HP FICTION: New Glasses

By Aelthwyn

Author's Note: This is my first ever fan-fiction. It's based on JK Rowling's characters James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily from the Harry Potter universe. Just a little scene I imagined of a fun day in the life of the Marauders :) I hope I have done them justice.

. . . . . . . .

James squinted at The Daily Prophet over his morning toast.

"Anything interesting?" Sirius asked squishing onto the bench next to him.

"If someone would care to hand over my glasses maybe I could tell." James's tone sounded distracted as if engrossed in one of the columns.

Sirius snatched it from his hands, trailing it in the butter. "Well maybe I'd better read it to you then." He said genially, clearing his throat in preparation and perusing for a choice headline. James glared at him.

"What!" Sirius did his best 'I'm innocent' expression. "You must admit my version of Hogwarts a History last night was much more entertaining anyways."

Remus smirked. Peter grinned. James glared on icily.

Sirius' smile fell and he went on in earnest. "James I swear I didn't hide them! I told you last night!"

"After leading me to believe you had turned them into a glass and I'd spent hours when I could have been writing that essay helping the house elves wash up and attempting to un-transfigure all those glasses!"

"It's not my fault if you're gullible and paranoid of your own friends."

Peter snorted at this suggestion.

Meanwhile Remus had rescued the newspaper from Sirius' wrinkling grasp, smoothed it out, and wiped the butter off the Minister for Magic's nose on the back of the front page. He regarded Sirius with a rather sinister proffessorly look over his cup of tea.

Sirius let out an exasperated sigh and magicked a quill to write something on his napkin. "I say, you're rather perfecting that Moony, someday they might just have to make you a Prof." He tossed the napkin across at him. Remus glanced down.

I will not hide James' glasses.

I will not hide James' glasses.

I will not hide James' glasses.

He tossed it back at him with a laugh.

Just then a late owl swooped in from above and dropped something in James' lap. "Anyway, I won't be needing anyone to read to me today, no thanks to you lot." He unwrapped the little package. "I ordered a new pair." He explained pulling out a shiny pair of spectacles. They were sort of… rectangular this time, and they all stared at him awkwardly for a moment taking in his new look.

"Well I can see what you think." James sniffed. "So spare me your remarks. I just thought I'd try something different." He finished loftily. Remus handed back his paper to which he pointedly turned his attention.

Remus glanced at Sirius. Sirius glanced at Peter. Peter glanced at James and then back at Sirius who muttered something (James was ignoring them), while surreptitiously flicking his wand behind the convenient screen of the Prophet. A moment later they were all choking down laughter.

James stood with a feigned expression of indignation. "Fine friends you are." He declared turning to go, but ran into Lily just coming to join them.

"Oh! James, they came!" She smiled a little too brightly as Peter shook his head vigorously behind James' back.

"Good morning Lily. What do you think?" He asked.

"Well…," she turn his head from side to side as if inspecting them. "They'll take some getting used to, but….. I think they really suit you." She replied ducking behind him to slide into the spot he had just vacated.

"Well at least someone likes them." James said to his three friends. "And if you think they're so awful, perhaps you'll consider giving back my old ones. Anyway, I'm going to go finish that essay somewhere without you three sniggering at me." He fixed them with a stare over his new glasses, not quite as successful as Remus' and strode away to a splutter of laughter.

"Hey James! Nice glasses." They heard someone call from further down the table as he passed.

"You know I think he might have got those ones just to annoy us," said Remus.

"Or else he intends to impersonate McGonnegal." Peter giggled.

"Not in those!" Sirius grinned madly.

"Those can't be the ones he ordered." Lily cut in.

"No no." Sirius assured her. "They were rectangular." Another bout of sniggers possessed Peter.

"He did tell us he wanted to try something different." Remus' eyes glittered in amusement. "Thanks for playing along, you were perfect."

"Honestly, the four of you!" Lily exclaimed, though she couldn't help giggling herself. "You know he'll get you all back for this, and I'd rather not be included."

"Oh don't go fix them yet!" Peter begged as she looked about to go after James, but he was already out the door, so she gave up and took the plate Sirius had just served up for her.

"We really are going to have to get the old ones back now though." Said Sirius, "And I Didn't take them!"

"I suppose it must have been….." Peter stopped. "Well, he lost them sometime on Friday right?"

Remus shot him a knowing glance. "Yes, we'll have to do a thorough search, later."

"I suppose I could go sniff around….." Sirius began.

"No I will." Peter cut in. "We've got potions with Slytherin today and I'd rather miss it."

Lily gave him reproving glance, mixed with sympathy.

"All right, if you can't root them out we'll put our heads together again before dinner." Remus nodded to them.

"Well I don't know what you two are still sitting around here for, but I'm not going to miss the fun!" Sirius said getting up to head after James with a pile of toast in his hand. "Pardon us Lily." He bowed gallantly at her with a wicked grin on his face and the other two rose to follow him with nods and smiles wishing her a good morning.

. . . . . . . .

"We should make the map show things as well as people." Peter whispered to Remus as they exited the great hall.

"Yes but which things?" Remus replied, "There'd be too many among all the quills and fizzing whizbees in people's pockets."

"Oh."

Sirius was munching distractedly at his toast and craning his neck for their quarry. He tapped their shoulders before pointing at the door to the library.

