Lord and Ladies

Pranks

With Voldemort gone, the Ministry under a new leadership and the school with a new headmistress, Harry thought that he would finally be able to relax. He didn't consider the fact that Sirius was now at school. While he had mostly escaped teasing during the first semester, mainly due to Sirius being busy with his new job and the Potters being occupied by politics, the second semester didn't offer these escapes. Sirius was already feeling comfortable as a teacher and the political arena, although still very active, needed no special attention from the youngsters.

Sirius made it a habit to come for a visit at least twice a week. Harry enjoyed the first few visits, seeing how the former fugitive was gaining his health and healing his spirit. Then, once the "old" Sirius was back, his marauder attributes shone through, especially when not on teaching duty. Sirius was quick to band with the Weasley twins, harnessing their talents to further tease Harry, and not sparing his wives either.

What started as just benign friendly teasing, soon escalated into a kind of war. Harry and his wives, as the ultimate authority at Hogwarts, couldn't afford to retaliate similarly to how they were treated. One of the four, usually Hermione, would keep a level head even when the others were reaching the boiling point.

And then Sirius crossed the boundary. It started as usual, with one of the twins' inventions – this time it was a cream that would make the victim grow feathers wherever it touched their skin. They had managed to switch one of the cosmetic creams in the Potter apartment with this, and Hermione happened to use it first. She was still a bit drowsy, after spending half the night copulating, and her thighs felt a bit sore. She thought that some calming cream could help her. A moment later, Harry and the other girls heard her scream of frustration, and then her declaration, "If that's what they want, that's what they'll get! We're going into full war mode!"

Harry rushed into the bathroom, finding Hermione with feathers on her thighs and on her fingers. He tried to make them go, but none of the spells that he knew had any effect. Hermione grabbed his wand and muttered a few more spells until she found one that did the trick. She marched out of the bathroom looking frighteningly determined, despite her nudity.

"Since we control Hogwarts, there's no reason to allow anybody to treat us this way. I don't mind a bit of teasing nor an occasional prank, as long as that's not too often, but this is more than we can allow, as it is an invasion of our privacy in the most scandalous way."

His wives' war committee was something that would make Harry shudder for years to come. Each came with schemes and plans that would make Sirius and the Twins look like amateurs. Harry contributed a bit as well – he wasn't a marauder's son for nothing, you know.

They started by making their apartment inaccessible to anyone, even to the house-elves, unless they were escorted by a Potter, to make sure that such a mishap won't happen again. Being the masters of Hogwarts was very helpful, as they could instruct the castle and the magic within it would only react to them.

Once that was done, they got dressed and went for breakfast in the Great Hall. Sirius was sitting with the twins at the Gryffindor table. The Potters chose to sit opposite them. Hermione smiled sweetly at the three pranksters while greeting everybody "Good morning." Nobody seemed to notice the gleam of mischief in her eyes, except for Harry.

The three girls seemed to whisper and giggle, the way most teen girls do, although this was highly atypical of these girls. Sirius started teasing Harry by asking, "Had an enjoyable night?"

Harry shrugged it off. "I slept, as usual. Nothing special about that."

"Didn't you do something more enjoyable before sleeping?" Sirius pressed on.

"I don't consider homework to be more enjoyable," Harry retorted.

"Not even when I'm with you?" Hermione seemed to join the teasing, just as planned.

"Well, everything is more enjoyable when you're with me." He didn't need to fake it; that was how he really felt. This made Sirius and the twins start laughing. Fred made smooching sounds while George mimicked caressing his body sensuously, making others laugh.

With the three pranksters too busy to notice, the three Potter girls cast some spells under the table, each aiming at her selected victim.

The teasing died away soon enough, as everybody needed to attend classes. Sirius had to put on the teacher mantle and the twins, despite their public image, were quite serious about learning everything that could help them in going to business. They seemed a bit uncomfortable when they stood up, but nobody seemed to notice.

They met again at lunch. The Potter girls looked quite happy, but that could be said of neither of the twins nor of Sirius. They evidently had something inflating their clothes under their waists and on their arms. Sirius chose to take some of the food at the teachers' table and eat in his office. The twins couldn't do the same. Harry thought that he noticed some white feathers peeking from their sleeves, but he wasn't sure.

By dinner time, it became very evident. Students were talking about the feathers on Professor Black's neck and how he tried to ignore them. The twins had evidently been seen by others while trying to rid themselves of the feathers.

"They are covered by feathers from the waist line down to their knees and also on their chests and their arms. Even their fingers seem to start getting feathery," Colin told whoever wanted to listen. He also promised to have pictures available the next morning.

The twins were waiting near the entrance to the Potter apartment. "We know it was one of you who did this. We tried everything we could, but nothing worked to rid us of these feathers. Please help us."

