• Serena Black •

„Revenge may be wicked,
but it's natural."

"So Sirius is Padfoot?", Fred summarised once more after Serena had told them both about her bet with her father. His mouth was slightly open and pure amazement had entered his eyes, as if he couldn't believe being in the house of not one but two of his idols.

"As in the marauder's map?", George also checked again for good measure, to guarantee that he had understood it all correctly. The twins exchanged sceptical glances as they squatted on their single beds in their assigned guest room. Normally it was a double bed made of dark wood, like the ones in the rest of the bedrooms except Serena's. They must have pushed it apart.

Clothes were scattered wildly around the room, which was also light. On the beds, on the desk in the far corner and the armchair in front of it. Everywhere but apparently in the spacious wardrobe, whose doors were mirrored. But much to Serena's chagrin, there was absolutely nothing to suggest the twins' secret machinations.

"I just told you," she sighed, flicking impatiently against the hem of the burgundy duvet on George's bed, where she sat cross-legged. "Remus is Moony, Harry's father was Prongs and.... um... Scabbers, well Peter Pettigrew is Wormtail."

The two gave each other another bewildered look. Then their long, freckle-covered faces began to light up before they simultaneously said, "Totally rad!"

"So, are you going to help me or not?" she asked hopefully. She could literally feel the mischievousness sparkling in her brown eyes. She was ready to finally win her bet. Especially now, when her father had long since stopped expecting her to seek revenge. Let him be safe, after all.

"Sounds like a challenge, Gred," George said, addressing his brother. He playfully raised one of his red eyebrows. So far that it almost disappeared behind his shoulder-length hair of the same colour.

"You're right on the money there, Forge," Fred agreed with him and began to grin meaningfully. "Surely we can't pass up the opportunity to frame Hogwarts' biggest troublemakers, after us of course."

Now they were both beaming from ear to ear. "Of course we're in!"

"Come here, Serena!" George beckoned the Gryffindor to join him on the other side of the bed. Curious, Serena crawled up to him as he bent down and pulled something out from under the bed box. It was a large wooden box, which he then hoisted onto the mattress with a groan and emptied its contents onto the down duvet. "We invented all this ourselves," he announced proudly. "And as luck would have it, we've been looking for someone to test the items on all summer."

"What is all this?" asked Serena, her eyes wide as she rambled over the craziest items she had ever seen. She couldn't do anything with any of them and didn't even dare to guess what they were all about.

"For example, here we have various toffees, fake wands..."

Embarrassed, Serena cleared her throat and felt an unwanted memory return, making her cheeks glow red. "About that... We should probably leave the latter."

Though the twins exchanged puzzled glances, they thankfully did not inquire further. Otherwise, they would probably never be able to take Serena seriously again and would tease her about it just as their father already did. She had caught even Remus pulling up the corners of his mouth at times.

"You know, the key to a perfect prank," Fred began with a meaningful grin before revealing the supposed secret of their successes, "is lots and lots of little different pranks."

"Because that's what creates the surprise effect," George added with a vigorous nod. "Because after the first one, the victim usually lulls himself into a sense of security."

By the time the night had gradually reached its peak and it was almost time for it to be light outside again, the three of them were thinking up a wide variety of pranks and discussing how best to proceed. Serena was in good spirits when she finally slipped back into her room with a satisfied look on her face. The very next morning they would put their plans into action and in the evening her father would experience a blue miracle in which Remus would not be spared either.

So that her father, as George had said, would be lulled into a sense of security, a diversion was first on their agenda. In the afternoon, he sat with Remus at the dining table in the living room, as he often did. Beside Serena's godfather, Monster, the Puffskein he'd got from Hagrid the previous term, hummed blissfully on the back of the sofa beside him. The poor thing had become so damn clingy since the Weasleys had come to visit, which was probably due to the fact that Ginny was quite fond of the little creature and didn't want to leave him alone.

Unobtrusively, Serena made sure that no one else was downstairs and signalled to the twins that they could begin to put their plan into action. Fred and George crouched behind the white painted staircase balustrade while Serena tried to shuffle into the kitchen as slowly and naturally as possible.

"Would you like a piece of yesterday's apple pie?" she called out as she passed, and just as she had expected, she promptly received positive responses. No one in this house could resist something sweet for long, especially Remus. Serena had to grin a little to herself as she took two pieces of cake out of the fridge and sprinkled one of them with as much onion salt as she could muster so that it was impossible to miss.

