Hi guys! Been a while. I've just had a lot of life changes. I won't bore you with all that though. Thank you so much to all of you for following, favoriting, and especially for leaving reviews. You all rock! Your feedback is so valuable, so it would be greatly appreciated if you would take some time after reading to leave a review. Questions, opinions, and feedback are all welcome! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Truce

Sirius scowled at his potions book. Bloody Potions class, he'd always hated it, and he didn't feel any better about the fact that he had been assigned a "tutor", (more like a baby-sitter) to help him with his course work this year. The teacher himself wasn't bad. Slughorn actually liked him, though he knew that was probably more due to his last name than anything else. Sirius gritted his teeth in bitterness.

How many wizards envied him? Wanted to be a member of his wealthy pureblood family? Well, he would gladly trade places. He had never worn his family name well. Ever when he was little, his parents had criticized him, with his father cold and distant and his mother constantly nagging. He could never be the perfect son Regulus was. Not that he wanted to be. His family was a group of stuck up bigots; he was glad to be different.

"Come on Sirius; it won't be that bad," Remus said, pulling the other boy from his brooding. Sirius glared at Remus as he went about filling up his plate.

The four Marauders had gathered in the Great Hall during their lunch hour between classes.

Sirius snorted. "That's easy for you to say when Evans has never had a cross word to say about you."

Remus simply raised an eyebrow, an unamused expression on his face. "Unlike you, I keep out of trouble most of the time, and even when I do get involved, I'm smart enough to not announce it to the whole school."

"But that's the whole point!" Peter grinned. "What good is pulling off a prank if you don't take the credit?"

Remus rolled his eyes, but Sirius smiled at their friend. "You're right, Pete, though the planning is half the fun."

"I'd say putting it into action is the better half," James barked. All the boys broke into a fit of laughter, and Sirius momentarily forgot his displeasure. But of course it didn't last long, because with all things related to Evans, James had to inject himself into the situation.

"You know, I could go in your place." James grinned, waggling his brows in suggestion. "Or go along with you to distract Evans."

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry mate, not this time. I can't have you drive her away if I want to graduate with you lot."

"I could always hide, pull a prank on her from the shadows," James suggested dramatically, moving his robe up to his face like he was a vampire.

Remus chuckled. "Because that's the way to win over a girl like Lily Evans."

Sirius groaned, running his hand over his face. "Slughorn must be punishing me for slacking last year. He knows Evans hates me, yet out of all of his star pupils that could mind me, he had to choose her." He looked at Remus. "You could have done it."

Remus shook his head. "Potions is one of my weaker classes, and I'm your friend. He knew I would go easy on you. This is more about making sure you actually do the work than you not understanding."

"Yeah," Sirius grumbled. He's given Evans free rein as my slave driver."

"I'll switch with you!" James persisted.

"No!" Sirius snapped.

Peter snickered.

Juniper set her notes out on the library table, preparing for her first session.

She had surprised her sister and their friends the previous evening when she told them that she would be tutoring a fellow student. "Really?" Lily had asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "That's a sudden change of heart Juney."

Marlene had laughed, giving Juniper a firm clap on the shoulder. "I think it's a big step for you June! Meeting new people yourself, that's great!"

Mary had titlted her head in interest. "Did you sign up for the tutoring program? How many students do you have?"

Juniper had cringed, shifting uncomfortably as she stared at the ground. "I didn't actually. Professor Slughorn asked me to help out one student specifically."

"Oh." Lily had frowned. "That's unusual. Who?"

Juniper had hesitated, sure her sister would get worked up if she told her. But Lily would grow suspicious if she said nothing and would probably get it out of her eventually. They were twins after all. Better to get it over with.

"Sirius Black."

"Black!?" Lily had squawked, her face screwing up like she'd eaten a lemon. Marlene had cackled in amusement.

"I can't let him do that to you." Lily had shook her head, getting up from the sofa she'd been sharing with her sister, a hard look in her eye. "I'll go tell Black to leave you alone or-"

A small bit of annoyance had pricked at Juniper. She often left Lily to take charge of things; she preferred it. But there were a few areas of her life that Juniper preferred to keep to herself. Her potions and pranks, very often intertwined, she protected fiercely, and she begrudged anyone who interfered, even her sister. "Lily, it'll be fine. Professor Slughorn thinks I can do it, and I trust his judgement."

