Just Thinking

[sirius]

Sirius was in Dungeon 7, not really knowing why he was here. Wait......he did know why he was here. He was here to collect and gather his thoughts. He sighed and ran a hand through black hair, his bangs casually falling back into his eyes. He heard the huge door open and dust rose from the door and then settled on the already dusty stone floor. He looked up and saw a figure walking towards him, although he couldn't see who it was. He stood up and walked towards the figure, his dark brown eyes shining as the dim fire from the torches cast down upon them, now withdrawing his wand as he walked ever closer to the figure.

"Lumos!" He muttered, his wand pointed at the dark figure. He sincerely hoped it wasn't a Death Eater, but if it was, he was prepared. He still couldn't see who it was as he walked closer, although relief showed on his features after he saw the face of his best mate, James Potter, come into his vision. James had let him stay with him and his parents after he himself had run away from his home, having had enough with his whole family and just wanting to leave and forget them forever. He hated all of his family members, except Andromeda. Andromeda was his favourite cousin for a coupel of reasons. But, the most important reason was because she too turned her back on the whole Pureblood mania thing sweeping throughout the Wizarding World where wizards and witches thought being Pureblood was better and more...what was the word? Ah, more special.

"Hey James." He said with a smirk. "What's up, mate?" He asked casually, now leaning against the wall. He looked James up and down, noticing the love-struck look upon James' face, he smirked. "Ah, I see that you have seen Lily not too long ago." He said, shaking his head in amusement. He rolled his eyes at his best mate before turning towards one of the lit torches and running his finger across the tip of the blazing fire, just for fun.

((Gah, such a bad post. No muse today))

[James Potter]

James opened the trap door on the dungeon floor, still grasping the Marauders Map tightly in his hand, and ascended quickly into the pitch blackness of Dungeon 7. He nearly jumped out of skin when he saw the bright light of someone’s wand cast over him from the other end of the dungeon. His hand shot for his own wand in his pocket, but instead of the voice of yet another Slytherin student or one of the Hogwarts Professors that he had been expecting to run into, James heard the familiar voice of his best mate Sirius.

“Bloody hell, Padfoot! Ya’ looking to give me a hard attack?” Truth be told though, James was relieved. “Get that thing out of my eyes,” he said, pushing Sirius hand that held his lit wand down and out of the way.

Sirius stared at him for a moment, looking as though he were trying to deduce something from his appearance. He could tell that Lily had been on his mind. “Don’t be such a git Padfoot. It’s not as though I think about her 24/7. I have a brain you know? My thoughts extend vastly beyond that lovers quarrel.” James had made to sound serious, but he had in fact had a fun in with Miss Evans earlier. She always seemed to leave an impression on James that lingered with him for awhile before he was able to shake it.

James unfolded the map in his hand, ignoring Sirius’ question. How had he been? Well he had just spent the last hour of his day running around the dark, damp dungeons and narrowly escaping being caught by a bunch of ruddy Slytherin’s more than once. So, admittedly his prank hadn’t gone as planned. He was already high on the suspects list and being caught in the Dungeons would tip anyone off that he had been the culprit.

Satisfied that they were in the green for now, James role the map back up and turned back to his mate. “What are you doing down here?” James asked curiously. Sirius wasn't one to be known for hanging out in the dungeons unless he was up to something. Though to be fair, neither was James.

[sirius]

Sirius sighed and laughed before lowering his wand and muttering "Nox", his wand light immediately disappearing, although now they were in complete darkness. Oh, well. He didn't really care. He shrugged to himself before walking out of Dungeon 7 and into the corridor, which was a bit brighter and had more lit torches to make the corridor seem even brighter than it already was. "Oh, I just came down here to think. It's so quiet and peaceful down here. There's absolutely no noise, except for the occasional clink of the chains and rattle from the suits of armor." He said, running a hand through his hair. "What about you? It's not usual to see you down in a dark and gloomy place like this." He said, now gesturing to the dungeons.

He had a faint idea of why James was down here....probably to escape without getting detected by any Professors and maybe even to not be found by students as well. He shrugged again, but knowing James, he knew that James must of done one of the best pranks to want to hide away. "So, what prank did you pull this time?" He asked with a smirk, looking at his best mate. "You didn't even include me? Your best mate. Blimey, do I feel so unloved." He said jokingly, dramatically placing the back of his hand against his forehead. He gave a bark-like laugh before looking back at James again.

