Introducing: Pranks

If you tell a joke that isn't funny, is it still a joke?

"I can't believe you got it after only four tries! I only barely managed to do it before the end of class…" Lily smiled softly, glancing at the blonde girl walking next to her.

"It's not that impressive Anne… After all, Potter and Black both got it in one go." Anne giggled slightly at the mention of the two dark-haired boys, and Lily rolled her eyes. They'd barely spend a week at Hogwarts and already they seemed to be royalty. Lily had caught them in the courtyard after class on Wednesday, sitting among a group of friends and an even larger group of fervent admirers. The howler Sirius had received on Monday did nothing to make them less known either; it rather seemed to add to their fan base.

"I don't get why you don't like them, Lils. They're nice to almost everyone, even you! Whilst you haven't been that nice to them at all…" Lily set her jaw, her eyebrows frowning over her stunning eyes.

"They're not nice to Sev." Anne made an annoyed noise, so quietly that Lily almost missed it.

"Oh, right. Your 'best friend'." Lily looked at her new friend angrily.

"Anne!"

"I'm sorry." Lily frowned slightly. For some making an apology Anne looked just a little too not sorry and a little too much annoyed. "I just don't get why you like him so much. He seems like a total creep to me, besides he's in Slytherin! The whole lot of them are on You-Know-Who's side." Lily rolled her eyes, her voice become icy as she replied.

"Actually, I don't know who…" Anne's eyes widened as she stopped in the middle of the hallway, causing the two girls behind them to almost bump into them.

"What? Don't tell me you've never heard-" But Lily never got to hear what she'd never heard of as a high pitched scream cut across Anne.

"JAMES MATTHEW POTTER!" Valerie stormed around the corner, eyes blazing. She searched the corridor for a few seconds, before finding three boys leaning against a pillar. "JAMES MATTHEW POTTER AND SIRIUS-" She faltered slightly.

"Orion." James filled in for her.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Sirius and James grinned at her, as she halted in front of them, putting her arms in her side.

"Yeah, what's up Val?"

"My hair! Again!" Lazily two pairs of eyes travelled over the bright pink locks, tucked back in a sleek ponytail.

"Yes…?" James raised his eyebrows.

"We thought this was more of your colour… do you disagree?" Sirius looked at her innocently, and the corner of James' mouth twitched. Valerie let out a frustrated sigh.

"You two are the most insufferable little prats I-"

"I'm feeling terribly left out." Remus chimed in dryly.

"Yes, it's not very nice to ignore Remus like that, Val."

"You didn't even greet him. Which is rather hurtful when-"

"-you greeted us this enthusiastically!"

"We understand that dear Remy is not quite as handsome as the two of us, specifically me, but is greeting really too much to ask…?"

"Shut up!" Valerie took a couple of deep breaths, before looking back at them with a small smile. They were still grinning at here. "Ok, I'm not going along with your childish little games. I'm above that." She took a mirror out of her bag, along with her wand, and murmured a spell. She frowned slightly as her hair didn't change, and tried again. "Why won't it change?" James chuckled softly.

"You didn't really think I'd make the same mistake twice, did you?" James softly put a loose strand behind her ear as Sirius smirked.

"It's permanent." Valerie's mouth dropped open in horror. "Not that permanent!" She breathed in relieved. "It'll fade after one to two weeks…" She nodded slightly, and James finally stepped away from the pillar, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, do you think you'll survive?" Immediately Valerie pulled a sad face and looked at him with big eyes, shaking her head. "I personally think it looks quite good on you, actually." Valerie blushed slightly as she bit on her lip.

"Than again, what doesn't?" Sirius agreed, slipping an arm around her waist. She blushed even harder, looking from Sirius to James, not sure whether they were pulling her leg or not.

"The two of you?" Remus looked at them intertwined like that with one raised eyebrow, the only one left to lean against the pillar. James and Sirius chuckled, both letting go off Valerie, who murmured a quick goodbye and hurried off. "So what was that for?"

"The best way to make a girl forgive you," Sirius went on.

"Distract them with compliments…" James and he grinned at each other, and Remus chuckled. "Besides, James wouldn't want his little girlfriend to be upset now would, he?"

"I've told you, she's not my girlfriend!" Lily looked away annoyed.