"But it's Sirius Black!"

Marlene had been her saving grace, gripping Lily's shoulder. "Black isn't the worst of them. It could have been James." She had smirked as Lily bristled. "Admit it, it could have been worse."

"I suppose."

"That's right. Anyway," she'd winked at Juniper. "It's about time little June left your nest a bit and spread her wings friend wise."

"She isn't going to be his friend!"

Juniper shook her head before she finished reviewing her potions notes and the homework. Checking all the points and problems she'd go over in the tutoring session, she shuffled the papers about on the table and then looked at her handiwork with satisfaction.

The Hogwarts library had a peaceful atmosphere that afternoon, as it often did. Juniper basked in the quiet. Besides the potions dungeon, she liked the library best of all the places in Hogwarts. It was a labyrinth of oak shelves holding tens of thousands of books- a wonderland of hidden stories- but also cozy, containing plenty of nooks with plush arm chairs to hide away in, flooded with natural light from the many large windows.

Juniper had set up at table near the entrance so her pupil could find her easily, but when she saw he hadn't arrived, she pulled out yet another biography of Nimue that she had checked out. Lily said she had become borderline obsessive over the woman, but once Juniper had found out Nimue really existed, she had become determined to get to know the Lady of the Lake, even if she had died many centuries before. How else could Juniper follow in the great witch's path?

She was pulled from her reading when the librarian, Madam Duke, a silver haired matron, hushed someone for a rather loud and frustrated sigh.

Sirius Black glared at the librarian in protest as she berated him. It wasn't his fault stuck up Lily Evans couldn't arrive in time for his lesson. He scanned the visible tables with narrowed eyes, seething when he didn't see the haughty red head. She probably decided to come late or make him hunt for her as his punishment for being a "troublemaker". Well the joke was on her, because he wouldn't wander the library looking for her. He trudged over to a table tucked in a corner and plopped himself down. She would have to come to him if she didn't want to let down the professor and stain her teacher's pet reputation. After pouting for a few minutes, he grew bored and dug out some paper and a quill to brainstorm. He needed to do some planning if the Marauders were going to out do their rival's bread dragons.

"Excuse me?"

Sirius almost didn't hear, it was so quiet. He looked up when he heard a pointed cough and saw a tiny girl with bushy brown curls and Gryffindor robes standing behind him. Thinking it was some first year wanting help, he huffed. "Yeah?"

"I have everything set up a couple tables over to go over our potions lesson." He glanced over his shoulder and furrowed his brown at her expectant expression.

"What?"

"All my notes." She pointed to a table close to the entrance. She bit her lip.

"And?"

The girl tilted her head in confusion. "Didn't Professor Slughorn tell you who would be tutoring you?"

"He said Evans would be," Sirius retorted, starting to get annoyed.

"Well, I'm sitting over there?" She shuffled her shoe against the carpeted floor. "Shouldn't we get started?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Lily Evans has hair a lot redder than yours and is far more shrill."

The girl narrowed deep green eyes at him. "Lily isn't the one teaching you, and my sister isn't shrill."

"Sister?" His eyes widened when he remembered. There was indeed a second Evans in his house and year. One that followed Lily so close, she was like her shadow. "He meant you." He paused to remember her name. It was J- something. "Jane?"

The girl pursed her lips. "Uhm, no. It's Juniper. Now can we please..." She trailed off and awkwardly gestured to her table.

A wave of relief washed over Sirius. He smiled as he stood up from his chair and even laughed to himself. He didn't have to deal with Lily Evans, just her shadow. "Okay." He grinned as he followed her to her table. This would be so much easier. No work, easy pass.

Juniper was now beginning to understand her sister's frustration towards the Marauders, or at least Sirius Black anyway. For an hour, she had tried to go over her notes, get him to understand and do the assignment, but he just wouldn't take her seriously (the irony was not lost on her).

"Dinner will be soon," she sighed in defeat. "Why don't you copy the main points from my notes and maybe we can go over our homework tomorrow."

"Or you could just give me a copy?" Sirius leaned back in his chair, giving her a winning smile.

Juniper pursed her lips. Was he being real? For a boy who had a good sense of humor, this wasn't very funny. "I-I don't think that's appropriate." She tried to sit taller in her chair even though he still looked down on her in comparison.

