Bad Influence

The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall illuminated the cloudy sky outside of Hogwarts. Different shades of grey drifted lazily as if in a soft breeze overhead, and every once in a while the sun would poke out from behind the cloud. Four long tables stretched down the length of the hall, each shrouded in a house color: red, yellow, green, and blue. One table sat adjacent to the rest and was pressed against the stained glass windows of the Hall. It was empty, as per usual during the offset lunches of the students, since none of the staff liked to eat with students more than twice a day. 

At one of the four long tables sat four boys, nearly piled on top of each other as they ate their lunch. Remus Lupin, with his shiny prefect badge and dark blond hair, sat with his nose in a book of Magical Maladies. His arm was pressed tightly against the leather jacket of Sirius Black, was busy trying to lean backward and keep himself steady. Across from Remus and Sirius sat James Potter, who was not looking at either of them, instead he picked lint from his sweater, and was poorly hiding his glances from a girl not so far away. Beside James sat Peter Pettigrew, a round boy with sandy blond hair and big rat-like teeth. He laughed as Sirius fell forward again and flicked James hard in the side of the cheek.

"Brother, you fail me!" Sirius said, leaning back onto the Hufflepuff table from the Gryffindor table, with a small glass vial of brilliant red potion in his hand. "You won't ever know when she's coming back if you keep staring at Evans all the time!"

"She went to the library," retorted James, matter-of-factly, "Even if she was on a broom, she'd not make it that fast," he stole another glance at a pretty, red-headed girl at a distance and ruffled his hair; he was often of the opinion that it made him look like he had just descended from a broomstick; the girl was Lily Evans, the other Gryffindor prefect alongside Remus. 

"Maybe I could, but she wouldn't," he added, a bit loudly so that Lily Evans could hear him. But as she scowled and turned a page of the book she was reading, it became clear that she was uninterested.

"Ouch!" Sirius said, in mock despair before James kicked him under the table. Sirius jumped and aimed a responsive kick back, and jostled Remus enough to almost spill the goblet he was holding. 

"What exactly are you two doing?" Remus looked up from his battered book and glared hard at James and Sirius. He carefully set his goblet down and shut his book.

"Oh, the lord has taken notice of his petty peasants!" Sirius murmured before he leaned back once again and emptied the contents of the small vial into a poor Hufflepuff's goblet, "Remember that potion we made that blew up a few weeks ago? This is a better-refined version of events. No trips to the Hospital Wing needed."

With a bewildered sigh, Remus grabbed Sirius and dragged him back to sit next to him, "That could actually injure someone. Do you even know who it is you're subjecting to this?" Sirius rolled his eyes in response and grabbed a large slice of bread from the platter in front of him. 

"Relax, Moony, it's only Joan Hart," Sirius grinned and Remus's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Joan shared their potions class and was usually partnered with Lily Evans, they were close friends, and even held study sessions in the library during exams. If there was one thing that Remus knew about Joan Hart, was that she was the one Hufflepuff who didn't find James and Sirius' line of humor amusing, and would most likely get them into bigger trouble than ever. Remus opened his mouth to protest before Sirius unexpectedly whipped around in his seat and knocked Remus off balance. He rubbed his arm and looked over his shoulder, "If you get expelled-"

"It's harmless, Moony!" James protested. "It'll only result in a small firework on her nose when she drinks it - we're saving the best for Snivellus, of course - Oh, here she comes!" he whispered, his grin spread wide across his face before he leaned forward to watch over Sirius' shoulder. Sirius leaned back onto his table smoothly and bit off a portion of the bread he had grabbed. He glanced at Remus, who seemed intrigued, and laughed, "Don't disapprove if you're going to watch anyways, Moony," he teased.       

Jo Hart then entered the Great Hall carrying a book thicker than either James are Sirius was expecting. Her hair was jet black and cropped close to her chin. Most everyone thought she resembled a startled bird with her wide green eyes, angular face, and long nose. She wore her Hufflepuff robes over her purple blouse and jeans. Jo sat down next to a first-year boy at the Hufflepuff table. They exchanged glances and he smiled before he scooted towards his friends. Peter pushed himself up onto the table to see over Sirius' shoulders and snickered at the first-year's reaction, "He knows," he whispered.         

"Hush," James held a finger to his lips and watched as Jo's hands reached out for the goblet beside her. She leaned back a little in order to bring the goblet to her face, "Yes...she's picking it up!" 

Remus glanced at James, "We've got eyes," he responded. Joan paused and leaned forward as she finally found what she was looking for. She set the goblet down and quickly flipped to the page. Peter held his breath, keeping his fork down, with his eyes fixed on Joan -- as if, even the littlest sound would make her steer clear of the prank. While Remus looked from James to Sirius and rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius placed his hand over Remus' mouth before he got the chance. Remus turned his head away from James and Sirius to look back at Jo, who had finally brought the goblet to her lips, "Honestly," came Remus' muffled voice from behind Sirius' hand. Not two seconds after Joan's lips touched the drink, it burst into large red sparks, the tiny explosions flooding over her nose and lips. She dropped the goblet with a sharp gasp and the world moved in slow motion.

The goblet fell from her fingers and hit the yellowed pages at an angle. Joan's eyes widened as the sparks cleared and she stood to reach for the goblet as it tipped backward. She caught the side of the rim at an angle and sent the goblet in her direction. It spilled orange juice down her blouse and stained the pages of the old book in front of her. There was a moment of silence as Joan stood, soaked through with juice, and stared at the book in front of her. The Hufflepuffs around her stared in shock as her shoulders heaved up and down in shock.  It was Sirius' voice that broke out first, "Nice one, Hart!" he cried at he clapped and laughed. Peter clapped Sirius on the shoulder and James glanced over at Lily. The look on Lily Evans' face was enough to make James sit silently down, holding in the shuddering bursts of laughter. Jo's face flushed a shade of brilliant red as she turned to look at the source of this chaos. She quickly climbed over the bench-like seat and raced out of the Great Hall. James couldn't hide it anymore as Lily ran off to find her friend.

"Honestly, you two!" Remus scolded as he shook his head and followed Joan out.

"And there goes Mr. Prefect!" James laughed, his cheeks and stomach ached with the force of the laugh, "Merlin's beard! Did you see her face?" 

"Of course I did!" Sirius swiveled back around to face James and Peter, "Shame Drew wasn't here to see it."

"Poor her, but if not for the detention, she wouldn't have missed the prank!" said Peter as he picked up his fork again.

"Yes, surely! Poor thing, detention on a beautiful Saturday afternoon," James was still wheezing, his cheeks rosy from laughter. "Oh, my stomach hurts! Let's pack up and tell her everything." 

Sirius pocketed half of a ham sandwich and looked back over his shoulder at the entrance to the Great Hall, "What's up with Remus? He's all irritable and not at all fun," he said with a perplexed expression, "He looked like he was enjoying himself until her stupid book was ruined." 

With a shrug, James stood up from the table and stuck his hands far into his jeans pockets, "Beats me," he said, "C'mon guys!" He raced off towards the Great Hall's entrance with Peter and Sirius close behind him.