What if they all lived?

Chapter 29

First year- End of term

Sirius Black

At the end of his first year atx Hogwarts, Sirius discovered that there was no better place for mischief-making than a castle full of students during exam period. With two weeks off lessons, he had more than enough time for any last-minute revision, and he intended to put his newfound freedom to good use.

Most of their peers were frantic with anxiety. James seemed to share Sirius's confidence. One fifth year Slytherin leapt out of his seat so quickly that he ended up tripping over his invisible bag and falling flat on his face, which sent James and Sirius into hysterics and got them both kicked out by Madam Pince. He later told Athena and she asked him to show her which kid it was to ask him if he was physically incapable of walking.

Privately, Sirius didn't mind that Peter was too busy studying to join them—an opinion which he seemed to share with his twin. Even James was losing patience with constantly consoling his nervous friend.

Remus, on the other hand, was more relaxed than Sirius had ever seen him. But he also seemed disinclined to join in all the pranking, preferring to spend his days lounging around the castle with a book and Thenas company or wandering about with his map. Sirius would have enjoyed his company much more than Peter's, but at the end of the day he still had James, and that was more than enough.

The exams themselves went just as smoothly as Sirius had expected. First up was Charms, where they had to enchant a coconut to dance an Irish jig—child's play. The twins James, and Remus all executed their task flawlessly. He saw that Evans girls did fairly well herself.Transfiguration was a breeze; they were turning stag beetles into pepper shakers.

Sirius finished within five minutes and Athena within six, flawlessly transfiguring the insect into a beautiful glass number. McGonagall, who was walking about the room and watching the other students struggle, stopped by Sirius's desk and declared that it was the best example of small scale transfiguration she had ever seen from a first year, which made Sirius feel as if he might burst with pride. His sister patted his back and told him it was only because she had been tired that day, he knew it was a joke. It took his friends longer to finish, but they all eventually managed, with varying levels of success.

Potions was, frustratingly, one of the harder exams, only because they had to brew a cure for warts from memory and Sirius knew that if even a single measurement was off it could ruin the whole thing. He still did alright, but it was one of the only classes where he wasn't expecting top marks. Which Athena did not hesitate to tell him again and again. She was fairly talented at it but not that much better.

Between exams, Sirius continued his reign of terror with James, slipping trick quills into students' bags, creeping about under the invisibility cloak, and putting the last of their dung bombs to good use. Athena came along when she wasn't with Marlene or Lupin and they annoyed portraits and made older students roll their eyes as they passed them by.

The days grew steadily warmer, and by the time June rolled around and exams finished up, Remus and Peter were finally ready to join back in on the mischief making. This was good, as James wanted to ensure that their last prank was memorable. He begged his sister to come along so she could help plan and execute it with the advantage of being a small creature, although that argument did not help him convince her, but she gave up and joined eventually.

"It's got to be big," he said decisively, as they lounged by the lake, "Our last hurrah."

"Not our last," She reminded him, "We'll be back in two months."

"You lot might be," Peter said drearily, "I know I've failed at everything."

The twins rolled their eyes with a surprising synchronization, which made Remus laugh and James slapped them both behind their head.