"Still think they're so great?" She looked beside her, only to find the spot it empty. She frowned slightly and looked back at James and Sirius, where she quickly found Anne among a throng of girls looking at the boys in awe. Lily sighed in annoyance. Behind her someone laughed.

"C'mon you can't blame her, really… everyone loves them." Lily turned around to find Mary, another Gryffindor girl.

"Everyone but me." Mary chuckled again.

"I know. Everyone knows." Lily turned slightly red and Mary smiled at her. "You don't really make a big secret out of it." Lily shrugged slightly, smiling back.

"I guess not." They started walking again, moving past the group of people still surrounding Sirius, James and Remus, and she frowned slightly. "I just don't get why people like them so much. I mean, even this Valerie-girl! They just pranked her, and she's already right back to swooning all over them…" Lily glanced at Mary, who simply shrugged.

"Well, Valerie has a soft spot for James. They've been like this for most of the summer." All of this was said on a rather matter-of-fact tone, and Lily looked at her slightly surprised.

"You already knew them before Hogwarts?" Mary grimaced slightly.

"Not well. I've only seen them once or twice this summer, but Robin lives down the road from me and he spent a lot of them with them… James is pretty much his hero." Lily snorted. "Now Sirius as well, undoubtedly."

"Why not Sirius before?" Mary looked at her in surprise.

"Because we didn't know him. None of us. Not even James." Lily's eyes widened.

"They met at Hogwarts? Wow. I thought they'd been friends forever, like me and Sev…" Mary smiled slightly

"They seem like that, don't they? But no, they met on the train…" Lily frowned slightly, thinking back to that moment when James had run into the compartment. She hadn't paid any attention to him, just like he hadn't seen her, but had that really been the first time the two boys had ever seen each other? It seemed so unlikely. She sighed softly, before looking at Mary, as they both said down in the common room.

"How do you know all these things?" Mary looked at her with raised eyebrows, before chuckling.

"Everyone does."

MM_MM_MM

"So… how amazing do people think we are? On a scale from one to ten." Remus looked up from his book. Opposite of his chair Sirius and James sat on a sofa… or hung, rather, considering their heads almost touched the floor and their feet stuck out over the back.

"A ten, definitely." James answered confidently. Remus snorted before getting back to his book. "You disagree, Rems?" Quickly he looked up, to find Sirius and James looked at him with the same insulted expression.

"No, I agree… most people would rate you guys a ten." He went back to his book, but before he managed to read a letter, Sirius interrupted him again.

"How do you mean most people?" With a sigh Remus looked up again.

"Doesn't everyone love us?" James wore an expression of honest bemusement, and Remus put his book away, resigning to the fact they wouldn't allow him to read that evening. Much like they hadn't allowed him to do so every evening for the past week or so.

"No, as shocking as it may be to you, not everyone loves you." Sirius looked only mildly interested, he was quite used to being disliked, and really, the popularity was sorta unsettling. James however, looked absolutely horrified. In his mind, everyone had always loved him and he didn't see why this had or should change…

"Everyone does." Remus rolled his eyes.

"No, not everyone does, James." James finally turned to sit normally and with his head red from hanging upside down for so long, he looked dangerously mad.

"Name one example!" Remus pulled up one eyebrow.

"McGonagall." Sirius snorted and even James smiled a bit, what, with the colour slowly disappearing from his face, made him look a lot less angry.

"Teachers don't count." Remus smiled softly.

"The whole Slytherin House." Sirius snorted again, and James fully smiled.

"Slytherins aren't people… they're cockroaches." Remus laughed softly, and his hand edged back to his back, but James wasn't done yet. He was very determined to find out who, exactly, didn't like him. And then he'd just go and change their mind.

"Name one example from our own House!" Remus sighed once more, and looked James in the eye. From his point of view, James was getting entirely too worked up over something as silly as not everyone liking you. It would be different if no one liked them… it was normal to get worked up over that. But getting this upset because one in a million people seriously dislike you… that was not normal. Than again, James had never really fitted in that category, that had become clear to him almost instantly.

"Lily Evans." James looked at him blankly for a few seconds.

"…who?" Remus rolled his eyes and opened his mouth when Sirius piped up again.