"Ah, come on," Sirius said with a pout. Juniper recalled the moniker she had given him when she had first seen him on the train, pretty boy, and that only had proven more true in the past two years. Dark grey eyes blinked at her, pleading, while a fine mouth curved into a frown into that could win acting awards from some of the shows her mum liked to watch.

But when it came to her potions work, Juniper would not be moved.

"You'll remember the material better if you write it down," she mumbled as she opened up another potions text book, one more advanced and focused on healing that Professor Slughorn had recommended. She didn't even spare him another glance. "Just copy my notes and then we'll be done." She heard a derisive scoff but didn't bother to look up at the cranky boy, getting engrossed in an interesting passage about potion and counter curse interaction. Once she finished the section a good ten minutes later, she finally set her gaze on her pupil again.

His brow was furrowed in thought as he scratched something down on his parchment, his tongue grazing his lip every so often. Good, finally he was focused. "Here, let me look your notes over to make sure you have the important stuff. Then we'll call it a night."

Juniper reached for the paper, but Sirius jerked it away. "I'm not done yet. And you probably couldn't read my writing anyway."

Juniper raised a brow. "I need to check your work to make sure you're doing it the way the professor wants. That's the whole point of tutoring."

"It's fine," Sirius snapped, narrowing his eyes at her. "And I didn't ask for help anyway. How much can another third year, especially Lily's shadow, really help me improve?"

Juniper bit her lip. She didn't quite know what to say. She didn't mind being in her sister's shadow. It worked rather well for her, actually, but she didn't like the implications he was making about her potion abilities.

"You never even raise your hand in class, you can't be that good."

She had had a brief notion to just walk away in defeat, but then he had to outright slam her potions skills. She could put up with a lot, and most times did what she could to avoid conflict, but there were two things in her life that she would not be insulted on. Her pranks and her potions. So she stood up, lips thinly pressed in her best imitation of Lily, and walked over to his chair, plucking his paper out of his hands before he had a chance to react.

"Hey! Give that back!"

She turned away from him and quickly scanned over his writing. She didn't see a single bullet point from her notes. Instead there were haphazard phrases, sketched diagrams, and a few rough equations under the title Invisible Stench."

"Invisible stink bombs," she noted. The charm work was decent for a first draft, but the brewing equations for for the bombs were totally botched. "This is amateur, really."

"What was that?"

Juniper startled, looking up with wide eyes into the scowling face of Sirius Black.

"I-I-" Juniper paused to compose herself. Setting her face into a firm expression, she proceeded to fold up the paper and tuck it in her pocket. "I said it was immature, not doing your work." She raised her chin a little, again trying to channel her far more confident twin. "I'll leave my notes here for you to finish copying, but I expect them back by tomorrow morning. If not, I'll send Lily to get them." She then gathered her books in her school bag, all the while ignoring Sirius's glare, and walked away.

Once she breached the library doors and reached the safety of the hallway, Juniper exhaled and her shoulders wilted a little. She wasn't sure if she could handle Sirius Black like she told Lily she could. She reached into her robes and pulled out Sirius' prank sheet again. She smiled as she read his plan while walking towards the Great Hall. At least the afternoon wasn't a total waste. The potions work of the prank was shoddy, but it could be improved upon.

This was it. Sirius could barely contain himself, drumming his fingers on the table as the students waited at their house tables for the evening feast to begin. Dumbledore was in the middle of weekly announcements before dinner, though it had devolved into some long winded speech that was half gibberish. (The man was brilliant but completely nutters sometimes.)

The Marauders' prank debut had been delayed for a few weeks, but it would be worth it. The school would soon forget the bread dragons after the chaos they unleashed. Sirius had spent hours doing a lot of the planning himself. It hadn't helped that the other Evans had taken his first draft the first week of school. He scowled. She'd treated him like a five year old, very similar to her sister, and even worse. He gritted his teeth. Almost like his mother. But she wasn't as fearsome as Lily or Walburga, so he would be rid of her soon enough. He'd made a point of acting as obstinate as possible during their tutoring sessions, mimicking her, ignoring her, playing dumb. She would be crying to Slughorn to give him a new tutor within a week he bet.

He drew out his wand from his sleeve and left it sitting in his lap under the table. He glanced at James and raised his brow. James smirked as he nodded, then glanced at Remus and Peter, who nodded in turn. The bespectacled boy then held up three fingers in a silent countdown. When they reached zero, all four boys mouthed the same charm, flicking their wands under the table. Then it happened.