[James Potter]

James looked puzzled for a moment. He couldn’t remember ever having heard those words come out of Sirius’ mouth before. What had happened to James’ fun loving, happy-go-lucky friend and who had replaced him with this nostalgic, self-indulgent boy? James might have retorted with some snide comment on his mate new found emotional aura, but the truth of the matter was, he was far to concerned with his friends reckless actions. How could he just jump into the hall like that! Without looking both ways first?

Admittedly, he might have put his friend in a bit more danger with the prank he had just pulled. They were unanimously known as a duo throughout the school. Surely if they were looking for James, they would be looking for Sirius as well.

James peered around the corner and quickly fallowed after his friend. “Oh, you’ll find out, later though. I want it to be a surprise,” James said bashfully, jokingly batting his eyelids and holding his hands, crossed in front of him; as though he were one of the girls from Sirius’ fan group. He wasn’t really one to talk though, as Lily was constantly reminding him of, he had one of his own. “Anyways,” James started again, straightening up, “I had tried to find you. It’s not my fault you decided to make yourself scarce this morning.”

They came to another corner and James poked his head out. “Needless to say though, it’s probably best if we both try to make our way out of the Dungeons. General it’s a good idea to leave the scene of the crime after committing it,” a guide in which they both had trouble following. He wasn’t sure how Sirius felt about it, but James always liked to see the reaction of his victims, so to speak. They had gotten caught many a time for this very reason.

((Woot! Now I'm off to work.))

[sirius]

A small yet quiet bark-like laugh escaped Sirius' lips as he looked at his best mate, James. "I didn't make myself scarce this morning. You just didn't look hard enough to find me." He answered, smirking. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow as he saw James imitate those bloody fan girls that followed him around everywhere. They were what some would call 'stalkers.' He smiled at that thought before looking both ways, seeing if there was any sign of anyone coming. But, alas, there was no one. Not a soul.

"Well, you can at least tell me what the prank involved." He suggested, looking back at James. Although, knowing his best mate as well as he did, he knew that James would've pulled a prank on some unsuspecting Slytherins. Not that Sirius really cared anyway. Slytherins deserved all they got. They were slimy and ignorant gits. The biggest git of them all was definitely Severus Snape.

Sirius smirked at the thought of ol' Snivellus, that having been the nickname he had given Snape. He couldn't remember how he had come up with it, but that didn't matter either. Come to think of it, when did it ever matter where you got a nickname? Never. Nicknames just sorta happened. There wasn't really that much planning to it. There was definitely not as much planning put into a nickname as into a prank. He smirked at that thought, his grey eyes shining with mischief.

[James Potter]

“Because I’m expected to know that you’d be wondering around the dungeons of all places… just came down to think, aye?” James glanced sideways at his friends, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face. “So when did you start wearing the skirt Padfoot?” James joked. He knew all to well that Sirius would get him back for the comment it later, probably in ten fold too. He got in his snide remarks when he could though, and he wasn’t sorry for them.

“Anyways, I think I’ll leave it up too surprise,” James decided. “Everyone needs a bit of suspense sometimes, even you mate.” James peered around the corner, and after deciding it was safe, ventured further out into the corridor. “Trust me,” James started reassuringly, “you’ll like it.”

James looked down at his watch. “Speaking of which, I think its about time we get out of here. What do you say mate?” James asked, quickening his pace before getting a straight answer out of his friend. “Been in the dark too long, aye? These dungeons have always been damp and bleak if you ask me, don’t you think?”

As though James had hit an alarm, a sudden explosion erupted from some far level bellow them, though close enough for them to feel the tremor beneath their feet. A tall smirk spread across James’ face that he couldn’t hold back.

I'm not entirely sure what my prank is yet... but shhh, keep it a secret. I'll come up with something.

[sirius]

Sirius heard his best mate's comment and he just smirked, looking sideways at him as well. He knew he'd get back to James and it wouldn't be a comment that happened too slowly. It may just happen out of nowhere when James least expect it. Yet, that's what Sirius liked. He really liked suprises. He thought they were good for the soul which was why when James said that it would be a surprise, he smiled.

"Great. You know how much I love surprises." He said, remembering all too well how many surprises he had had in store for James over the years, what with pranking him when he least expected it. He thought that over the years that James would come to realize that life was full of surprises and you should always be prepared for the inevitable.