"Serena, would you be so kind as to put on some tea for me too?" asked Remus aloud, which only added to Serena's grin. They hadn't chosen the afternoon for their first coup by chance. It was the time she knew her godfather always drank his tea and on this day it would be enhanced with one of the twins' own creations.

A little later, Serena carefully carried the tray containing a pot of tea and two pieces of cake into the living room. The scent of hot tea leaves rose to her nose, paired with a penetrating smell of onions. But the thing that was supposed to give her victory could not be detected by its smell. Not even to the naked eye. The Gryffindor again made sure to shove the prepared apple pie under her father's nose. After all, she hadn't had to sacrifice two pieces at once. She set out a bowl of sweets for herself, from which she fished out a lemon drop.

As expected, her father turned up his nose and looked at her, shaking his head. His disappointment was plain to see as he sighed, "Are you serious, Serena?"

"What?" she asked, trying to look as innocent as possible as she popped the drop into her mouth. Sizzling, the lemony taste spread across her tongue and tingled slightly in her mouth.

"You put onions or something in my cake." He looked at her with amusement and his mouth twisted into a mocking grin. He ran a finger over the light powder that looked like it was just icing sugar. "I really thought you'd learned from your mistake."

Serena tried to mimic an angry expression. Then she slapped both palms on the table and stood up. Fine, maybe that was a little too dramatic. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?" she whined plaintively. "I really tried, I wanted you to be proud of me, but instead you laugh at me and belittle all my attempts!"

She felt that a little tear had actually gathered in her eyelids, but she probably had the extremely sour drop to thank for that rather than her acting skills. Then she turned on her heel and fled up the marble staircase. Not a second too late, because she couldn't have hidden a laugh any longer. She just couldn't stay serious about something like that. Especially not with the look her father had given her. His mouth open in amazement and pure confusion in his stormy grey eyes.

The twins also grinned broadly and gave both thumbs up when she crouched down behind the railing. Together they watched intently as the action continued through a tiny gap between the wooden posts lined up next to each other.

"Maybe you were a little hard on her," Serena could hear her godfather say as he poured himself boiling hot tea into a china cup with a blue diamond pattern. "Maybe you should have just played along, then we could go on living in peace now."

"You think?" Disgusted, Sirius pushed the plate of onion tart away from him and instead pulled up the bowl of sweets Serena had left. Holding their breath, the three of them watched as he popped one of the toffees into his mouth. Serena felt excitement building in the pit of her stomach. Their plan was working so flawlessly, as if the situation was playing out before them like a movie script.

A few seconds passed when Serena could feel her heart pulsing in her chest. Then her father began to retch and his cheeks puffed out. Shortly after, an elongated, pink thing spilled out of his mouth. Serena had to take a deep breath to keep from laughing out loud. She put both hands in front of her face and tried to laugh as silently as possible.

Her cheeks were burning and she was desperately gasping for air, which threatened to run out with every further fit of laughter. Meanwhile, Fred and George had rammed their fists into their mouths. There was no trace left of their freckles, so red had they turned that their faces could easily rival their hair.

Remus stared at his friend, puzzled. But then he laughed too. It was as hearty as Serena had ever heard him. Desperately, he struggled for breath to say something. "Looks like your daughter just set you up."

All he got in reply was an unintelligible lisp. Still in complete shock, Sirius now began to scan his overly large tongue, glaring angrily with wide eyes. Remus, meanwhile, was sipping his tea, but there was still a deeply amused expression on his face, so that he was apparently finding it difficult to lift the cup to the twitching corners of his mouth. "Apparently she does...."

Serena grunted into her palm as her godfather grabbed his neck in shock. For the voice he had spoken in sounded so nothing like his usual. It had been far too high-pitched and squeaky that it had sounded more like a house elf.

"What is this?" he asked in an increasingly panicked and hysterical voice that matched the feminine voice that now came out of his mouth. Again a loud laugh filled the room, but this time it came from his friend, who was still struggling with his much too large tongue, so it sounded much more like a loud retch.

"Serena!", Remus then called out in a voice that at first made Serena's blood run cold, as well as the twins'. "Will you come down here, please?"

Having digested the initial shock, Fred, George and Serena couldn't help but laugh at the crooning voice of Professor Snape that was now coming out of Remus' mouth. Not even he himself could hide the telltale twitching corners of his mouth now. Serena took a few deep breaths before complying with her godfather's request with a poker face.

As if she couldn't hold back a breath, she asked while still on the stairs, "What is it, Remus?"

