Tales > 48 Hour Party People

Hey there, Robyn here! I was surfing around on FF.net, and found that QueenStrata had started a list of challenges! So, here's my attempt at one of them! Here's the rules and req's!

  • The Dursleys may or may not be there. I don’t really care either way.
  • Sirius must have threatened the Dursleys in order for Harry to have the party.
  • The party must last at least two nights.
  • Seamus Finnigan must be there
  • Draco Malfoy must make an appearance and must spend the first night in the same room as Ron and Harry
  • Sirius, Remus and Snape must all make appearances.
  • Some must say, “What do you mean you’re having a sleepover party? That’s so… so… juvenile!”
  • The only pairings not allowed are Ron/Harry, Ron/Draco, and anything with incest.
  • Someone must make a prank phone call that reaches Voldie.
  • Must include a game in which the prize is sleeping with Harry (Not necessarily having sex with him, just sleeping in the same bed) on the last day of the party, at the insistence of Seamus.
  • Someone must convince Draco to play the game.
  • Anyone with Muggle lineage must sing part of a song from Mary Poppins or The Wizard of Oz. (Unless you don’t know lyrics to any of the songs. I only know a few myself.)
  • They must watch a movie with Alan Rickman in it, and someone must comment on how much he reminds them of Snape.
  • Lyrics from the following bands/whatever must be mentioned/sung along to: Metallica, Creed, Soul Asylum, Bush, Puddle of Mudd, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Blink 182, Eminem, Savage Garden, Backstreet Boys, and Matchbox Twenty. Um... just thought I'd say tat that might be a bit too much music. Pick at least three of them. ^-^
  • All of this must be done within a PG-13 rating. ^-^

And awaaaaaaaaaay we go! *evil grin*

Warnings: Erm, nothing too bad in here, since it has to be PG-13 and all that. Angie and I do make appearances, though that's completely random and has nothing to do with whatever plot there may be in here. We just wanted to Mary-sue for once, and well, deal with it. ^^;; Enjoy the show!

He couldn't believe his luck! Harry was sitting alone in the Dursleys' living room waiting for his friends to arrive. The Dursleys had actually agreed to go away for the weekend and leave him behind! Sure, it probably had to have something to do with Sirius appearing on their doorstep with a wicked grin and several blunt objects, but Harry wasn't about to complain!

Seeing as Sirius had managed to scare the Dursleys out of the house the weekend of his birthday, Harry had decided, "Why not? I'm throwing a party!"

And so, he sent out invitations to all his friends, and they were going to all arrive any minute. He'd remembered to unboard the fireplace this time, after what had happened when the Weasleys had come to pick him up for the Quidditch World Cup last summer. Though, the look on Aunt Petunia's face when her pristine living room was covered in white dust was pretty funny.

Ron was the first to arrive, followed shortly by Fred and George. There was no way Harry would invite Percy. He'd just ruin the party by making everyone do their summer homework or something equally boring.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!" he greeted his friends, helping them drag their bags from the fireplace.

"Oi, Harry, mate, where is everyone else?" Ron asked, looking around the empty house.

"They're not here yet. You're early for once," Harry grinned in response, earning a mock glare from Ron.

And they all arrived shortly after that. Hermione had brought Ginny with her, since she was going to be so utterly outnumbered by boys and figured she needed at least *one* other girl there. Dean, Neville and Seamus all arrived at the same instant, making for one very crowned fireplace.

"I'm a person, not a sardine!" they could hear Neville squeak from somewhere behind Dean's elbow.

Everyone had just finished piling their belongings upstairs when the unexpected happened. The door bell rang--making Ron jump ten feet in the air--and Harry went to see who was there on a Friday afternoon of all things. And he was totally not expecting to see the image before him.

Draco Malfoy. And a duffel bag.

"Err, Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Harry managed to say after about five minutes of silence. Everyone else was still staring blankly at him.

"As much as I do not want to be here Potter, my mother insisted that I come here once Dumbledore suggested it to her. Like we would ever get along," Draco drawled out.

"Well, fine. Either come inside or stay on the doorstep, doesn't make a difference to me," Harry said cooly.

Draco glared at him, but deciding that it was far better to sleep inside Potter's muggle home than out in the street where any old muggle could bother him, he went inside.

