left Zara chatting with some friends with the assurance that he would be right back and a conspiratorial wink; He felt guilty to leave her behind, but he had made plans with the Marauders before hand that were far too grand to break. He saw Paige from across the hall and followed her eyes to a group of Slytherin boys, younger, one of which was looking at her with a sickening look.

Paige was James' ex-girlfriend (on good terms) and friends with all of the Marauders. Clever and sneaky with a sense of trouble to rival the boys' she fit in well and was included in a number of their pranks. Sirius liked to think of her like a sister. "Shove off!" he snarled at the Slytherin filth, and the boy scowled back but turned the other way.

"Hey Paige," he greeted her, "ready to wreak some havoc?". The others were yet to arive, but it was never to soon to start scheming. The plan ranged from sabotaging pastries to attacking various guests with the feathers that now floated above them as quaint decorations. The key was to not get caught, a factor that Sirius was notoriously good at.

Sirius grinned slyly as he examined the area for extra opportunities for chaos; It had been difficult to plan before knowing the details of the set up, but the room had been decorated and treated as a surprise- the only reason they had the information they had was from a mix of coaxing it out of the ghosts- especially Peeves- and stealing glimpses of the preparations.

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[James Potter]

James was feeling miserable. He usually did when Lily turned him down again and again, but this time, it was worse. He had to sit by and watch Lily dance with other boys. Which irritated the hell out of him, and just made him want to hex their arses into oblivion. But of course, he had to exercise great self-restraint from doing so, because that night, he had much better plans. Plans that would eventually help him attack the sorry arse of Lily's date. Smirking, he gulped down his butterbeer in one go, and looked around the beautifully decorated hall.

Right across the hall, he could see Paige and Sirius, already starting to form their plan. Grinning to himself, he got up, strutting towards the pair of them, basking in the glory as a few girls turned to look at him. It was a great surprised to probably the entire school that he was dateless, but he was feeling a little too down to bother taking anyone to the ball. Besides, he had the greatest prank of the year to plan! He reached the pair of them, clapped Sirius on the back and grinned at Paige. "Seems like we're all ready, eh? I guess Remus will be joining us soon. And Paige, you're looking good," he added with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a grin, knowing that Paige would understand that his compliment was strictly platonic.

If there was any one thing James had done right in his life, it was having dated Paige Letosat. It was unbelievable how the girl was so uncanny to him and the rest of the Marauders when it came to having fun. Of course, they had long ago decided that they were better off as friends, and James was glad that they hadn’t lost their friendship. She was fun to hang around with, and truly had the brains for a good prank. Much like the one - or ones - they were going to pull off that night.

"Alright, here's the plan," James said in a voice that meant business. He took the planning of his pranks seriously, and he failed to see the irony in that. "First, we are going to add those puking pasties and the belch powder to the punch and pudding respectively. See, the food table is almost empty right now, so we can just stroll across it, pretend to take a serving of each, and slip these wonderful items in without anyone realising it. Padfoot, you're the champion in this, so I say, make me proud tonight!," he finished, smirking.

"As for the feathers, we are going to wait till the effects of the pasties and belch powder to kick in. And really, attack whoever you feel like attacking, especially the Slytherins. I myself have some already in my mind..." he trailed off, narrowing his eyes at the boys who were looking at Lily. He didn't like those looks one bit.

Looking back to his best mate and good friend, he clapped his hands once. "So, shall we start the greatest prank Hogwarts is ever going to see on such a grand scale?" he smirked, drawing out the box of puking pasties and belch powder from his robes.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus John Lupin didn’t have a date for the Masquerade Ball. He hadn’t had a date in a while. He wasn’t like James or Sirius who could get any girl they wanted and flirted with any girl they wanted Remus never could just flirt with any girl, but that was just him. He was always more reserve than his two friends. Tonight though he wasn’t worried about girls or dates because tonight was all about one of the biggest pranks that the Mauarders, him and his friends, were pulling off. There were four of them James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They had all been friends since their first year, but one other person was joining them on this prank. She was an ex girl friend of James but they were all still really good friends with her. Her name is Paige Letosat.

Remus was a little late at getting to the Masquerade Ball. He dressed in a nice suit and put on his mask that matched his suit. He combed his hair more trying to make it not look messy. He of course failed at that task. Sighing he left the Gryffindor Common Room knowing he would never get his hair to act right. He hurried down the staircase to the Great Hall. He knew he had to hurry up and get there so they could start the prank. A grin crossed the sixth year gryffindor’s face Yes he was a prefect but he did love a good prank with his friends.

He made it all the way down the staircase without falling which was a good sign for the night. He walked into the Great Hall smiling. He looked around the Great Hall and was in awe on how it looked. He smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked around looking for James, Sirius, Peter, and Paige. He saw some girls who looked great in their dresses. Remus would never approach any of them. He continued walking around until he found his group of friends and smiled. Hey sorry I am late guys he said as he ran a hand through his hair. Remus had just made it in time to hear James talk about the plan. He listened and ran a hand through his hair as James talked. When James was done and had asked if they were ready Remus nodded smiling. Yeah of course we are he said.

