The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 32 - A Small Problem

Branwen was inconsolable the next morning at breakfast. She ladled herself a bowl of porridge but only stirred her spoon around in it. None of the boys seemed to know what to say since they weren't particularly enthused themselves. Peter could only manage two helpings of bacon.

"Hey," Sirius perked up. "We still have those phials."

Everyone stared daggers at him.

He sighed. "What I mean is, if we find out what's in them, we might be able to have a little fun."

"What are we going to do? Waltz up to Sluggie and say 'hey, we stole these from your office last night, mind telling us what's in them?'" Remus rolled his eyes.

Sirius pouted, then said, "Maybe."

James started to perk up a bit. "You might have something there, Siri. Tomorrow's the match with Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Then Monday is April Fool's. The possibilities for mischief are endless!"

"Well," Branwen drawled, "I do have Potions today. Maybe I can try to find something out."

As it turned out, Branwen had the answer to the Potion mystery handed to her on a silver platter. The Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins and they all shuffled into the dungeon classroom after lunch. Branwen and her room-mates, Alice Farless and Emmeline Vance, found seats together while Regulus sat behind them with his friends, Jakob Flint and Parker Parkinson.

Slughorn was waiting for the class and as soon as the last student took her seat (Kendall Bruce came running in, face-flushed), he clapped his hands together. "Now, to begin the class, I have a small request. You see, a few bottles of Shrinking Solution seemed to have, uh, disappeared overnight. I brewed it only yesterday as an example for my third-years. Four bottles, all gone!

"Now, if any of you know anything, I won't be angry. Just let me know, and I'll be happy to take them back."

Branwen, who had been tapping her quill distractedly, sat bolt upright at Slughorn's revelation. Almost immediately though, she slouched back down, trying to avoid the professor's eye. The only one who noticed her moment of excitement was Regulus. His eyes narrowed at the girl in front of him, but he said nothing.

When none of the students responded, Slughorn shrugged. "Very well, then. If you see any tiny people roaming around, let me know."

Branwen was grinning widely when she sat next to her brother and friends at dinner that night. Without saying a word, she piled her plate high with shepherd's pie and hot, buttery dinner rolls. She kept smiling and humming until Peter leaned across the table. "Um, everything okay, Bran?"

She smiled, then took a smug bite from her roll. When she was sure that all eyes were on her, she swallowed and said, "I know what the Potion is."

This time they all leaned in, eager for the answer to their riddle.

"It's a Shrinking Solution."

"Wow." The boys leaned back, impressed with their inadvertent discovery. Shrinking Solutions were on their syllabus for the year, but walking out of the classroom with even one bottle would have been a one way ticket to detention.

James leaned his elbows on the table and tented his fingers. "Well, well, well. This opens up a world of opportunity. We must decide carefully how best to use this gift that has so serendipitously landed in our laps."

"There's a match tomorrow," Sirius said eagerly, "what if we shrunk the brooms? Or the balls? Or the players!"

"I like the way you think, my friend," James threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Just a minute," Remus spoke up, "if we do something so obvious, they're going to know exactly where that Shrinking Solution went. We'll get caught for sure."

"Moony, for a prank of this magnitude, it'll be worth it."

They decided on the prank that evening and even Remus had to admit that it was going to be good. The next morning, the entire school would be emptied as all the students and staff would turn out for the Hufflepuff/Slytherin match.

It was easy enough for the boys to stay behind, as they were the only ones in their dorm. Branwen had to feign a headache to Alice and Emmeline when they tried to drag her out of bed. They groaned but left her with some chocolate and their promise to wish Dorcas the best of luck.

Branwen waited nearly half an hour after her room-mates left, then threw back her covers, pulled Mrs. Lupin's poncho over her pleated skirt and raced down to meet the boys. They were just coming down the stairs from their own dorm, also dressed in casual weekend attire.

"Ready, Bon-Bon?" James threw an arm over her shoulder and wiggled one of the bottles of Shrinking Solution in his other hand.

"Ready," she grinned.

The five of them marched downstairs, more boldly than they had ever done on any of their secret missions. Today, the only ones who would be around to stop them would be Filch and Mrs. Norris, and even they could be counted on to be furtively watching the game from one of the towers facing the pitch.

They entered the Great Hall, then James nodded, "All right. You know what to do."

The three other boys spread around the room while James poured half of his phial into a spare that he handed to Branwen before running toward the Gryffindor table. Branwen ran to the front of the hall. "Ready," James lifted his hand, "go."

At the same time, each of them poured the contents of their phial onto one of the five tables in the room. The Great Hall shimmered, then seemed to grow a hundred sizes. What happened in fact, was that all of the enormous tables had shrunk to mere inches. Tables that could have easily sat over a hundred students could now barely seat a few dolls.

"Yes!" They all ran to the middle of the hall and high-fived.

"And now, we wait." They decided they would sit along the wall, hidden by the Invisibility Cloak, until they could see the reactions to their handiwork. It wasn't long before Remus, who had always thought Quidditch matches began too early, was slumped onto Branwen's head, snoring loudly.