"The redhead?" Apparently the discussion was finally interesting enough for him to properly join in now that names had been said, as he got out of his upside down position and instead leaned back in the cushions.

"Oh, I know who she is!" James sat up straighter and started searching the common room.

"Wait, how do you mean she doesn't like us?" Sirius looked at Remus with a small frown on his face and James' head snapped around again, just when he thought he'd seen a flash of red a few meter further.

"Well, like that… Lily Evans doesn't like you guys." Remus looked away uncomfortably. Something was telling him to shush up if he didn't want a guilty conscience, but it was too late, now… both Sirius and James were looking at him in anticipation. Sirius with full attention for the first time since the confrontation with Valerie several hours earlier, and James with an expression of honest bemusement on his face Remus thought he heard a second-year a couple seats further call 'adorable'.

"Why not?" Remus sighed, and was happy when Sirius answered for him.

"Eh, James… remember on the train...?" A small frown came on his face. On the train? He didn't remember seeing Lily on the train. But if they pissed her off on the train it would explain why she'd been so cold to them at the feast already…

"Well, she can't still be mad about that!" James looked at Sirius in surprise. He himself had almost forgotten that she had been there as well, just like he almost hadn't remembered who she was. The only reason he'd been able to recall her, was that Sirius said 'redhead', and that brought back the memory of potions, where he sat behind her and contemplated whether or not they should make Valerie's hair that colour rather than pink.

"It's not like we've stopped." Sirius offered with a small grin, and James laughed, attracting the attention of a small cluster of girls.

"Why would we? It's too much fun!" Sirius' grin widened, and even Remus couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Exactly. What does it matter that one person in the whole freaking school doesn't like us?" Remus laughed softly and rolled his eyes.

"It's not just-"

"Teacher's don't count Remus!" Sirius waved him away.

"And neither do Slytherin's!"

"Like I said, Slytherins aren't people, they're cockroaches." James laughed again but a cold voice quickly cut him off.

"Excuse me?" Really, they were just unlucky. It so happened that among the group of girls that had looked over when James had laughed before sat Lily, and as they continued talking their voices went up just enough for her to hear what they were saying.

"Evans! We were just talking about you…" James looked at her with a wide smile, unaware of the daggers she was shooting at him. Sirius grinned, leaning back leisurely again. He seemed to be aware of the mood Lily was in, but didn't care to warn James.

"And about your good ol' pal, Snivellus." Remus nearly groaned out loud, glaring at Sirius. He'd been expecting something like this to happen sooner or latter. After all, Lily and Snape were best friends, and Sirius and James absolutely couldn't stand him. And really, you couldn't blame them. But even if Remus thoroughly disliked Snape and was on his way of becoming friends with Sirius and James, he couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of pity for him as they taunted him and called him names. Teased and provoked. Insulted and annoyed.

"Stop calling him that." Lily stood up and walked up to them, eyes blazing dangerously.

"Why would we?" James pulled up one eyebrow, provoking her.

"Because it isn't nice!" She stopped in front of them, looking down on their slouched forms with her arms crossed.

"Well, maybe we aren't nice." Obviously Sirius was not intimidated by people towering over him, and judging from the stories he'd told them, he must've seen far scarier glares.

"Or in the very least, not to cockroaches…" James smirked at her and for the first time his face was really arrogant, Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Well, maybe you should start being nice to cockroaches… they're far more likeable than the two of you." And with that she turned around and stomped off. James turned to Sirius, to see his own facial expression mirrored on his friend's face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sirius grinned.

"I'm definitely thinking what you're thinking." Remus looked back and forth between the two boys, before groaning loudly.

"I sure I hope to God you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking." Two identical grins and two pairs of sparkling eyes were turned to him, and he gulped.

"But we are, Remy, we are."

MM_MM_MM

"I WILL KILL HIM!" Lily stormed down the stairs, entering the common room, where every face seemed to be turned in her direction in alarm. None of the faces were the one she was looking for, and she briskly walked towards the portrait hole.

"C'mon Lily... It's not that bad." Anne was panting slightly, trying to keep up. Lily shot her a cold glare.

