Round Robin, Potter Style

[Author By Night]

The object of Round Robin, Potter Style - RRPS - is for the members to contribute to a fanfic of sorts. You can contribute as much or as little as you'd like. When the story is complete, a new thread will be made.

This story can be serious, or it can be funny. The main plotline is up to the next poster - and of course, the plot might change entirely during the course of the thread. It's all based on who writes and what is written.

Please note that we only have two rules: the story must be PG-13, and adhere to our canon guidelines. Also, please do not write an entire chapter - a few paragraphs is plenty, though you may do a minimum of one paragraph.

Go forth and write!

[MWPP]

Sirius tipped back on the rear legs of his chair, watching Remus studiously doing the assignment Professor Slughorn had given them. Peter kept glancing sideways between the book and Remus' parchment, trying to stay apace, frantically copying the same passages.

It is always so boring when Potter's not around, he thought, glancing toward the high mullioned windows. But it was certainly worth a detention to see the look on that greasy little Slytherin git's face. An involuntary grin brightened the dark-haired boy's features, Especially since James got the detention. He rocked a bit on the rear legs, drumming his fingers on the table.. This is still boring, though....



.

[maraudercat]

Sirius' reverie was broken by a loud thump and a screeching yell.
"POTTER! How many times do I need to tell you, I don't need your help to climb through the portrait hole."
"I was only trying to help."
"Well next time don't bother!"
Sirius peered over the back of his seat to see Lily Evans, the object of his best friends current infatuation picking herself and a overfull bookbag up off the floor. With a scorching glower at her unwanted assistant, she turned and marched up the stairs to the girls dorm.

"Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" Remus didn't even look up from his assignment as James slumped into the empty seat next to Peter.
"McGonagall let me off early. I think she probably heard what Snivelly said to Peter yesterday and figured it was justice."
"Or she was sick of your company and wanted some peace and quiet."
"Watch it Black, it could have just as easily been you that got caught."
"Yeah, but McGonagall likes me. I'm such a model student afterall."
The combination of that statement and Sirius' noble pose sent all four boys into laughter. Yes, Sirius decided, it was just more fun when Potter was around.

"Anyway, I was thinking...

[MWPP]

"You know how some of the Spells we've been exploring," he started to say, but was immediately cut off by Lupin with a "Shush!" and a pointed glare.

Two fourth-year girls were looking devotedly toward the table the boys sat at.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just post our activities on the announcement board and have over with it? Or talk with McGonagall about..."

"I already talked to McGonagall," Black retorted.

"You were, I hope, more subtle," Lupin stated in a flat lecturing tone, then dropped to a barely audible whisper before continuing. "Seriously Sirius, let's adjourn to our room if we are going to discuss topics of a sensitive nature."

James choked out mockingly, "Seriously Sirius...."

"Yeah, Seriously Sirius," giggled Peter.

Lupin shook his head in exasperation, but leaned in with the others as Black expanded on his original tack. "Okay, some of them are not supposed to be mixed, what happens becomes too random. Right?" The others nodded. "And we really don't want to cause a lot of damage, except in Snivellus' case, and it has been just entirely too quiet around here lately..." he let his voice trail off.

"Would you get to the point, man?" James hissed.

"What would happen if we hexed the entryway, or better yet! ... just some of the floor-stones there, to sprout lovely spring flowers when certain people step on them?"

"Which certain people?" inquired Remus, wary of the possibilities.

Potter mumbled, "'Can't be only Slytherins, that would look too suspicious."

"Greta Cachlove," piped in Petegrew with a nasty smirk.

"Why her?"

"Aww, she wouldn't help me in Herbology the other day and my Shrivelfig wilted. All she needed to do was tell me which of the fertilizers was the wrong one to use, " Peter complained.

"What?" exclaimed Lupin louder than he'd intended. "We went over that at lunch just before you had that class. How could you forget?"

"If you guys had been there like usual..." he started to whine, but Sirius cut him off.

"No matter! I've been thinking that it might be fun to make the Spell specific to the teachers."

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, " Remus said pulling away from the circle of heads. "That's going into dangerous territory."