"What's the Ferret doing here?" Ron spat.

"His mom made him come. Says Dumbledore suggested it. Guess he thinks this will help us all get along better or something," Harry shrugged as he indicated where Draco could throw his stuff.

"So are you staying just tonight or both nights?" Ginny asked, trying to make conversation, the sweet soul that she was.

"What?! Staying one or both nights?" Draco looked shocked.

Harry smirked. "Yeah, Malfoy, this is a sleepover party. Don't you listen when your mother tells you things?"

"What do you mean you’re having a sleepover party? That’s so… so… juvenile!"

"You're here, aren't you?"

"You know...that makes more sense! My mother just wanted me out of the house for a couple days! Dratted woman!" Draco fumed.

"So we're stuck with the Ferret for both nights then, huh?"

"Ron, be nice!"

"But Hermione! It's MALFOY!"

"That may be true, but you should still be nice..."

"Wow Granger, never thought you would ever say anything nice abo..."

"...even if he is a slimy, no-account, moronic Slytherin prat," she finished.

"I take it back," Draco grimmaced.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Dean asked, glancing from one face to another.

"Well, we could watch a movie," Harry started.

"Do the Dursleys even have any good movies?!" asked Hermione.

"What's a movie?"

"Honestly Ron, take Muggle Studies already!" said Fred, in a voice remarkably like Hermione's. Ron just rolled his eyes.

"Well, we could always just see what movies are on television..." Hermione said, turning on the set and ignoring Fred and Ron. Flipping through the channels, she settled on some random movie set in the Middle Ages.

"What movie's this?" asked Neville. [Ron: There're people in there! @_@]

"It's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I love this movie!" Hermione replied.

The group settled around the TV to watch. An hour later, as the movie was really getting going, Harry realized something.

"Hey Hermione, do you know who that actor looks like?"

Hermione appeared to think about it for a moment before she caught onto what Harry was on about.

"You're right. That's creepy! How can more than one person look like Professor Snape?"

"What would Professor Snape be doing inside that muggle contraption?!" Draco exclaimed.

"Gah! It IS the slimeball! My eyes, my eyes!" George and Fred both grabbed their eyes, pretending moaning in pain.

"That's not Professor Snape, that's Alan Rickman. He's an actor, not a wizard," Hermione said, releasing a long suffering sigh.

But Neville, completely out of fear, had pulled out his wand and managed to hex the television. It was now purple, very furry, and only showed the Teletubbies. Before any lasting damage could be done to their minds, Harry quickly shut off the hexed television.

"Great, now what Potter?" Draco snickered. "Longbottom has managed to screw up our only form of entertainment!"

"Quit picking on Neville!" Seamus said, finally saying something for what seemed to be the first time since he arrived.

"Are you going to make me? What are you going to do? Hex my eyebrows off?"

"Hey! I haven't burnt off my eyebrows since second year, thank you very much!"

"Guys, how about we just try to fix the TV?" suggested Ginny.

But before they could, the doorbell rang again. It was Sirius this time, and Remus was with him.

"Yeah, I have to babysit this prat," Remus grinned.

"Hey! I do not need a babysitter!" Sirius cried indignantly.

"Ha, so says Mr. I-had-over-500-detentions-in-school."

"Er, what are you two doing here?" Harry managed to interrupt.

"Oh, well I promised Dumbledore we'd drop by to check on you all. You know, since you lot are here all by yourselves, etc.

"It's Sirius Black! GAHHH!" Neville shrieked and hid.

"You know, that gets old really fast..." Sirius said, sighing.

"You throw an interesting party, Potter. Mudbloods, muggle-lovers, murderers and even a werewolf for good measure. Anything else?" laughed Draco.

"What is that doing here?" Sirius glared.

"Not sure really, but he's here in case we get bored and need someone to practise our hexes on," Harry grinned evilly.

"He's way too much like James. It's scary," Remus shook his head, laughing to himself.

"So do you guys want to come in or are you gonna go elsewhere or something?" Ron asked.

"Well, we could stay for a little while...."

