So, I was going to write my monthly one-shot, but decided to keep going with this one... it's fun. And some of my friends keep telling me I should write more Marauder Humor, so... Here it is!
The next chapter is half done, so it shouldn't take long to put up. But this is going to be my fun fic; something to write when I am bored... I am going to try and stick to what we know about the Marauders, but there will be no (or at least, not many) references to the war. I was just curious as to where a giant game of truth or dare with the marauders would go... I have a lot of ideas, but any truth questions or dare suggestions will be much appreciated!
Also, if you want a quick summary, scroll down a little... there's a general overview of the Game the Marauders are going to play. Should give you a fairly decent idea...
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, the Marauders, or even Waltzing Matilda... though those lyrics were something that just flew out of my fingers in a moment of utter boredom when I couldn't decide how to start the story!
Chapter One
SUNDAY: Waltzing and Rulebooks
"Once a jelly slug-man, sitting by the billy-a-bang…"
"Sirius…."
"Under the shade of the Cool-a-something tree,"
"Sirius..."
"And he sang as he waited for his kettle to boil,"
"Sirius!"
"Want to come waltzing with Matilda and me!"
"SIRIUS! Shut up!"
"Waltzing with Matilda, Waltzing with Matilda, do you want to come waltzing with Matilda and me? And he sang as waited for his kettle to boil, want to come waltzing with Matilda and me? You know, I've always wondered about that song…" mused Sirius. "I mean, what sort of a title is 'Waltzing with Matilda?"
"First, Sirius, it's just Waltzing Matilda, Second, can you please be qui-" Remus was cut off by Sirius as he began to sing again, deciding he didn't mind about the strange title.
"Up came a jumping bat to swim at that billy-a-bang, Up jumped the jelly slug-man and stole his mon-ney, and he sang as he shoved that jumping bat in his schoo-ool bag, you'll come a waltzing with Matilda and me!"
Remus' mutter of 'those aren't even the right words' was drowned out as Sirius sang the chorus loudly, then moved onto the next verse.
"Up flew the ministry official mounted on his Cle-eansweep, Down came the Aurors, Ex-pel-liar-mus! Who does that jumping bat be-e-e-e-long to, You'll have to come waltzing with Matilda and me!"
"What on earth is going on?" cried Lily, walking down from the girls dormitories. "It sounded like a Banshee with a sore throat!"
"Sirius is attempting to sing traditional Australian Muggle songs," said Remus.
"Why is 'attempting' in there?" demanded Sirius.
Remus looked pointedly at a group of first years who were huddled in the corner with the hands over their ears. Sirius shrugged and started up again.
"Up jumped the jelly slug-man and committed suicide, yelling 'you'll never ever catch me alive!', And his ghost still lurks a-about that billy-a-bang, singing and waltzing with Mat-il-da!"
"Oh good, are you finished?" groaned Remus.
"Yep!" said Sirius. "What shall I sing next?"
"Oh please no," muttered Lily. "Spare us the horror!"
"Hey guys!" said James, walking into the Common room.
"Where have you been?" asked Remus, "You were meant to have been back ages ago!"
"Yeah, but I could hear a Banshee wailing, and thought I better wait outside till it stopped."
"Hey! That's two of you that think I sound like a Banshee!"
"Just telling it like it is, Pads." James threw himself onto the floor next to Lily and took her hand. Sirius sighed.
"Well, seeing as no one appreciates my singing, what do you say to a game?"
"Of what?" asked Lily hesitantly as Remus and James groaned.
"Of The Game, of course!"
"The Game?"
"Yes, The Game."
"Well, what is The Game?"
"So you'll play? Brilliant!"
"I never said-"
"Prongs, you in mate?"
"Well, I guess I better, just to make sure that you don't-"
"Okay then. Moony?"
"Well actually-"
"Brilliant!"
"Pads-"
"Nuh-uh Moony, you're in. Lils, go get Alice and other people… it's no fun with just four. James, go get food. I'll find Peter. Moony, You just sit tight here and under no circumstances, and I mean no circumstances, even if the common room catches on fire, or you to run off. Some-one might steal our spot."
A few minutes later and everyone was sitting down in a circle in front of the fire. Everyone included Sirius, James, Remus, Lily, Peter, Alice Prewett, Frank Longbottom and Hestia Jones. Frank shared the Marauders dormitory, and Hestia and Alice shared Lily's and were her best friends (also the girlfriends of Sirius and Frank respectively.)
By now, they had all come to the realization that the game Sirius wanted to play was some form of Truth or Dare.
"Alright, as I picked the Game and made the rules, I get to go first," said Sirius.
"Hold up," said Alice, "You said 'rules', as in plural. You only told us that we can't pick the person that picked us."
"Oh yes, sorry about that," said Sirius. "Right, rules." Instead of going off on a long speech like everyone expected him too, he waved his wand, and sixteen pieces of parchment flew down the stairs and separated into two different piles. He then waved his wand a second time, and writing appeared on one of the piles of parchment. He then handed out one of these to each person. "Here you go." He then set to work on the second pile, muttering several incantations before handing that out to the others as well. Lily, Hestia, Alice and Frank were confused.
"What's this for?" asked Lily.
"The Game," said Sirius, "is not an ordinary game of Truth or Dare. Read the rules."
Lily glanced at her parchment and began to read.