Several loud noises rang throughout the great hall in quick succession, suspiciously sounding like someone passing gas. A wicked glee filled Sirius as he watched students jump in surprise, only to scrunch their faces in disgust as the stench reached their noses.

"Who was that?"James called loudly as chatter broke among the students. Many used their sleeves or grasped for napkins to cover their faces. Some even turned green and gagged. Sirius started laughing as the teachers stood up from the head table, looking across the student body with confusion. While they had heard the noises, the scent wouldn't reach their noses. They'd worked out a way so that only underage wizards could smell it. That charm had been particularly tricky, but the hours spent perfecting it had added a nice flare to their work.

Sirius' grin grew wider as he glanced at James and then the Slytherin table. They'd arranged a special surprise for snivellus. James flicked his wand again and the loudest noise of them all sounded from the Slytherin table, or Snape's bag to be specific. The Marauders howled in laughter when they saw Snape spring up in surprise from his seat, several of his nearby companions, including Sirius' own brother, Regulus, choking on the stench. Sirius opened his mouth to taunt snivellus, but didn't get the chance.

A series of loud popping noises spread throughout the hall, not like the farts, but like fireworks. Sirius and James looked up with wide eyes as white sparks lit up the dark ceiling enchanted like the night sky. They almost looked like shooting stars, falling in a shower. As they approached the ground, they changed to into an assortment red lions, gold badgers, green snakes, and blue eagles. To add insult to injury, as the sparkles faded away, a new scent wafted through the air, eliminating the odor.

The scent of... Sirius' brow scrunched as he sniffed in confusion. The scent of the beach? Fresh, salty, earthy... just like that one summer when he was young that his parents took him and Regulus to stay in a cottage on the shore. His mother had the house elf bring sandwiches out for all them to eat. That was of his few good memories He had with his parents...

"Why does the hall suddenly smell like broom polish?" James asked.

Sirius exchanged a glance with him, baffled. "What? No, it smells like-"

"Treacle tarts?" Peter interrupted.

"No, I smell chocolate." Remus frowned.

And Sirius heard about five other students say they smelled completely different things. One thing was clear though. None of them were smelling the stench they'd brewed up and no one would be talking about it either.

Marlene McKinnon, Quidditch mate of James' approached the group with a huge grin on her face. "James, which part of that was your group?" She laughed, laying a hand on his shoulder.

James blinked at her in confusion. "We planned the first part but-"

Marlene raised her brow and cut him off. "Your rival did the rest?"

"I don't know."

"You all better up your game then." Marlene whistled. "The mystery prankster might run you all out of business otherwise."

James shrugged and the laughing girl walked back down the table to her own friends. He looked at Sirius with an uncharacteristic frown. "She's right. They basically canceled out our prank. How did they figure out what we would do?" The other two boys stared at Sirius too.

"What?" Sirius scowled.

"You did come up with the idea. Did you tell anyone else what were planning?" Remus questioned.

"No!" Sirius snapped. "I never tell anyone. That would ruin the whole..." His eyes widened as he remembered. Her. His eyes narrowed and his mouth curled into a sneer.

Juniper stood at her table in the library, getting ready for another lesson with Sirius Black. He'd become unbearable after she'd taken his prank draft, but knowing she'd shafted all his hard work with her own prank would be enough to put up with him for a few months at least. She smiled in satisfaction.

"Who did you give it to?" She looked up from her potions notes as the librarian loudly hushed him from across the room.

"Sirius." She nodded formally, pretending she hadn't even heard his question. "I have notes jotted down over there. Why don't read over them and let me know what you have questions about. Then-"

Sirius grabbed her arm, not hard enough to hurt, but it startled Juniper. Her eyes widened when they met his chilling, grey glare.

"Who did you give my notes to?"

Juniper froze. She'd thought he wouldn't make the connection. Her heart beat picked up, she felt her lungs constrict. She pursed her lips, trying to play it cool. "I don't ever take your notes. If you've lost them, you'll just have to copy them again."

"That is not what I'm talking about!" Sirius growled. "The one with my prank on it. Who did you give it to? That's the only way that 'mystery prankster'," he quoted with his fingers and spat the term with almost disdain as Lily, "could have ruined my work."