"And what are we supposed to do, wait for a few hours?" a voice from the living room interrupted Sirius. Everyone ran back in to see who had appeared now, and there were two young women standing just next to the fireplace, one dusting off her crimson dress.

"We didn't know how long you girls were going to be going on upstairs trying to get ready, so we just stepped out to check on Harry, and..." Remus trailed off.

"Since when have either Robyn or myself ever taken more than 20 minutes to get ready to go anywhere?" the darkhaired woman, who had spoken before, raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and that's including waking up, showering, and dressing. Probably a meal, too," smirked the other woman, whose blonde hair had bright red streaks running through the front of it, matching her dress quite nicely.

"Angie, Moony here was just trying to explain that Dumbledore asked us to check in on the group here and since you two weren't ready, we figured now was as good a time as any..."

"Yeah!" Remus quickly agreed.

"This is so weird...." Harry said.

"Gah, since when did either of you date?" asked Draco.

"Since before you were born, blondie," Sirius retorted.

"Thinking of either of you as sexual beings is really disturbing," Ron pulled a face.

"I don't know, these lovely ladies I can..." started George.

"George!" cried Ginny.

"What Ginny? He was just saying that these two fine examples of womanhood are quite dateable, and they're very lucky to have them," finished Fred. Ron pulled another face and sank into a chair.

"So we'll just be going now. You all have fun now!" the blonde grabbed Sirius's arm and lead him about the door.

"Don't do anything these two would do!" the brunette said, towing Remus along with her.

"That....was weird," Harry murmured again.

In the meantime, Hermione, being the very smart girl that she was, had managed to unhex the TV.

"Alright, what else is on?" asked Dean.

"Hmm, we've got the Snape-In-Tights movie..."

    Everyone: NOOOOOO!

"This looks like The Wizard of Oz...."

    Seamus: Follow the yellow brick road!
    Dean: Follow the yellow brick road!
    Both: Follow follow follow the yellow brick road!

"Maybe not. There's nothing good on."

"Never is, Hermione, never is," said Harry. Dean nodded in agreement.

So the group settled on watching infomercials late into the night, mocking them here and there when appropriate, until they'd all finally fallen asleep where they sat.

The next morning, they all woke up to the sounds of Don Laprie trying to sell them the secrets of making money and getting lots of beautiful women. Draco yelped and jumped halfway across the room.

"GAH!!!!"

"What's he on about?" Ron muttered sleepily from his end of the couch.

"Err, I think it's because he was clinging to my leg in his sleep," Harry said, a weird look on his face. Everyone made noises after that particular comment. Harry had been sleeping with his legs thrown over the other arm of the couch, and Ginny had latched herself onto his arm that was hanging off the couch. Not that that surprised anyone.

"So how about some breakfast?" Harry suggested, eager to get away from the mental images that were threatening to attack everyone.

"Oooh! Can we make pancakes?" squeaked Neville.

"Yeah, sure. Pancakes are easy. And I seriously doubt you all could possibly out-eat Uncle Vernon and Dudley put together," Harry smirked.

Everyone trooped into the kitchen, and managed to fit around the table. Harry had started to make pancakes for everyone, with only Hermione and Ginny being nice enough to actually help.

"You boys are so lazy!" Hermione tched.

"It's morning, we're tired!" complained Ron, who was still half asleep.

Fred and George, however, were quite awake. In fact, once there were some pancakes on the table, they immediately made them start to fly around Malfoy's head. Draco merely grumbled, speared a few of the pancakes with his fork, and started to eat them, all the while glaring at the twins.

Once all the pancakes were taken out of orbit and eaten, the dishes cleared, and the group combed and dressed, they found something else to entertain themselves.

"Harry, can we go through the attic?" Fred said, grinning broadly.

"Why not? I'm sure there's *something* fun up there," Harry agreed.

"A muggle attic, fun? Hardly."

"Malfoy, either come with us and stop complaining, or stay down here where we don't have to look at you!" snapped Ron.

"Hn."

Pulling the attic trapdoor in the ceiling, Harry narrowly missed clocking Malfoy in the head with the descending ladder. It was just as well that he didn't get hit. Harry didn't want to explain to Malfoy's mother why he had been decapitated by a falling ladder. Muttering about stupid muggle contraptions, Draco followed the group up into the dark attic.