"Why don't you shut him up, Bran?" Sirius grumbled.

"You poke him, Peter," Branwen replied, "he's squishing me."

Peter had to jab his friend several times before he jerked awake. "Huh? Oh, sorry," Remus blushed and straightened up. "Um, how much longer do you think it'll be?"

"Depends," Branwen shrugged. "You know, Regulus is playing today."

"So?" Sirius grunted.

There was an awkward silence that stretched out until Remus started to nod off again. After nearly an hour of waiting, the sound of the doors opening in the Entrance Hall echoed through the room. Remus gave a startled snore, then sat bolt upright. It was only a moment later that the doors of the Great Hall swung open.

The laughter and chatter that had been growing in volume with the approach of the students stopped as suddenly as if a silencing charm had been cast.

The first voice that floated through the hall spoke in a dreamy, yet confident manner, "Ah. Been visited by Nargles, have we? I've been expecting this ever since they put up all that mistletoe at Christmastime."

A hushed female voice chided, "Xeno!"

There was a pregnant pause before the sound of laughter started. It bubbled then swelled then exploded as the students pushed and shoved each other forward to get a look at the incredible sight of the huge hall filled with tiny tables.

Even as several of the professors made their way in, there were more chuckles than stern faces. Flitwick, especially, seemed amused, and took longer than was strictly necessary restoring the tables to their rightful size.

When the Hall was full of enough students that they thought it would be safe, James swiped off the cloak of and revealed the five Gryffindors rolling on the floor in laughter. They kept howling with delight until three exasperated students shoved their way to them. "I should have known you were involved in this, Potter."

"Lily! What a pleasant surprise," James leapt to his feet and dusted off his corduroy pants.

"Let's see," Lily pursed her lips. "Pleasant? No. A surprise? Also no."

Behind her, Snape and Regulus snickered.

"What are you looking at, Reg? Snivellus?" Sirius growled.

"Oh, nothing," Snape assumed an uninterested air. "It's just amusing how funny you find your little jokes when, in reality, they are never more than a minor inconvenience."

"An inconvenience, huh? Let's see how inconvenient this is," Sirius had just enough solution left in his phial to toss in the Slytherin's face. There was a tiny "poof," then Snape was gone and standing in front of them was a six inch miniature.

Regulus stepped back. Like Lily, he seemed disappointed, but not surprised at his brother's actions. He eyed Branwen with disdain, as though holding her accountable for everything that had happened.

Lily was having none of it though. "Sirius Black!" she screeched. "Calvorio!" A red light shot from her wand and the next thing any of them knew, Sirius was on his knees, sobbing and screaming.

The attention of the entire Hall was on them now, and as they crowded in for a closer look, they were met with a sight far stranger than that of shrunken tables. Sirius Black was clinging to the knees of Peter Pettigrew who was patting Black's completely bald head. Every strand of his long, black hair lay pooled around him, a sad remnant of its former glory.

Beside him, Lily Evans and a doll that looked suspiciously like Severus Snape, were convulsing with laughter. Regulus Black, Remus Lupin, and Branwen Potter stood nearby with their mouths agape. James Potter's wand was in his hand and he looked ready to retaliate until Professor McGonagall finally burst through the crowd.

"What in the name of Merlin is going –" When she saw them, she pinched the bridge of her nose and took a very long, deep breath. "Why am I not surprised?"

When she had gathered herself sufficiently, McGonagall gave a wave of her wand. Snape was restored to his full height and Sirius' hair reattached itself to his head. Still whimpering, Sirius' hands went to his head, combing through his lusciously restored locks with frantic excitement.

"I don't even know where to begin with you three," she looked down her nose at Lily, Sirius, and James. They had never seen her lips so tight nor her nostrils flare so wide. "By all rights, I ought to banish you two boys from Quidditch for the rest of the year."

James and Sirius looked as though they had been sentenced to execution by firing squad. McGonagall sighed. "However, I will not put the rest of the Gryffindor students in danger of losing the Cup because of your irresponsible, ludicrous behaviour. So, instead, I will expect lines from all of you," she made sure to include Lily in her pointed stare, "stating that 'I will not hex my fellow students.' Two rolls of parchment each."

Lily looked ready to argue, but quickly thought better of it and tightened her jaw.

"You will all also be missing out on the final Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Instead, you will be serving detention with Mr. Filch."

"Us too, Professor?" Peter squeaked.

McGonagall stared at him over her square-rimmed glasses. "Are you eager to receive the same punishment, Mr. Pettigrew?"

He looked down and mumbled, "No ma'am."

"Very well, then. Potter, Black, Evans, I will expect those lines on my desk tomorrow morning."

They waited until she had turned and was out of sight before groaning. "I hope you're happy, Potter," Lily jabbed him in the chest with her wand.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because spending a day with Filch is my idea of a good time." Then he winked. "Although, a day spent with you –"

She was gone before he could finish his tasteless comment.