"Do you want cockroaches in your bed, Anne?" Anne winced, and Lily started walking even faster. Her blood was boiling. She could not believe that they would actually- scratch that. She could absolutely believe they'd do something like this. She just hadn't expected them to do it to her… but they had, and they'd have to face the consequences. After all, people called her a redhead for more reasons as her hair colour.

"They just took what you said a little too literally." She looked at Mary in disbelief, and Mary sighed. "Really, you should've known better than provoking them…" Lily huffed.

"I will not sit around and listen whilst they insult my best friend!" Sev was important to her. Hurting him equalled hurting her. And the other way around of course.

"Well, unless you want to continue waking up amidst cockroaches for the rest of the year, I suggest you start doing so." Lily shivered at the idea of the tiny animals that had been scurrying all over her this morning. She most definitely did not want that. But she wouldn't stand aside and let them bully her around. Or Sev. Especially not Sev.

"James is brilliant at holding grudges." Jessica warned her. Overall she was an alright girl, but right now Lily thought she was just all little too calm under it all. A little too disinterested. A little too bored.

"And Sirius doesn't seem like the type to stop him if he's out for revenge…" Lily rolled her eyes. Mary and Jessica meant well, she was sure, but she thought they were exaggerating just a little bit.

"He's an eleven year old unqualified kid… what's the worst he can do?" She thought Jessica and Mary exchanged a look, but they had just reached the Great Hall, and she abruptly halted, searching the benches. He could be anywhere. Gryffindor table. Ravenclaw table. Hufflepuff table.

"Well, he's-" But Lily had caught sight of James sitting halfway the Gryffindor table, shoving eggs in his mouth and laughing.

"JAMES POTTER!" James looked up surprised to find the angry redhead storming at him. To be honest, he'd been expecting a little less anger and a little more crying and staying out of his way. Also, he hadn't expected her to realize he'd done it quite this soon. Definitely not earlier as Monday. But there was always a back-up plan.

"Yes, my lovely Lilykins?" He looked at her innocently, as she stopped next to him, glaring down at him just like she'd done the night before.

"WHY DID YOU- Wait, what?" James almost smirked as he watched confusion take over her face. Distraction. Always worked. "Lilykins?" He feigned surprise.

"Don't you like it?" Sirius shoved the last of his toast in his mouth and turned around to join the conversation. He was wondering why exactly he hadn't been called out to yet. After all, she disliked him just as much and they did the prank together.

"I think it has a rather nice ring to it… Don't agree, Remy?" Remus glanced up from his cereal.

"I'm staying out of this." Lily cut across them, as the other girls finally caught up.

"It's completely irrelevant!" James looked at her in surprise again, and this time it was real. They conversation should've been sufficiently off track for her to forget what had initiated it. "The point is that you put cockroaches in my bed!" Lily folded her arms over her chest and glared at them.

"There were cockroaches in your bed?" James called out surprised at the same time Sirius cockily replied, "What makes you think we did it?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"The note." James looked back at her calmly, eyes wide.

"What note?" Lily sighed. She'd thought they would confess as soon as she came storming in, and apologize… thus far, she had accomplished neither one.

"The note on my bedside table, in your handwriting…" James frowned slightly.

"The fact that you recognize my handwriting is a tiny bit disturbing. You know, since I've barely known you a week…" And he meant that. The only people who might recognize his handwriting were his parents, Val, perhaps some of the others they hung out with and in a few weeks probably Sirius and Remus, too.

"I didn't recognize it. Anne did." Over her shoulder Lily pointed at Anne, who turned bright red as all eyes turned to her. For a few seconds James' face stayed blank.

"Oh. Right." That was just freaky. He knew Anne fancied either Sirius or him, as she followed them around most of the day, ogling them, but that she recognized his handwriting was just- well, freaky.

"Well….?" Lily pulled up one eyebrow expectantly. James frowned, looking at Sirius, who shrugged, indicating he didn't know what she was going on about either.

"Well, what?" Lily heaved an aggravated sigh, looking at both of them with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Aren't you gonna explain yourselves?" They shared another look, before shrugging.

"No." She looked at Sirius in disbelief as Anne giggled behind her.

"C'mon… we were just doing you a favour!" Her disbelieving gaze focused on James instead.