Once their eyes had adjusted, boxes upon boxes could be seen through the dusty half-light.

"Isn't there a light up here or something?" Hermione wondered aloud, looking about her for a cord or switch, finally finding the cord hanging near the center of the attic. Giving it a quick tug, the attic was flooded with dim light.

"Okay, everyone grab a box!" George shouted, going for one of the larger ones near the back. Everyone followed suit, and they were all sitting around with boxes soon after.

"Alright, who's first?"

"Harry, you've got to see this! Check out these letters!" Fred chimed in, peering into his box.

"Letters?"

Ron peered over his brother's shoulder. "Not just any letters! Love letters!" he crowed.

"Eeew! Uncle Vernon sent Aunt Petunia love letters?!"

"How bad are they?" asked George.

"Just listen..."

    Dearest Petunia,
    Your eyes are like beacons of light to me.
    Without you, my life would be meaningless and empty.
    I could drown in your eyes, those pools like the sea.
    I am the luckiest man on earth to have you love me.
    Your darling Vernon

"Ugh! That's horrid!" Harry pulled a face.

"Well, it sounded a little sweet..." Ginny trailed off, blushing madly.

"Please, can we move on?" Draco was looking faint.

"Okay, Ron, what have you got over there?"

"Well, let's see now...." he said, opening the box. Seeing what was in the box, he quickly shut it, looking quite alarmed. "Harry, there's nothing in here you want to see."

"What are you talking about? What is it? Baby pictures of Dudley or something?"

"No, something much, much worse..."

"Let me see!"

"NO!"

"Ron, move over!" Seamus shoved the red-haired boy aside and pulled a deer head from the box. Harry went white as a sheet.

"I told you you didn't want to see it!" Ron said, getting up from the box Seamus had shoved him into.

"Put...p-put that away Seamus...." Harry said, his voice very faint.

"But it reminds me of some of the stuff we've got on our walls at home!"

"PUT IT AWAY NOW!" Harry practically scream. Seamus hurriedly put away the deer head.

"What is wrong with you Potter?" Draco sneared.

"Yeah, um, Harry, are you alright?" asked Fred.

"Fred, you know about the four people who made the Marauder's Map?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah?"

"The one named Prongs?"

"What about him?"

"That was the nickname my dad's friends gave him," Harry finished, having finished freaking out.

"Prongs?" Fred blinked.

"Is you DAD?!" George nearly screamed.

"REALLY?" they cried in unison.

Harry blinked. "Yeah..."

"WOW! Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Umm, it didn't come up?"

"So what does that have to do with the deer head?"

"Well, he was an Animagus, and, well..."

"Oh. Nevermind," Fred said, looking slightly alarmed.

"Hey Malfoy, what's in your box?"

"Nothing of interest. A lot of infant clothing. Can't be yours Potter, it would fit you now!" he smirked.

"Shut it Malfoy. Must be Dudley's baby clothes. Blech."

"Wow! Look at this! An indoor tenpin set!" crowed Dean.

"Really? Let's play! There's plenty of room up here!" said Ron.

"Tenpins? What sort of game is that?" asked Ginny.

"There are these ten pins set up in a triangle shape at one end, and you stand at the other and try to knock all of them down with this ball," Dean explained, holding up the wooden bowling ball.

"Should we play teams or just everyone for themselves?"

"Hmm, Harry you can be the captain of one team, since it's your house and your birthday afterall, and I guess I'll be the other captain unless someone else wants the job?"

"Nah Dean, you actually know how to play, so you can be captain if you want," said Fred.

"Okay, let's see now, Dean you pick first..."

They proceeded to pick teams, ending up with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and Neville on one team, and Dean, Seamus, George, and Ginny on the other.

"How come I'm last picked?" Draco grumbled as Dean reluctantly let him on the team.

"Because no one likes you!" smirked Ron.

"Oh can it Weasel," Draco glared.

The game started, and well, let's just say no one was all that good at bowling. Hermione and Dean were pretty good, having actually played it before, and Harry wasn't too bad either, considering he'd been forced to play at one of Dudley's horrible birthday parties when he was younger. Draco kept cursing at every gutter ball he threw, and wouldn't stop patting himself on the back when he finally managed to hit a couple pins. Even Ginny was better than him, but Seamus was probably worse than both Draco and Neville, who was surprisingly good at bowling, managing to hit at least one or two pins each time.