Juniper pulled out of his grip. "What are you talking about?"

Sirius stared at her, seemingly baffled by her thickness. Juniper drew in a deep breath and felt her whole body relax. He'd bought it. Her lips curved up. She was safe.

She was about to tell Sirius off and direct him to get to work, but then he blinked at her, his fine black brow arching up strangely. His eyes narrowed. "Stop playing dumb. You're not that dense. Are you protecting your friend?"

Juniper faltered. "I already told you I don't know-"

The boy scoffed at her. "Don't waste my time." He began to stalk away, and Juniper sighed in relief, not even thinking of calling him back for his lesson. He'd gotten to close for comfort.

"I do respect your loyalty to your prankster friend, whoever they are." Juniper glanced up to see Sirius smirking at her over his shoulder. "True Gryffindor trait, though it will cost you. Wonder what Lily will have to say when I tell her you stole our prank and pulled it off yourself?"

Juniper couldn't move. Her eyes widened. Lily hadn't ever known about her pranks. She couldn't ever. That would be...

She shook her head in denial. "Sh-she won't believe you," she stuttered out.

"We'll see." Sirius chuckled and then flipped his black hair in a cocky gesture before striding out of the library.

"No!" Juniper left her books and notes, her fear and anger forcing her after her classmate. Lily couldn't know about her pranks- no one could. Those were hers.

Because of their significant height difference, it took Juniper a good few minutes of jogging through the stone corridors before she caught up to Sirius. In a bold move for her, she grabbed on his sleeve and pulled it. "Stop! You can't!"

Sirius turned around, his brows raised in surprise. When he saw, her he scowled and crossed his arms. "Excuse me?"

"You can't tell Lily it was me!" Juniper panted, leaning over slightly to catch her breath.

Sirius tilted his head. "I thought you said she wouldn't believe me. So what's the big deal?"

"You just can't!" Juniper hissed, desperation and annoyance making her uncommonly brave. But taking in Black's bored expression, she felt intimated. "She's really strict, and she'd get all suspicious," she mumbled.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "You act like she's your mother more than your sister!" He snorted. "Though I can't say I'm surprised with how up tight Evans is. Still gonna tell her."

Juniper felt close to hyperventilating. "What will it take for you not to tell her?"

Sirius scrunched his brow. "Why are you so freaked out?"

"Just tell me!"

"Fine." Sirius put a hand on his hip. "Who'd you give my prank idea to? Who's the mystery prankster?"

Juniper just looked at him with wide eyes. "I-I-" She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come. Could she tell him Marlene maybe? But she was friends with James. Sirius would find out it was a lie then tell Lily anyway! No, no, no, no...

Sirius squinted at her. "What's your problem? Even if I tell Evans, what would happen? S'not like it's true."

Juniper made a weird croaking when she tried to deny it again. Sirius frowned in confusion, like she was some undiscovered magical beast, but then a light entered his eyes. His jaw dropped. "Unless, it is?"

Juniper stumbled a step back. She was in full panic mode now.

"You're the mystery prankster." Sirius didn't ask, he stated it as fact, though he looked a bit disbelieving himself. He let out a derisive laugh. "That's just a bad joke."

Juniper tried to nod yes but he then continued.

"Or, one of the greatest pranks of all. Who'd think the potions professor's mute pet would be the mastermind beating me at my own game."

Juniper couldn't move, only watch the Black boy like a deer in the head lights as he walked towards her. He tapped his chin for a moment, his eyes studying her. Then he smiled. "Tell you what Evans, I'll keep your secret, if you agree to start working for us instead of upstaging us."

"What?"

Sirius smirked. "You participate in the Marauders pranks and let us take all the credit, then I won't speak a word to your sister. Truce?" He offered his hand.

Juniper finally gained the ability to speak again. She swallowed hard, then asked, "You won't tell her or anyone else about my involvement?"

"Only the other Marauders." Sirius shrugged.

Juniper sighed. She didn't want to. She liked working alone, in the shadows. She didn't need anyone else's help. But what choice did she have? "Alright, truce." She grabbed Sirius's hand and shook it. "But no one else can know."

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review and tell me something you'd like to see in the future. I'm open to suggestions. If you have any questions or want to see additional content for story, you can find me on my tumblr, darkwolf76.