"Explain, please," he asked her, now in Dumbledore's voice. Remus seemed to be trying hard to keep a serious expression as he pointed first at a panting Sirius and then at his tea.

Serena shrugged and pretended it was perfectly normal for her father to be sitting at the dinner table with a gigantic tongue. But her expression began to crumble, she wouldn't be able to stand it much longer before she would be shaken by fits of laughter again. "Looks like someone didn't want to finish his cake."

Her father tried to say something, but even with his wild gestures, she couldn't interpret it. He got so worked up that Serena was briefly afraid he might choke. But his red face was probably more from anger than from a need to breathe.

Remus ignored it too. "And the tea?" he asked, sighing. His voice was now as high-pitched as a mouse's in an animated film. Serena just couldn't take either of them seriously at that moment. The air in her lungs began to build up, demanding to be expelled in loud laughter.

"Sorry, Remus!" she merely shouted hastily, turning back around so they couldn't see her wide grin. She jogged up the stairs to where the twins were waiting for her and raised their hands to high-five. That was just going to be the first round.

The three of them had to wait until early evening for the next prank they had prepared, until it finally bore fruit. It was solemnly called 'The Vanished Key', and although Serena, with the help of the twins, had already successfully fooled her father and Remus, she couldn't resist extending her winning streak a little further.

Fred and George had also tasted blood. They couldn't stop speculating about other possible pranks they could play on the two marauders and other current residents. But for Serena's part, today was enough for her. She didn't want to overdo it. Besides, she had to admit that it was really quite exhausting to be constantly on the lookout and not to draw too much attention to herself. Playing tricks was an art in itself.

With a hidden Extendable Ear at their destination, the counterpart of which was in the possession of the twins and Serena, they crouched behind the parapet of the stairs again, but this time a little further to the left so that they had the entrance area in view. The Extendable Ear was also an invention of the twins, allowing them to hear distant conversations as if they were standing right next to them. To Serena, they reminded her a little of spy films, where a bug was attached to the enemy to spy on them.

After what felt like an eternity, the time had finally come. The twins had had to wake Serena, because she had dozed off for a moment with her head leaning against George's shoulder. It had simply been far too boring to crouch behind the wooden parapet for hours, waiting for someone to finally leave the house or lock up. Since they had been busy planning their pranks the previous night, it was also no wonder that her eyes had fallen shut.

"W-what?" she mumbled a little dazedly as she opened her eyes and first had to get her bearings. Embarrassed, she took her head off George's shoulder, but she couldn't be ashamed of it for particularly long and hope she hadn't drooled, because hastily Fred pointed downwards.

Serena stretched her stiff limbs and peered through a crack. Her father was working on the lock of the front door when he suddenly began to look around in wonder. The Gryffindor had to grin. Maybe she was beginning to like it after all. At least when the pranks worked, it was a great feeling to trick others. Like a flight of fancy or a win at Quidditch. Like her hard work was paying off.

"That smile suits you," George whispered in her ear and she felt the hint of a blush creep onto her cheeks. Quickly she tried to refocus on what was happening in the entrance hallway of Crystal Cottage, where footsteps approached someone cursing loudly.

"What are you doing on the floor?" they could hear Remus ask, his normal voice again. They couldn't see him though, as he was out of their line of sight.

Again Sirius cursed, "I swear, a few seconds ago I had the key! But when I went to lock up, it was suddenly gone."

Serena expelled the air with an amused sound. Amusement was also audible in her godfather's voice and when he stepped forward, there was actually a smirk on his lips. "You mean almost like it disappeared?"

"You..."

Appeasingly, Remus raised his hands as if he were on trial. "Innocent."

"Do you think Serena has something to do with this?" asked Sirius thoughtfully, and although his daughter had already successfully tricked him, he sounded as if this was rather absurd in his mind. Somewhat offended, Serena sucked in a breath, glad that they hadn't left it at just the one prank.

"Hmm... Let's see, daughter of a marauder, currently lives in a house with two marauders, has already successfully fooled said marauders, no, couldn't have been Serena by any chance," Remus replied with a grin. At least someone who thought so, it flashed through Serena's mind with satisfaction.

"Maybe I underestimated her," her father murmured so quietly that she would have barely understood even through the Extendable Ear. He still let his gaze wander searchingly over the floor, as if he hoped to find the missing key after all and thus escape further embarrassment.

"Don't pretend you're not proud!", Remus teased him. He himself, at least, seemed to be that Serena had managed to stand up to his childhood friend. "At least you goaded her."