"Wimp!" James spit. "The challenge is the joy of it. Any git can hex an easy target."

"Well, except for you," chided Black.

Lupin jumped in before the other two got into a shouting match, "Really guys. We would be in so much trouble if it went wrong."

"And it will be so good when it doesn't!" said James and Sirius in unison.



.

[maraudercat]

"Especially if we can make it look like the Slytherins did it."

There was a moment of stunned silence as they all turned to stare at Peter. The smaller boy visibly flinched at their attention.
"Not a good idea then?"

"Not a..." Sirius spluttered.

James leaned over and gave Peter a hearty slap on the shoulder, nearly knocking him out of his chair. "Pete, that's brilliant!"
"Of course, very difficult to do," added Remus, but the expression on his face was thoughtful rather than disapproving.

"I'm sure you'll think of something Lupin. You're the brainy one afterall."

"Well...perhaps we could-" Remus noticed the two girls leaning blatantly in their direction. "continue this discussion upstairs," he finished, rolling up his almost complete Potions assignment and leading the way. James and Sirius followed, whispering ideas between them, trailed by Peter, still basking in the glory of the others' praise.

[MWPP]

Two days later James returned from a trip to the library under his invisibility cloak, carrying two books from the Restricted section.

"I almost got caught by that old harpie," he grumbled as he gently placed the largest of them on the four-poster between Lupin's other books. He tossed the small red one to Sirius. "Oh, yeah. Be careful with that one," he pointed to the brown volume he'd just put on Remus' bed. "It has a tendency to snap if treated too roughly," he grinned unwrapping a scrap of cloth from his hand where red gouges seeped.



.

[MWPP]

Six weeks between posts qualifies as not a double post. Where are you guys???



Remus gently opened the big brown book. The pages were ancient, with crumbling dark edges, and the few illustrations were wand-drawn in a style that hadn't been used in centuries. He quickly glanced through several sections before stopping about a third of the way through.

“This is good…” he mumbled. “It looks like this might have been used to chronicle the enchantments originally put on this place. And look at this,” he said pointing to a specific paragraph.


.

[MWPP]

Buehler? Buehler?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week or so later
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



McGonagall glanced at the table where her four most fractious students were sitting, intently working on transfiguring each of their hedgehogs into ferrets. All of them were putting in sincere effort. All of them, even Black. It was making her nervous. No good ever came of it when at least one of them wasn't paying attention to her lesson. She decided to have a talk with the headmaster at the earliest possible moment.



.

[queenie]

She bode her time, though - did not stride out of the classroom as soon as class was done, because it never did to look as though she was really worried. Instead she corrected the last of the third-year's essays, and answered Melody Thropp's questions after the end of class.

Only then did McGonagall pick up her things and make her way towards the Headmaster's office. But first she decided she'd better stop by the teacher's lounge - she'd borrowed Pomona's copy of 'Scottish Magiflora Today' and had better return it.

As she turned the corner, she noticed a troupe of students - probably Slytherins, but she couldn't identify them for certain - rushing out of the corridor. She shrugged and reached out her hand for the teacher's lounge...

[MWPP]

... doorknob just as a flash of purple illuminated the details of the carvings on it. Echoing Spells, indistinguishable as they bounced off the stone walls, soon reached her ears.

"Redu-u-u...repell-l-l-!...reduc-c-c-t-!" More students began rushing past, some toward the commotion, some away from it.


The lounge door abruptly opened, and a startled Professor Sprout almost collided with Minerva McGonagall. "What's going on? Is that Horace shouting?"


.

[MWPP]

The two of them dashed toward the ruckus. As they rounded the corner ...

[MWPP]

... another purple flash ricocheted off the wall above their heads.

"Excuse us. Let us through," Professor Sprout urged, trying to wedge her way through the crowd.

"Professor Slughorn? Is that you?" McGonagall asked urgently.

Ahead of them stood a wriggling statue completely encased in some sort of ivy-like vine with large orange flowers, a single arm not covered in greenery. It replied, "Mmaphk."

