Revenge

The balcony was not very spacious. The walls were of stone with warm, earthy tones, they were skillfully intertwined with vines that looked like they had been there for a long time. Through the sale was a panoramic view of the lake and the Forbidden Forest.

"Yes, very beautiful. How long ago did you find it?" asked James.

"Last year. When... we fought. That's why I didn't show it to you. The view is much more beautiful at sunset," replied Gwen.

"Do you want to wait until sunset? I prepared a small meal," added Gwen, pointing to a small wooden table.

On top of the table was a small circular tray with cream scones, a couple of sweet cakes, and two cups of tea.

'It's a couple of hours until dawn,' thought James. The quidditch match didn't last too long. It was barely two o'clock in the afternoon.

However, he knew he couldn't say no. Gwen showed him her secret place and prepared a snack. It would be very rude of him. Besides, he wanted to snack with her.

"Of course I do. I'm hungry. To what do I owe the honor?" asked James as he poured tea into both cups.

"For your first Quidditch victory and catching the snitch. Although it was very dangerous that last move you made," replied Gwen, taking James by surprise. He hadn't expected her to have set this all up for him.

"Oh... thanks..." said James after a few seconds and looking at Gwen in surprise.

"What? Is it so hard to believe that I prepared a simple snack?" said Gwen a little annoyed.

"Actually, yes. What poor house elf did you put to work on a Sunday?" joked James.

"Shut up and eat," said Gwen, punching James' arm.

Gwen and James chatted and snacked. At about five o'clock they were able to watch a beautiful sunset. After saying, goodbye James headed for the library.

...

Over the next week, James' routine remained unchanged. Saturday was the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw game. Unlike last year, Ravenclaw this year was much improved and managed to give Slytherin a fight.

Rabastan Lestrange had joined the team as a chaser. He wasn't doing badly at all. Like James and Sirius, he had the best broom on the market.

Although they played better, it was not enough for the Ravenclaw team. Slytherin's seeker caught the Snitch, and the match ended 200-110. Gryffindor remained in first place, followed by Slytherin. Then Ravenclaw and lastly Hufflepuff.

James also brewed the laxative potion with the ingredients delivered by Henry through the post. In the time he had free they thought together with the marauders a foolproof method to make Professor Eustace drink the potion and not get caught.

They hatched a plan but would put it into action over the next few days. The most important event was that Lupin told the other marauders about his lycanthropy. He had no choice, as James caught the snitch.

With James' support, they gathered in the Room of Requirement, and he told them why he mysteriously disappeared once a month. When Lupin said he was a werewolf, Sirius exclaimed, "I knew it!" With complete nonchalance, not giving the subject the seriousness it deserved.

The Black boy had begun to suspect it a few weeks ago, and it turned out he was right. He didn't care that Lupin was a werewolf. He always said that marauders were loyal, so he didn't look down on Lupin.

Toby had hardly any knowledge about werewolves. He didn't understand anything. James had to explain to him about the discrimination they suffer and the fear everyone has of werewolves because they can infect you.

Upon hearing this, Toby felt very sorry for Lupin, and to cheer him up he said he would keep it a secret until he died.

The most frightened one was Peter. Seeing that everyone was accepting and supportive of Lupin, he ended up encouraging him, although in his eyes James could see fear.

James was able to take a weight off his shoulders. Even though he wasn't the one suffering from lycanthropy. He was pleased that now Lupin had the support of all the marauders.

...

"Tomorrow is the day. We leave everything in your hands," said James, who was in the Gryffindor common room.

As usual, the marauders were sitting in the chair, but there were two more people. They were the Prewett brothers.

"Take it easy. We'll take care of it. We'll ask Peeves for help," said Fabian with an evil grin.

"Yes. That bald fucker will get what, he deserved," nodded Gideon laughing at the big joke that was coming.

To manage to create a distraction, James enlisted the help of the two brothers, who always joined in on the pranks.

When Eustace came out of the classroom to try to stop whatever they were doing, James would act and pour the laxative potion into the professor's teacup.

Toby had noticed that Professor Eustace always drank tea while reading scrolls that no one knew what they were about. The professor's classes were rather self-taught.

After forcing the students to perform embarrassing movements, he gave them the task of reading silently, while he did his business and always drank tea.

The next day in the DADA classroom everyone was quietly reading their useless books. Professor Eustace as usual was engrossed in his papers. Next to him was a cup of tea that was giving off spirals of steam.

Suddenly a clatter was heard. Coming from the outskirts of the room. More and more explosions could be heard in the distance. Everyone looked up in surprise, the same was true for Professor Eustace.

'What kind of distraction are they creating...?' thought James. The Prewett brothers wanted it to be a surprise their big distraction.

The door to the classroom opened abruptly. Gideon walked in sweating and breathing heavily.