Meanwhile, one floor up, a highly satisfied Serena gave the twins each a kiss on the cheek. "I don't even know how to thank you, I could never have done this without you!"

"There's still the final," Fred said conspiratorially. Mischief sparkled in his brown eyes, making Serena wonder what else they had planned. After all, she hadn't known anything about a third coup. "What have you...?"

"All in good time, Rina," George grinned, leaving her with a wink of wonder, but no less eager.

In the evening, the last round was finally ushered in with a loud whuumm. Serena was startled by the book she had been reading and then stuck her head out of her bedroom door curiously. Several people had already gathered in the hallway outside her father's room, where the noise had apparently come from.

"Sirius, what happened?" called Remus with a worried expression. A cluster of the others had formed around him. Mrs Weasley had her hands over her mouth, Charlie had his wand out and the twins were watching intently as the door was finally opened.

Completely covered in soot, Serena's father stood in the doorway. His dark curls stood on end and part of his cloak was torn. "There was a god damn firework in my closet!" he roared, narrowing his bright eyes that poked out through his ash-covered face like the light from a lighthouse on a dark night, and let them roam over those present.

Serena's mouth dropped open. Mrs Weasley, meanwhile, hurried towards him with a contrite face. "I'm so sorry! Fred and George, they..."

"Oh no, that was Serena!" His gaze flew again over the cluster outside his bedroom, then he pushed the door open so wide that it bounced against the far wall. A huge lettering came to light, consisting of countless small particles of colourful glow floating in the air.

Don't mess with a Black
WW
All the items used belong to the first generation of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and are available for pre-order from today.

A wide grin crept onto Serena's face and she could only shake her head. But it had truly been a glorious ending. Even though she had had nothing to do with the fireworks, she felt a little proud of herself, but especially of the twins. She was sure that their planned business would boom.

Finally her father had spotted her and when he came up to her, there was a tiny smile on his dirty face. "Fine, I underestimated you, you can play tricks," he announced, admitting defeat. "But I want you to know that even without all that, I'm proud of you."

The twins began to shout loudly, "Aaaaw," but Serena turned her gaze down contritely. "I didn't mean what I said earlier," she muttered.

Her father put an arm around her shoulder. "I guess beginners have to reach into the bag of tricks a little sometimes."

"Beginners!" repeated Fred and George indignantly, storming towards them. Offended, they crossed their arms in front of their chests. "The pranks were top-notch and certainly not conceived by beginners. We know our craft very well."

"Fred and George helped me," Serena explained, if that hadn't already been obvious. "I could never have done it without them."

"Nonsense, we merely helped implement her ideas," George clarified, then shook his head dramatically. "But beginners!"

"Knew it," Sirius grinned, tousling Serena's long curls, which she then had to smooth back down. She rolled her eyes, but she knew that Fred and George deserved sole credit. They had really done a great job.

"Be that as it may. Mr. Padfoot, Mr. Moony, it was our honour to set you up," Fred announced solemnly, bowing so low it seemed ridiculous again. "You were, after all, Hogwarts' biggest troublemakers in your time."

"In our time?" repeated Remus, who had overheard the conversation, his eyes narrowing. Fred nodded and shrugged a little sheepishly. "Well, you've kind of gotten old."

"Old?" thundered Sirius in horror. "I'm not old. I'm thirty-four!"

"Are you saying you're better than us?" asked Remus quietly, but Serena noticed his flickering eyes darting to her father again and again. She couldn't hide a sigh, already smelling the next bet. Her eyes fell back to the small group standing in the hallway. Sparks were flying from Mrs Weasley's eyes. She looked as if she would drag her two sons back into the Burrow by their ears at any moment. Bill and Charlie merely grinned and looked deeply impressed at the lettering, which was slowly fading.

"Well, we are at the moment," George remarked, adding with a proud expression, "We developed all the items ourselves."

Fred then handed the two marauders a card on which Serena could make out the logo that had already been built into the sparkling lettering. Two Ws that were hooked into each other. Underneath, in colourful letters, it read: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Then it seemed Mrs Weasley had had enough. She sent them both off to bed, scolding them, and confiscated the remaining cards, which were merely a drop in the ocean. Serena had seen the numerous boxes of business cards. The Weasley mother would have her work cut out for her if she tried to talk them out of their dream of owning a joke shop.

But Serena suspected that from what she had seen of what the twins had already planned and created, it was probably impossible. And if she wasn't mistaken, the two marauders had also been quite impressed with their work.