The Order of Mischief I

1.15

November was ending and the snow was starting to cover the castle grounds. Even the bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall was dropping dazzling crumbs of snowflakes towards the ground, all of which evaporated to nothing as it descended. The illusive snow did not pour into anyone's food, despite the first years getting rather excited and worried about the idea. They were disappointed to find their food safe from frozen liquid.

Lessons had gone by as normal, and everyone had quickly adjusted to the tiring routine of weekly homework, even with another Quidditch match occurring only a week ago. Fortunately for the students, the professor's were competitive enough to be a little lenient with the handing out of essays and after-class tasks. Whenever free, the students made sure to spend as much time with their friends as they could - they had somehow developed separation anxiety for each other in the short period of time they had known each other.

Several small pranks had been performed on classmates, especially Slytherins. But most of them were by the infamous Marauders - who apparently earned the title from Professor McGonagall scolding them in front of other teachers. The prank that earned them their title was very much their own; Remus and Sirius had decided to switch the Slytherin robe colours to match that of Gryffindors' during an evening feast. Their laughter gave them away, since they were louder than most, and since they praised each other aloud. A foolish mistake that lead to them being screamed at by their transfiguration teacher.

Of course, the Zion girls pulled pranks too, but theirs were always smaller and did not strictly target Slytherins. Even Eralia had gathered her friends to prank her cousins, while her cousins were aiming mischief at anyone with a pair of lungs, teachers did not count. And, as usual, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all got blamed for all the pranks that were conducted, even the ones they were not responsible for. They did not care to correct their professors as it earned them a foolish amount of prestige and recognition across the school as the supposedly official pranksters. Of course, at first they debated about telling on the girls, but they all concluded that the Zion's had their family names that gave them a unique and inevitable reputation, therefore they could safely cling to the title of class clowns.

But there were moments when all the students would avoid each other and tuck themselves away into a quiet corner of the castle, seeking out peace and time. With the Christmas holidays approaching, the children had simultaneously and silently agreed to spend time away from their friends - only for a few hours of the day - as an awkward attempt to adjusting to the possibility of not seeing each other during the festivities.

Anya Zion had sought out a large tree by the lake, one that Peter Pettigrew had welcomed her to. That was originally his little spot to draw in, while his friends disappeared to various corners of the castle. Peter's artistic skills were previously only acknowledged by his best friends, but after he was caught by her, it became something they would talk about. Sometimes, Peter would attempt drawing her hand or any other specific feature of hers to practice, and she would let him. Anya would read as he would draw whatever he desired; his calming personality soothing her soul. Sometimes, he would even bring his chess set to teach her new moves and subtly attempt losing to her hand to boost her own ego and encourage her to keep playing against him - of course, he was very clever in keeping her interested in playing him. They would spend an hour or two together before agreeing to return to their respective social circles.

Sirius Black had caught up to Sahara, who would sit on the Quidditch bleachers, completing any homework she had left or would have to submit after the holidays. He was never helpful and would slow down her progress, but dutifully made sure to keep her company. At least, that was how it started. Eventually, he would bring his music player and finish any incomplete homework with her, making sure to check her work after and taunt her for it. Although Sahara would never get her work wrong, he still loved to mock her for her not-so-calligraphic-but-still-neat handwriting. Trust Black to find any foolish reason to tease his peers, especially when it came to this Zion.