"Gah, I give up!" Seamus fumed, after getting his 25th consectutive gutterball. He wandered off into the boxes again, sifting through the one he'd picked out earlier, and found a small box. Seeing what it was, he pocketed it to use later.

"Okay, so we've tied, 2 games to 2. Wanna go for a tie bre...?" began Dean, but he was cut off by his stomach growling. Everyone stared for a moment, then realized how hungry they were, too.

"Maybe later Dean, let's go look for some lunch," Harry laughed. They all went downstairs back to the kitchen, but Ginny held Harry back for a minute.

"What is it Ginny?"

"Well, I found this in my box, and, I...I thought you'd like to see it," she said, blushing as always. She handed him a small leatherbound book, covered in dust. Opening it, Harry found it was an old photo album of his aunt's. Old family photos. Her, her parents...and her younger sister. Lily.

"Thanks Ginny," Harry said, smiling at her. She blushed even more--if that were possible--and ran downstairs after everyone else. Harry followed shortly after her, putting the photo album in his room on his way downstairs.

Everyone was in the kitchen again, but there really wasn't much in the way of food.

"Great, now what are we supposed to do, Potter?"

"We'll order something, Malfoy," Harry replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was for anyone who had grown up in the muggle world.

"Hmm, what should we get? Hamburgers?" suggested Dean.

"How about Chinese food?" added Hermione.

"That's kind of complicated. How about we just get a couple large pizzas?" Harry said, grabbing the phone number for Dudley's favorite pizza delivery place off the refridgerator and heading for the phone.

"Hi, yeah I'd like to order two large pizzas," he said. Covering the phone, he asked, "You guys want something on them?"

"Pepperoni!"

"Umm, mushrooms I guess."

"Squid!"

"Liver!"

Those last two were shouted by Fred and George, but vehemently shot down by everyone else with a chorus of "eew!" and "gross!". Harry finished ordering and hung up the phone.

"Those fellytones are really something."

"For the last time, it's a telephone, Ron!"

"That's what I said, Hermione!"

Everyone else laughed, and Ron's ears flushed red.

"Let's prank call someone while we wait for the food!" suggested Fred.

"How do you know what a prank call is?" asked Hermione.

"Come on, give us a new toy and you know we'll find some way to prank people with it. It's so obvious!" George said in a mock serious tone.

"Fine, but who?"

"Let's just dial a random number and see what happens!"

"Okay. The new phone my uncle got last week even has a speaker option on here, so everyone can hear," Harry said as he started pressing numbers at random. It started to ring as he turned on the speaker, motioning Fred and George forward and for everyone else to be quiet.

"Hello," a man's voice squeaked over the phone.

"Yes, hello, may we speak to the head of the household please?" Fred affected a deep, official sounding voice.

"Um, he's indisposed at the moment..."

"Well un-dispose him this instant! This is very important!!"

"Eep! Hang on. One moment..."

There was some rustling as the phone was put down and the man walked away, presumably to find the head of the house.

"You know, that guy sounded familiar," said Harry.

"You're right, but I can't think of who it was..." agreed Ron.

"What is this all about? I am a very important and busy man," a new voice hissed through the speaker. Everyone jumped.

"Err, yes, I can understand that, but we have a very important question to ask you," Fred said, regaining his composure.

"What is it already? I don't have time for this. Nagini, don't chew on the sofa leg!" That last statement seemed to be directed away from the phone receiver. Harry's eyes went wide.

"What's wrong?" Hermione whispered.

"That's...omigod, they're prank calling HIM!" Harry said, trying not to laugh.

"Well, sir, we have orders to ask everyone in England this survey question."

"Yes, yes, what is it already? I'm very busy!"

"Alright sir. Please go into your kitchen."

"That's where I am, you twit!"

"Of course, my apologies. Now, please look at your refridgerator."

"What about it?"

"Is it running?"

"Of course it's running!"

"Then you'd better go an catch it!" Fred and George chorused.