"Professor Eustace... phew... it's bad," he said as he inhaled and exhaled sharply.

"What happened?" the bald man asked in alarm as he rose from his seat. The explosions were still being heard.

"It's Peeves... He's got hundreds of fireworks, and he's throwing them all over the castle! It's a chaos of dazzling sparkles in every direction! We were in History of Magic class when he suddenly appeared. Professor Cuthbert Binns can't do anything!" explained Gideon in a loud tone for all to hear.

"Where are Professor McGonagall and the other professors?" asked Eustace.

"They've already gone looking for them, but they're not showing up. We need help to stop Peeves," said Gideon with pleading eyes.

"Come on..." said Eustace half-heartedly and followed Gideon.

The classroom was left without a teacher. Everyone looked at each other in surprise at Peeves' sudden prank. The explosions of fireworks could still be heard. It seemed like a big festival.

The curiosity of all the boys began to grow. What would it be like to see the scene of hundreds of fireworks?

"What are we waiting for? Let's go, watch the fireworks!" harrumphed Sirius, waving his arm and walking out of the hall. All the Gryffindor students, even the girls followed him. No one wanted to miss such a scene. It didn't happen every day.

The Slytherin students looked at each other unsurely. Curiosity got the better of them, and little by little they got up and ran towards the noise of the explosions with the others.

Only seven people were left in the hall. All from Gryffindor. James, Lupin, Toby, Peter, Lily, Jasmine and Khanna.

James got up from his seat and walked over to his teacup, which was still full. From one of his pockets, he pulled out a small glass jar that had a very disgusting dark green liquid in it.

The others, including the girls, stood up and surrounded the professor's writing looking at the teacup and as James poured several drops into the cup.

"Put a few more drops in it," Jasmine said, and James complied.

"Good, good. Let that bald fucker have diarrhea for several days," Khanna said with a look of hatred on her face. It was etched in her mind the times the professor humiliated her in front of the class by making stupid moves.

Khanna Grey was one of Lily's best friends. She had black hair, and dark skin and wore thick, black-framed glasses. She didn't stand out as a friendly girl.

"That'll do it. We can't let them get suspicious. We have to follow the whole crowd," said Lily, who like her friends hated Eustace.

The hatred was mutual for all the Gryffindor students. To the point that smarty pants, Lily Evans joined in on the joke and agreed.

James and everyone else quickly exited the hall. Following the crowd that wanted to watch the fireworks and the ruckus Peeves was creating.

Fifteen minutes were between three teachers to be able to shoo Peeves away and take away all the fireworks he had.

"Tsch that damn Poltergeist. Where the hell did he get so many fireworks?" cursed Professor Eustace under his breath as he entered the classroom followed by all the students.

"At what point did I allow them to leave?" said Eustace loudly and angrily as he watched the students sit at their desks. No one said anything.

The kind personality Eustace seemed to have was a total lie. At first, he was that way, but he always showed that he was nasty and unfair. He had little patience, explained nothing, and within minutes if someone disturbed him from his reading he was already shouting.

"Damn brats," he mumbled under his breath as he grabbed his cup of tea and lifted it to his mouth. He had grown very tired of trying to stop Peeves. Tea wasn't the best thing, but it was the only thing he had on hand.

James and the others, who were aware of what was about to happen watched carefully as Eustace drank the tea.

"Delicious," muttered Eustace, putting the cup back in its place, "Carry on with your reading," he added in a high tone as he went back to reading his papers.

At one point in the silence of the room, a loud, high-pitched stomach rumbling sound was heard. Everyone looked up from their books to the professor.

The sound continued. It sounded like an out-of-tune instrument that did not bode well.

The bald man's face twisted. For every second, the pains inside his stomach intensified and became louder and louder. First the fireworks, and now this.

Eustace jumped up from his chair clutching his stomach with his hand. He was half crouched down. Without saying a word he began to walk unobtrusively towards the door.

With every step he took, he felt more pain that transformed into a sharp sensation that pushed him forward.

"What happened Professor? Are you all right?" asked James in a concerned tone. The marauders had to hold back their laughter at their friend's mischief.

"Yes..." said Eustace, but just then a high-pitched sound emerged from his backside, audible to all.

All the students, including the Slytherin students, had to hold in their laughter. The professor quickly opened the door and started running to the bathrooms. His only salvation in these hard times.

James, Sirius, and the others got up and went to the door. They watched the professor running. On the bottom of his light green robe, a brown stain could be seen. On the stone floor, he left a trail of liquid shit.

The students who observed this began to laugh out loud. Even some from Slytherin like Mulciber or Avery. Minus Snape and Emily, but on their grim faces they had a faint smile.

"He got what he deserved!" said Sirius to the laughter of the whole room and high-fiving James.