The women rushed forward, wands drawn, attempting to stop the continuing progress of the out-of-control plant. As "Finite Incantatem" reverberated through the Entry Hall ....


.

[queenie]

The echo was overtaken by the reverberating strains of 'I'm Henry The Eighth I Am.' Its origin could not be discerned, but McGonagall knew she recognized the smooth baritones (and one squeaky tenor) of her own students.

She took a moment to stop and analyze the damage. Four suits of armor were marching up and down the halls in lockstep, singing an endless loop...

I'm Henery the Eighth I am! Henery the Eighth I am I am! I got married to the widder next door...

Was one of those suits playing a ukulele? She didn't even want to ask. Furthermore, when she looked up...

[MWPP]

... Peeves was adding to the activities by tossing water-filled balloons at the spectators on the upper staircases. As each burst, the water rained onto poor Professor Slughorn, causing the voracious plant to grow even more.


"Peeves!" screamed McGonagall.

He blew a raspberry and ...

[MWPP]

... tossed a water bomb in her direction. She easily parried this with a stab of her wand, then shouted, "Incarcerous!" and he was instantly penned in an aquarium-like transparent box which stuck to the wall of the fourth floor.

Professor Sprout went to work, lavender wand-flashes gently trimming the flowering encasement from Slughorn. His sweaty face, red with frustration, and possibly a bit of embarrassment, was beginning to show through the foliage in no time.

"Moh, P'mohnah! Fank Merhl'n," he managed to mumble through the remaining leaves.

Tendrils began attempting to wind their ways across McGonagall's left foot. "Oh no you don't!" she commanded, her wand making quick work of the offending vegetation. Soon the watching students were clapping in time with the suits of armor as a great pile of sheared vines and flowers grew just outside the entry to the Great Hall. The place smelled like a florist's shoppe.

Then from nowhere came the Headmaster's voice....

[MWPP]

"Delightful! I see the Herbology Class got moved from Greenhouse Three for today!"

He looked at the trimming procedure with interest, beginning to clap in time with the other onlookers after tucking a blossom into the band of his hat.


.

[MWPP]

Minerva looked sternly across the scene. Plants began to insinuate their way toward the Headmaster, but, she noticed, seemed to avoid students as they walked or stood around. She twizzled her wand toward a few of the advancing twigs.

"Professor Dumbledore, I can assure you that this is quite unplanned." A touch of exasperation could be heard in her assessment. "It appears to have spontaneously come into being!"

"I see," was all he said before drawing his wand, and, with a rather elegant circling motion, dispersing all but the delightful fragrance of the flowers. Slughorn fell to the stone floor with an undignified thud the moment the vines disappeared despite Professor Sprout attempting to steady him. "Perhaps we should adjourn to the Great Hall for lunch," Dumbledore suggested.

"But Headmaster!" the various Professors cried in unison.

"I'm sorry, but I fancy a bit of sustenance." and he turned, wand still in his relaxed hand at his side.


.

[MWPP]

Normally Dumbledore entered the Great Hall from the doors to the side of the Professors' table, but today, with the slightest hint of a smirk, he strode the length of the room casually rolling his wand between the fingers of his right hand as he went.

[MWPP]

Everyone in the Great Hall was still talking about what had happened in the entryway, with occasional strains of Henry the Eighth breaking out for a few seconds from various spots around the House Tables.

"That was perfect!," James whispered between bites of Savory Stew.

"Yeah, it was," Peter said as a faint pink tinged his cheeks.

"And to think, our own little Wormtail was the idea-man!" Sirius grinned. Suddenly his eyes widened, before he managed to get himself under control.

"What?" Peter squeaked.

Remus quietly answered, trying not to be too obvious, "Your head."

Peter grabbed a spoon. His reflection resembled the Roman emperors in his History of Magic textbook, but the "laurel crown" was of the same leaves that had been twining around Slughorn out in the entryway.

Sirus' face was contorted with the effort of stifling a laugh and James was mopping spewed stew from his robes and the table in front of him when the Headmaster stopped by their seats.

"Perhaps you gentlemen should come with me."


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