"What..? You...you..! Who is this? Where are you so I can come and hex you into oblivion? No one does this to me! Do you know who I am? I'm..."

Harry hung up the phone, laughing hysterically.

"Tell me who that was already Harry!" pestered Hermione.

"It was Voldemort. You guys just prank called Voldemort!" Harry said, in between gales of laughter. Everyone sat there, shocked. Neville and Ron had winced, of course.

"Well, at least we'll be able to say we've pranked everyone, no matter how big, tall, fat, small, or evil," George laughed.

The doorbell rang.

"Pizza!"

The phone call was temporarily forgotten as everyone attacked the two large pizzas that had finally arrived.

"So, wanna play some more bowling?"

"Nah, it got boring..."

"Another movie?"

"No! I do not want to see Snape on TV again!"

"I've got an idea guys..."

But Seamus was interrupted by a loud thud and several curses from the living room. Upon reaching the room in question, they found Sirius and Remus had returned, but with something large and black lying on the floor in front of them.

"Hello Harry! We brought you a little birthday present!" Sirius beamed. He kicked the bundle over and it turned out to be Snape.

"Gah! Why would I want Snape for my birthday?!" Harry said, pulling a face.

"This was the girls' idea, but they thought you'd like what we're about to do to him," smiled Remus.

"You will do nothing to me, Lupin. I'm leaving," Snape said, having regained his feet.

"Not on your life, slimeball. You're going to be the entertainment for a while!" Sirius smirked.

"I...WHAT?!"

Both Sirius and Remus pointed wands at him, and Snape was suddenly wearing a long, Viking-style dress, complete with long blonde braids and a horned helment. He opened his mouth to protest, but only opera came out. Everyone started laughing, even Hermione, who'd at first tsked the two grown men tormenting a teacher.

"Ugh, I don't like opera much. Let's change the channel, eh Moony?"

"Good idea," Remus said, zapping Snape. Now he was in a Robin outfit, and started rapping.

"This looks like a job for me/So everybody just follow me/Cuz we need a little controversy/Cuz it feels so empty without me."

"Bleh, not a big fan of rap, either. How about some rock?" Sirius zapped Snape again, who now wore nothing but a smile and some pixelation boxes.

"GYAHHH! KILL IT! KILL IT!" shrieked Ron.

"My eyes! My eyes!" cried Harry.

Hermione looked completely shocked, and Ginny fainted. Dean was comforting Neville, who looked green, and Fred and George started banging their heads against the wall.

"Say it aint so, I will not go/Turn the lights off, carry me home Keep your head still, I'll be your thrill/The night will go on, the night will go on, a little windmill," Snape sang.

"Sirius, you get rid of that now, or you won't have to worry about the Ministry catching you!" Remus yelled at his friend.

"Yikes, I said rock, not pebbles..." Sirius said, trying in vain not to laugh. "Let's try this again..."

"Show me the meaning of being lonely/Is this the feeling I need to walk with/Tell me why I can't be there where you are/There's something missing in my heart..." Snape crooned, wearing black leather pants and an open white shirt, which seemed to only emphasize the pastiness of his skin.

"I'll tell you what's missing. You don't have a heart to begin with!" Dean snickered.

"Oh, that's it, let's just go back to our old stand by, Padfoot. This is torturing us more than him!"

"Fine, fine Moony. Which color scheme, though? Pink or orange?"

"Both?"

"Sounds good!" They zapped Snape one last time. He now wore a pink tutu with purple polka dots, his hair was pink with orange steaks, and he had orange fishnet stockings with neon pink 6" stelleto heels.

"BLACK! LUPIN! I'M GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS!" he screamed--like a woman, I might add--and ran out the door, scaring several of the neighbors.

Once he'd stopped laughing so hard, Harry said, "Now that was a good present. Thanks guys."

"Any time, Harry, any time," Sirius smiled.

"Why are you two staring at us?" Remus asked Fred and George, who has been staring at them for a while now.

"You're Moony..?!"

"...and Padfoot?!"

"Err, yes..."

"WOW! We met two of the Marauders!" they crowed in unison.

"Actually, you've spoken to three of them, now," Harry laughed.

"When'd they ever talk to that rat?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"They randomly prank called someone earlier. Wormtail picked up the phone and they asked Voldemort if his refridgerator was running."