Remus looked around ready for the prank to begin. He wondered who he was going to make the feathers attack; maybe certain Slytherins that always mistreated other students. There were always times, and he was sure there would be many more, where he would want justice for what Slytherins do all the time as they also get away with everything they do. Remus hated that and tried to get a little justice for everyone himself whenever he could, detentions when he caught them but sometimes, actually a lot of times, where they ended up getting out of detention thanks to a teacher that loves them to Remus though that wasn’t right. He hated that of course and tried his best but he was only one guy, he couldn’t really do much about it.

[sirius black]

Sirius grinned as he saw his best mate strutting across the floor towards them. Jame's was dateless, Lily had turned him down again, but the disappointment that Sirius knew he was feeling didn't show. Often, Sirius wondered if it was worth all the trouble for this one girl when Jame's had them falling at his feet, but now that Sirius had met Zara he understood. Oh well, Lily would come around, and the prank should take James' mind off of her for a while.

Sirius chuckled as his best mate clapped him on the back and greeted them. "Yeah, I was born ready" he joked as Remus appeared out of the crowd surveying the props to their plans mischievously. "Nice of you to join us Moony" he said, grinning. Let the games begin.

James shot right into planning in perhaps the most serious voice Sirius had ever heard him use.First, we are going to add those puking pasties and the belch powder to the punch and pudding respectively. See, the food table is almost empty right now, so we can just stroll across it, pretend to take a serving of each, and slip these wonderful items in without anyone realising it. Padfoot, you're the champion in this, so I say, make me proud tonight"-"Will do" Sirius replied with a proud grin and a sly glance at the remaining food.-As for the feathers, we are going to wait till the effects of the pasties and belch powder to kick in. And really, attack whoever you feel like attacking, especially the Slytherins. I myself have some already in my mind..."

Sirius noticed James' give a longing glance at the boys near Lily, and Sirius just knew his fingers were itching to hex the lot of them. He had people in mind too, but that was the second objective. His attention was drawn back to Jame's as he clapped his hands together and drew out the delightful pranks from his robes. "Definitely." Sirius replied, taking his share and slipping it into his robes, then starting first toward the delicious food.

Sirius worked his way down the table, sabotaging the dishes inconspicuously and eating the last of the safe food at the same time- not only did that make a good cover, but tasted great! After slipping by naturally and unnoticed, Sirius met back with his friends with a grin on his lips. "Time to watch the magic happen" he replied, glancing at the table.

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[Paige Letosat]

Paige let a small smile escape as she looked at all her friends gathered round. Once Remus had wondered in everything would seem to go smoothly. "Thanks," she muttered to Sirius as the Slytherin boy grimaced, turning around quickly. Paige really hated to be noticed much, so she tried to blend in. Sadly, her face was unique compared to most other students so it seemed hard for her at times. Always having to duck down and look down. At least she were average height and not extraordinarily tall or short.

Rolling her eyes and laughing through a breath at James' comment Paige looked around the room as Remus appeared. "He's here!" She squealed excitedly, like she had some reason to be extremely excited that a distant friend had just entered. Of course she did! They were pulling the prank tonight, it would be grand of course!

Looking around for anyone else a few times Paige froze as she saw a few suspicious looking students and three professors also in their direction. She quickly shoved a hand in the pocket of her rich red colored dress and fidgeted with her mask, straightening the black beauty out on her face. Her hair was pulled up and into a tight bun as usual. "Act casual. Dance," she urged the boys and quickly grabbed Sirius' hands as she twirled herself around, casting another gaze around the room.

[James Potter]

James grinned when Remus finally joined them. “Spent too long in front of the mirror Moony? I thought that was what Padfoot did?” he smirked, teasing both of his best mates at one go. He absolutely loved doing that. He pretended not to look, but still watched Sirius from the corner of his eye as his skilled friend slipped the few tricks into the food. A small smirk played at the corner of lips despite trying to control himself. He couldn’t help it; just the thought of the boys who had danced with Lily eating them, it made him happy.

"Time to watch the magic happen" he heard Sirius say, and James nodded as his smirk grew. “Ooh, yes. Let’s watch that,” he said as his eyes eagerly watched the food table, but Paige’s warnings disrupted his happy thoughts. He looked to where Paige was looking, and he bit back a groan. Damn. All of them were supposed to be dancing, eating, snogging or getting their hearts broken. Not staring at the bunch of them! "Act casual. Dance.”

James gaped as Paige took Sirius’ hand and pretended to dance with him.“Wha – how am I supposed to dance with Moony?! We will look silly!” he complained to no one in particular, before turning to Remus and clapping him on the shoulder, before starting to laugh. “Pretend that I just cracked a very funny joke,” he mumbled to him out of the corner of his mouth, and then got back to laughing.

Right then, he heard a very, very loud belch, and immediately turned around to watch the spectacle. A bunch of students had helped themselves to the food, and it seemed as if their plans were working. James was, by then, fighting to hide his grin. A few of the students included the Ravenclaw boy who had danced with Lily. Bingo! Realising that their Feather Plans should be starting by then, he quickly pulled the gang aside.

“Alright, now, the feathers!” he whispered to them, and making sure that no one could see him, he casted a spell on the bunch of feathers hanging from the ceiling near him. Slowly, the feathers started moving, began a dance of their own, and started surrounding the people nearby (with the exception of his friends and himself). He snorted as one particular bunch of feathers started to mercilessly attack a sixth year Slytherin, who was already desperately trying to stop puking.