THE GAME
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The person who suggested to play the game goes first. They must pick someone and ask them Truth or Dare. The person asked MUST ANSWER. They must answer their truth or do their dare. If they don't, the person who gave them the dare may come up with three alternatives with NO RULES and then they will be voted on by the others. If that is not completed, they will go a day stark naked. Yes, that really is a rule. These parchments have been charmed so that the moment your quill touches the paper you will have an urge to comply to the rules.
The Game will last for an entire week, never ending (YES, that is twenty-four hours!) Ask your questions/give dares using the other parchment. If one person writes something, it will appear on everyone else's, also. Don't worry, Lillikins, If a teacher (or anyone else) looks at the parchment, it will simply look like notes from the subject you are in at the time or that you last had. Yeah, it took us ages to find that spell. You will receive a watch which will become warm when someone has written something on the parchment. It will also wake you up during the night if your name is written on the parchment. The time on the watch is not the time, but the amount of time left until the end of the game. (See rule #12 for more info)
The rules are written below. If you break the rules, the punishment is the same as the chicken.
Have fun!
RULES
1. You cannot pick the person who picked you.
2. You cannot play in teams; that is a different game.
3. You cannot give a dare that includes being completely naked (unless it is a chicken.)
4. You cannot harm anyone other than a Slytherin or one who is on the Marauder hit list (such as Amos Diggory.)
5. You cannot permanently change some-ones appearance or damage any property.
6. For the duration of the game you can't tell anyone you are playing a game or doing a dare.
7. Truths can't be repeated to any person not playing.
8. You can't let anyone else see your parchment.
9. You must complete (or at least start, if it is a long one) your dare within an hour of receiving it, unless it is a dare that can only be performed at a certain time, say, lunch, or if the darer says 'after classes finish' or something similar.
10. You must wear your watch at all times.
11. You must pick someone else within five minutes of your dare/truth ending.
12. If someone is put in detention, the game pauses and the extra time is added to the end.
13. RULES MAY BE ADDED IF THEY ARE PASSED BY A 75% MAJORITY. (Note from Sirius: for those of you who can't do that percentage in your head, with 8 people playing that's 6 people that must agree.)
Lily paused as she finished reading. Then something registered in her mind.
"This is going to last for a whole week!" she shrieked.
"Whoa, calm Lils!" soothed Sirius, "It's okay! Christmas holidays are next week, we won't get any assignments due before then, and we can do our usual homework and play at the same time."
"Well, I guess…"
"I've done it before Lily, don't worry," said Remus.
"Well, I guess then…"
"Lighten up, Lily! This sounds fun!" exclaimed Hestia. Alice nodded in agreement, while Frank continued to stare wide eyed at the page.
"So, when do we start?" asked Alice.
"Eight," said James. "Everyone must be at breakfast tomorrow morning by five to eight in order to receive watches, then the Game will begin."
"But tomorrow's Monday," whined Hestia. "I the waking up that early on a Monday…"
"Hest, our classes start at eight thirty!" said Alice.
"I know that, but I don't need half an hour to eat!" growled Hestia.
"Hang on a sec," said Frank as he re-read the rules, "Do people often get into detention while playing this game?"
"Duh," said Sirius. "It's basically truth or dare."
"So, yes then?"
"You know," mused Lily, "I had never gotten into detention before I met you lot."
"I thought you met us on the first day of Hogwarts?" said Peter, frowning. Sirius guffawed and reached across to high five him.
"You know what I mean," shrugged Lily. "I got my first ever detention two days after I started to date James. Doesn't that tell you something?"
"James is really good at teaching people how to have fun?"
"Urgh. I give up."
"Really? That's not like you."
"Shut up, James!"
"Sorry!"
"Alright! Quiet!" cried Remus. "If we are going to play the Game this week, we all need to get as much rest as we can for we won't be getting much until next Sunday! So, everyone needs to get a quill and sign in on the paper."
"How do we do that?" asked Alice, pulling out a quill.
"Easy. Just write the pass code, and then Alice Prewett, signing in," said Sirius.
"What's the pass code?" asked Frank. "And why is there one?"
"Because other whys anyone could join in on the conversation," said Remus, the he leaned in and said quietly, "the pass code is Jumping Jiffer-Jugs."
"We needed something no-one would guess," Sirius explained when everyone raised their eyebrows. "Oh, and the first letter of your name will appear after what you have written. That way we don't have to try and decipher handwriting."
Shaking her head, Lily wrote on the parchment. The others followed her lead.
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Lily Evans, signing in. –L
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, James Potter, signing in. –J
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Sirius Black, signing in. –S
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Peter Pettigrew, signing in. –P
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Frank Longbottom, signing in. –F
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Alice Prewett, signing in. –A
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Hestia Jones, signing in. –H
"Moony..." said Sirius in what he probably thought was a threatening tone.
"Fine," muttered Remus.
Jumping Jiffer-Jugs, Remus Lupin, signing in. –R
The writing appeared on everyone's parchment.
"Great," said Remus. "Now, let's get some rest. We'll need it."
"And don't forget," said James, after kissing Lily good night, "Five to Eight. No excuses."
So, does it sound interesting enough? As I said before, Suggestions are very welcome!
And don't worry, the next chapters will be longer. I just wanted to explain the Game in this one.