As he heard the explosion in the far corner of the dungeons, yet he could feel the earth shake beneath his feet, he couldn't help it as a smile formed on his handsome face and he raised an eyebrow, looking over at James curiously. He really did begin to wonder what it was James had done, yet he did have the faintest idea as to what it was that had exploded and as he heard the voice of Severus Snape (a.k.a. Snivellus) yelling and storming down the damp and gloomy corridor, he sighed, wishing he could've seen Snape's expression on his face after seeing what the hell James had done.

"Yeah, I think it's best if we do get out of here and right now would be the perfect time." He said, quickly sprinting to the exit of the dungeons, which surprisingly took quite awhile and yet he heard angry voices behind him at the far end of the corridor, trying to find the source of whoever had done what James had. He smirked after hearing one of them say 'Oh, it was probably Black and Potter. Always causing trouble, those two are', recognizing it as the voice of McGonagall.

[James Potter]

James kept at Sirius’s heals, not taking the time to look back at the voices that followed them, though he did recognize one as Snivellus, as to be expected. James recognized another one as their well known professor McGonagall. As much as he hated to admit it, and as much as he loved to push her buttons, McGonagall had always been one of James’ favorite professors. If it hadn’t been for the more than willing help that she offered to the Marauders in Transfiguration class, they may have never been advanced enough to learn to transfigure themselves, thus leaving a rather lonely Moony alone each month.

He decided that with this voice, it was about time to take advantage of their knowledge of the complicated architecture of the castle. James tapped Sirius on the shoulder and nodded towards a secret passage not far ahead of them on the path they were on now. It would take them up to the third floor, far away enough from the crime to alleviate them for any blame. On any other occasion, James would have been happy to own up to any prank or mischief that he may have caused. But on this particular occasion, a Hogsmeade trip was approaching on the next weekend, and James had already made plans to pester his favorite Gryffindor Princess and not spend the day inside of McGonagall’s office.

He ducked behind a tapestry of an large, rather oversized man, who seemed to be snoring. He gave a small grumble as James pushed the cloth aside, but didn’t wake up to give away his and Sirius’ position. He held his breath for a moment, waiting for the footsteps to pass. As soon as they did, James let out a large sigh and was finally able to catch his breath. Even through the dark, it was apparent that the smirk had yet to leave his face.

[sirius]

Sirius followed James' lead and went into the portrait of the snoring man as well. He heard the footsteps thunder past and his smirk was now more pronounced. He glanced at his best mate and he grinned at how him and James had both had smirks upon their faces the whole time. Once he was sure there was nobody around, he started to laugh, unable to contain his laughter and joy any longer as he looked over at James.

"Prongs! That was a close one!" He said smiling, his laughter finally dying down enough so that he could talk. He shook his head in amusement at his own stupidity.

((damn muse keeps leaving me at odd moments))

[James Potter]

James had already fallen to the cold stone floor of the hidden chamber, clutching his stomach in fits of laughter. He managed to catch his breath for a moment, only to be interrupted by more peals of laughter. It really was a shame that neither of the two prankster princes could be there to see the effects James’ handy work had caused. It was even more shameful that he hadn’t found Sirius in time to have him help him out. But timing was everything with things like these. The opportunity presented itself and James couldn’t just let it slip by unnoticed.

A sparkle of light flickered from the end of James’ wand, casting a shadow over the familiar chamber. James had used it many a time whilst skipping his favorite class, Potions. He had never cared for Professor Slughorn, nor his close relationship, or whatever you want to call it, with Lily. Bloody pedophile! So James had made an executive decision to skip as many of his classes as possible. The way he saw it, James couldn’t very well take the whole class with him. So he chose to sacrifice his own academic goals and avert Slughorn’s obvious brainwashing of his students in order to one day restore the rest of the class to their natural state of mind. Or at least this was the bullshit explanation he had given to Remus after not having shown up to class for a week.

A long winding staircase lay off to the left of the chamber. “Well, we better get a move on,” James said, finally catching his breath. Small giggles still cracked out of his lips occasionally, but nothing of consequence that might keep him from functioning normally. James took one last glance back at Sirius, still smirking broadly. “Remember that dream I told you about? The one where we turned Snivellus into a hippopotamus?” James was now grinning from ear to ear. “Well lets just say it’s easier said then done.” With that said, James skipped up the stairs, taking two steps at a time and holding his wand out in front of him to ensure that he didn’t trip.