"You said yourself you liked cockroaches." Sirius offered. Speechless, Lily just shook her back and forth slowly.

"Yeah, didn't she Remus?" James turned to his friend, who promptly turned back to his cereal.

"Still staying out of it." Sirius grinned, looking at the girls behind Lily.

"She did." Lily made an annoyed sound, successfully breaking her muteness.

"Still not the point!" James and Sirius looked at her confusion, real one this time.

"Then I don't get what the point is supposed to be…" James carefully glanced at Sirius, who looked just as oblivious as he felt.

"I thought it was about the cockroaches?" Sirius shrugged back at James. Lily groaned, and as they turned back to her, James finally noticed one of the girls' standing behind her.

"Jess!" Jessica smiled coldly at him, the ends of her full lips barely going up and arching one slender eyebrow above an ice blue eye.

"James." James seemed unfazed by this less then warm greeting and smiled widely, as the rest watch the interaction curiously

"I have barely seen you… how are you?" Jessica rolled her eyes, and shook the long black hair out of her face that wore a sarcastic smile.

"Wonderful. I really enjoy cockroaches this close to my bed." At the jibe Sirius snort softly and her cold stare moved from James' face to his. Oops.

"They didn't cross over to yours, though did they?" James frowned slightly, as did Sirius.

"We tried to make sure they didn't." Jessica raised one mocking eyebrow.

"Or Remus did, really." James admitted, earning some small snorts from the girls.

"He figured, since there was no way stopping us-" James interjected Sirius cheerfully, throwing the girls' a wide smile that showed no ounce of apology.

"-he might as well make sure no one but the target had to suffer!" Remus sighed behind them, and Lily finally gave up and strutted away to sit further up the table with two of the girls, leaving only Jessica and Anne.

"Isn't he a wonderful boy?" Jessica rolled her eyes at Sirius' motherly tone.

"Definitely." The sarcasm was slightly ruined, when she shot James a half smile and shook her head in a sorta 'you're impossible' manner. "I'll see you around, Potter." James waved, as she and pulled Anne along to go sit with the others.

"Well, she seems to absolutely love you." Remus sarcastically said, looking at James with one eyebrow raised. James turned around and shrugged slightly.

"Oh, she likes me alright." He took a bite of his now-cold eggs, grimaced and grabbed new ones. Remus raised his other eyebrow at him, and even Sirius looked at him in disbelief. James looked up, and upon seeing their faces quickly explained, "She's just kind tired of seeing my face, and annoyed by the continuous pranking." From the still confused facial expressions of his friends he concluded they needed more explaining, so he added, "She's Valerie's little sister."

"She who's what?" Sirius looked at him with wide eyes, and Remus choked on his toast. James rolled his eyes and thumped Remus on the back, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"I know they don't exactly look alike, right? But Jess is an animagus, and she tries to look as different from Val as she possibly can." Sirius raised his eyebrows, glancing at the blonde perfection that was Valerie, and James grinned at him. "They don't really get along."

"Which is why she's cold to you…?" Remus guessed idly, still not sure what to make from the situation. James shook his head, and swallowed the last off his eggs.

"Nah, usually she's a lot nicer. I think she's pissed because thanks to me she woke up a lot earlier than she'd anticipated…" He grabbed a piece of toast and took a bit out of it. He chewed it with a thoughtful expression on his face before adding, "She rather enjoys sleeping in."

"And you probably never allowed her to do so during the summer?" Sirius guessed, a small grin forming on his face as it started to dawn in him.

"I had no reason to! Val's an early riser, and I love Jess, but I came mainly to spend time with her and the guys." Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "No, not because I like Val, but because out of our group, I'm the only one Jess can somewhat stand, and it's kinda lonely to hang out with just one person." Sirius nodded in agreement as he thought of all the times he'd spend with just himself or only his younger brother for company.

"Kinda surprising that out of everyone she likes you though…" Remus said, looking at James in soft amusement. Sirius immediately caught on and nodded, as James looked at hem in surprise.

"Yeah, since you're such a prat and all." The surprised expression on James' face was replaced by an offended one, and both Sirius and Remus had to fight to contain their laugher.

"Am not! I'm a likeable person!" Remus shook his head and Sirius snorted.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Jamesie, just keep telling yourself."