"You guys WHAT?!" Remus looked horrified.

"Yeah, they pranked Voldemort, of all people. What are the odds?"

"I'm impressed. You two really have guts."

"Wow! We impressed the Marauders!" Fred grinned.

"Well, we'd better go find the slimeball before he scares any young children..."

"...or anyone for that matter," added Sirius. "Happy birthday Harry!"

They set off in the general direction Snape had run, using the terrified shrieks and gales of laughter to guide them.

"How come you never told us you knew the Marauders, Harry?"

"It never came up, really. And besides, I didn't really meet all of them till third year, anyway."

"So we've met three of them. Wow."

"You could say you've met all four, since Harry seems to be turning out to be just like his dad, according to what Sirius's told us about their school days," smirked Ron.

"Can I just suggest my idea already before someone else interrupts me?!" Seamus yelled randomly. Everyone gaped.

"Umm, sure, Seamus. Go ahead..." Harry said nervously.

"Well, I found these when were we going through the attic earlier," he began, holding up a old deck of playing cards. "I thought we could play poker.

"Poker? But we don't have any money to play for," said Dean.

"Speak for yourself," drawled Draco.

"Well, we can play for something else, then," said Hermione.

"How about, whoever wins 20 hands first sleeps with the birthday boy," Seamus suggested innocently.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Harry bellowed. He'd gone quite red, and everyone else was staring at Seamus.

"What, it was an idea. And it's not like I was suggesting something dirty. Completely platonic. And it's the best thing I could come up with."

"Hn, fine."

"Harry, are you alright? Did I just hear you agree?" Ron stared at his best friend.

"Like any of you could win 20 hands of poker," he grinned. "Let's play."

"Forget it, I'm not playing."

"Malfoy, Harry agreed to be a good sport, so why can't you play along?" snorted Ron. "Afraid you'll be beat horribly?"

"No, I am not. Not that I would want to win Potter. Fine, I'll play," he glared.

And so it began. Sitting in a circle on the living room floor, the ten players poured over their cards, and the hours dragged on as they all managed to stay close in contention. Harry was just playing for fun, since once he'd one the first three games, Hermione asked him how he planned to sleep with himself and everyone said that he couldn't win. Slowly, though, three people were pulling ahead. Ginny, Fred, and Draco, of all people.

"Ha! My full house beats your two pair!" Draco crowed, having beaten Ron after a particularly long bidding war. Then shocked realization crossed his face.

"What's wrong with you Ferret?"

"What's the score now?" he replied shakily.

"Oh....my....."

"Hermione, what's the score?" Harry asked, getting worried.

"Malfoy won. That was his 20th win...."

Harry and Draco stared at each other, both seemingly competing to see who could get paler.

"And we have a winner..." George snickered.

"Don't get too comfy, you two!" Fred chimed in.

"THAT IS IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! I AM LEAVING!" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs. He grabbed his belongings and stormed out the door. Harry sighed in audible relief.

"Aww, don't sound so disappointed Harry! I'm sure Ginny wouldn't mine taking Malfoy's place!" Fred added. Ginny, on cue, blushed madly and glared at her older brother.

"You know, this has been the weirdest birthday ever."

"What gave you that impression? Was it Snape crooning in leather?" asked Ron.

"Seeing him on the TV?" squeaked Neville.

"Seeing him without clothes!" Dean shuddered.

"Or maybe the prank call to Mr. I'm-A-Big-Scary-Evil-Wizard?" suggested George.

"The fact that there exist in this world two women that can put up with Sirius and Professor Lupin?" grinned Hermione.

"Being won by Malfoy in a game of poker, perhaps?" snickered Seamus.

"All of the above and more. And more."

Robyn: Owari! ^^;; Yeah, that was weird. Snape without clothing is something that no one should ever have to witness. @_@ I apologize for the bout of self-insertion that I suffered earlier. It has cleared up, and all is well. *evil grin* But I could always have a relapse....

Sirius: You're telling me that all of us are only part of your temporary insanity?

James: That's cold, Robyn.

Robyn: Nah, only you two and Lily are part of my temporary insanity. Moony is all Angie's. *grins*