"And why should we? You didn't mind letting us grow feathers anywhere, did you?" Hermione asked too sweetly.

"Those would have vanished in half an hour or so. These seem to stay permanent," Fred whined.

"And they really make us scratch all over," George added in a similar tone.

"I still see no reason to help you. What can we gain by it?"

Fred and George seemed to consult with each other, although no sound was heard. "We shall stop pranking you for the rest of this school year," Fred suggested.

"Good, but not good enough. How about... no pranks and no teasing until we all finish school?"

Both teens grimaced. They clearly didn't want to restrict themselves this way, but staying covered with scratchy feathers was not an attractive alternative.

"No pranks until you finish Hogwarts and no teasing for the rest of this year?" George suggested.

Harry thought this wasn't a bad alternative. By the next school year, his marriage would become old news, no longer worthy of any teasing. Hermione seemed to have the same idea.

"Fine, but you'll have to swear this before we act, or your tendency for pranks may overcome your promises," Hermione stated.

The twins were quick to swear and then Hermione waved her wand at them, whispering the spell so quietly that nobody could hear. It took a few seconds for her spell to act, making the feathers disappear and the twins seemed to feel normal again.

"Oh, boy. If that's how your wives react when unnerved, I'm glad I'm still a bachelor," Fred told Harry.

"They also react quite strongly when properly loved, and that makes me glad I'm married," Harry added in a slight teasing tone. "Still, you know that Hermione, as well as Susan and Daphne, can become quite scary when angry. Make sure to never anger them."

Sirius didn't surrender so easily, though. For two more days he became more and more feathery and looked quite frustrated, especially since he could hide his condition no longer. Even his face started sprouting feathers. Eventually, he asked Harry to remove the curse. "I know it's you, as nobody else could do this. It is a marauder's work, I'm sure."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I only served as a decoy, to hide the real perpetrators of the spell. I don't even know what spell they used or what the counter-spell is. You'll have to ask Hermione."

Sirius's surprise was evident. "Hermione – the rule abiding bookworm?" He then smiled. "I knew there must be some more to her than that, or she wouldn't have gained your love. Just like Lily, she deserves to become an honorary marauder."

"You'll have to tell her in person, or stay feathered," Harry told him.

Hermione wasn't so easy on him. Unlike the twins, who would leave school in two years and start their own business, Sirius was supposed to stay close, being Harry's godfather. She wanted to assure he behaved, no matter what.

"You'll have to vow for no pranks and no teasing until our children finish Hogwarts."

"That's unfair! How will I be able to teach them the Marauder Way if I'm not allowed to demonstrate it?"

Hermione expected his protest. "Well, no pranking or teasing any member of our family. You may still prank the twins, if you dare, although as a teacher, that would be a very irresponsible behavior, probably making the owners fire you."

Sirius looked beaten. "So, even if I prank them, I still lose. That's very unfair!"

"Unless done during vacation, of course. Now, will you take the vow, or do you like your feathers?"

Sirius sighed dramatically. Hermione gave him the exact phrasing of the vow, not trusting him to say it right if not dictated to him. Sirius was clearly not pleased, seeing how much he would be restricted, but he had no choice. Grudgingly, he gave his vow exactly as requested, and Hermione rid him of the feathers a moment later.

At least they had no such problems with the defense teacher. Fleur proved to be very serious as a teacher and very good at teaching. Wearing robes, as customary in Britain, she didn't even look too enticing to the male students, and she was careful to keep her allure under strict control. The only times she let it flare were when visiting the Potters, as Harry was immune to her allure, and Sirius acted quite comically when hit by it.

"I thought that the eldest Weasley boy caught your attention last year," Hermione noted.

"Oh, William and I are friends. We see each other every other week, when I have a free weekend, and I really like him. I'm not sure where that may lead, though. His mother is not too fond of me, and he can't stand my allure. Maybe I need to look further. You are lucky to have found your man so early, you know."

"We had some help, or we may have still been unable to act on our feelings, you should know," Hermione told her.

"Well, it was still lucky. Even if I eventually marry William, I will probably wonder for the rest of my life if I could find somebody more suitable. Actually, there were moments I thought that Harry was the one, but the way he acted with you made it clear that he wasn't."

"You know he has two more wives, don't you?"

"Of course, but he could live without them. He couldn't live without you."

Daphne, who sat besides them, couldn't refrain from asking, "How do you know?"

"Well, my Veela ancestry makes me able to discern some things other can't. I see the love you all share like some luminous connections between you, yet the one Harry shares with Hermione is different and is much more powerful than any bond I've seen. Still, even his bond with you or with Susan is stronger than most marriage bonds. You can feel proud and content for being loved so strongly."

Daphne smiled. "We really are."