James was just emerging, still apparently oblivious to the Hot Pink-Rhinestoned-Cats-Eye glasses perched upon his nose. All three nearly doubled over laughing and ducked behind a pillar as James turned their direction. The hall was starting to get thick with people heading toward their first classes and they watched as people gaped and prodded each other as James passed. Several more people 'complimented' James on his glasses with dubious expressions before he began glancing around suspiciously. Then a group of Slytherins suddenly barred his way, and Sirius nudged the others to sneak 'round and back him up.

"Nice specs, Potter!" one of them sneered.

"Why thank you." He replied with sarcastically sunny politeness, just to spite them.

"Going to start a girl's band?" another laughed.

His smile froze and he reached up suspiciously. Just then plastic flowers sprouted from the corners of his glasses and squirted the lot of them as Sirius and Remus appeared at each of his shoulders for the face off. In the cries and commotion that followed there was a sudden flash and several people tripped over someone who must have slipped in the puddle.

"Great look, Flower Pot!" one who hadn't gotten wet called as the Slytherins broke up in a mixture of curses and hysterics.

"Thanks, Pal." James said through gritted teeth shoving the ridiculous glasses at Sirius as he watched them depart. Sirius put them on and beamed 'round at them. They all burst into laughter clutching each other as they staggered down the hall.

Sirius reached for the classroom door, apparently with every intention of wearing them inside.

"Wait! Give them here!" James grabbed them. On the backside they did look vaguely rectangular and innocently black, so he didn't feel too bad about not realizing sooner. "All right change them back" he prodded Sirius.

"You wanted something different!" he insisted still laughing. "Anyway, serves you right for not believing your best friend!"

"All right, all right, I'm sorry." James said grinning and shaking his head.

"Serves him right for intending to annoy us with them too." Remus put in.

Sirius made an exaggerated mournful sigh as he halfheartedly raised his wand at the glasses.

"Don't worry Sirius" Peter whispered loud enough for James to hear "I got a picture."

James made a pretend clout at Peter's head and fixed the glasses himself. "Come on!" he said grabbing Peter and Sirius by the sleeves as Remus opened the door. He shot a wink at Remus, as he pushed Sirius in before him and muttered something behind his back. Sirius' eyebrows sprouted into one thick bushy mass as he slipped into his customary seat at the back of class. "How long till someone notices?" James whispered, grinning at Remus who slipped in quietly after them.

"Well Binns certainly won't" Remus muttered, with a light in his eye that bet James it would last till next class.

. . . . . . . .

"I don't know. I think I rather like them." James said looking at himself in the bathroom mirror later that afternoon.

Sirius snorted catching sight of his enormous unibrow which he'd been pretending not to notice all day, forcing the others to keep having to stifle fits of laughter during class.

"You can't be serious James. It's like, changing your nose or something!" he exclaimed indignantly.

"You just don't look like you." Peter said.

"People change their glasses all the time. You just have to get used to it." James replied. "I think they make me look more calculating, don't you think?" he tried out a glare over the top of the narrow flat rims.

"I don't know. I think I rather like this." Sirius threatened, mimicking James' inspection of himself.

"You wouldn't!" James and Peter both cried.

"Oh I'm sure he would." Said Remus dryly. He leaned on James' shoulder to get into the mirror frame along with them so he could stare at James pointedly in it "But if you insist on keeping these, I think one of us will have to actually confiscate them."

They stared at themselves, the four of them, for a moment and then broke into laughter again as Sirius made faces in the mirror, doing his best to imitate gorillas and trolls.

. . . . . . . .

"Why don't you just enchant them to look like your old ones?" Lily suggested over dinner that evening. "Not that these are bad, but, you know…"

"Oh, now it's a matter of principle." Remus explained, talking as if James wasn't there. "I'm sure he will eventually if we stop bugging him about it."

James gave a sort of noncommittal nod.

"Anyway, sorry about this morning, James." She said as she got up to leave, her eyes lit with the amusing memory.

"Don't apologize!" Sirius cried, "Old 'Flower Pot' here deserved every minute of that and you know it."

James laughed along with them, "That really was a brilliant touch. Totally caught me off guard when I started squirting them!" He grinned broadly.

"I wish you'd gotten a picture of their faces!" Sirius laughed.

"Well I would have if I hadn't been trodden on." Peter grumbled good-naturedly.

"I think Peter deserves a reward for braving the enemy ranks in this escapade" Remus clapped his arm round Peter's shoulder. "How about repaying him those sugar quills you owe him James?"

"What! Reward him for taking that picture!"

"It has been over a month you've owed me!" Peter piped up on cue.

"Oh….well all right." James relented as they all got up from the table.

"Meet you back in Gryffindor Tower." He waved them on as he turned to head toward the one-eyed-witch.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked confused.

"Uh…..Secret stash." James glanced furtively at the others.

"Top secret" Sirius added darkly, steering Lily back to the tower with them.

Five minutes later James dropped carefully to the ground of the passage to Honeydukes and saw glowing in the darkness his old round-rimed glasses, now enchanted to shine in rainbow color sitting atop a large bag of sweets. So that's where Peter was during Potions today! He must have scoured the grounds for them that afternoon. James inspected the bag. By the number of pepper-imps he figured Sirius must have sent him with a special order, and a donation, probably from James' wallet, for the sugar quills while he was at it. He grinned, pocketed the bag and switched his glasses before hurrying back after his friends.