Marauders Year 1: Rule the School

Chapter 9: Prongs, Marauders-Turned-Pranksters

The Marauders and I were lounging around in our decked-out dorm room when the door burst open and a very excited looking Sirius sped across the room. 

Taking me by the shoulders, he started to sake me so hard my glasses practically slipped off my nose. 

             "Omigod, Jamieyouwon'tbelievewhatMcGonagallsaid!!! Shesaidwewerepranksters!!! Omigod, Omigod, Omigod, youguysweneedtomakeavowtobetheHogwartsofficialprankstersifonlytospiteMinnie!!!!!!"

He was talking a mile a minute and the other three were staring at him with vaguely confused looks on our faces. 

            "Uh....Sirius? Can you, like, slow down a little?" Remus asks, his head lifted from his book. 

Sirius finally seems to register that no one understood a word of what he just said. Looking slightly disappointed, he repeats slower this time. 

            "Okay, so you guys know how I was in detention with Minnie? Yeah. So, she called us pranksters for dropping the mandrake on Sprout's head -cheers Remus- so I was thinking; us Marauders should be Hogwarts's official pranksters. You know! Keep them on their toes! Make the place a bit more lively, dontcha think?"

I wipe a fake tear from my eye, clapping obnoxiously.

            "Excellent! Excellent! Bravissimo! Marvelous idea! Ooooh! Sirius is all but grown up!"

Sirius pouts a little and does a fake swipe at my face. That sets me off and I roll into my bed laughing my head off. When I've finally calmed down, Sirius is standing in the middle of the room looking sort of put out so I walk up and hug him heartily. 

            "We'll do it. No, but seriously! Sirius's idea is, like, the best ever. Thanks Siri!"

He beams and I plop down at the base of my bed. 

             "If we're going to be pranksters, we need to plan our next prank. It can't all be impromptu strokes of genius like back there at the Greenhouses, can it now? Let's get down to business, boys!"

We arrange ourselves in a circular formation, not knowing that this is the exact formation we will keep throughout our Hogwarts days as the Marauders. 

Remus pulls out a piece of parchment from his bag while Sirius gets his inkpot. Unfortunately, he forgot his quill so I offer him my eagle feather one which he gratefully accepts. Knowing that he's from the Black family and that my handwriting is crap, I decide to let him do the writing. 

            "Alright. Location?" Sirius asks, suddenly all orderly. 

            "We could do the Great Hall but I don't think that something of that scale should be attempted until we learn some more magic," Remus says, starting off the brainstorming session.

            "We could kidnap Mrs. Norris," Peter says hopefully. 

            "One sec, one sec, you guys. We have to create two lists. One would be a Marauders bucket list and the other would be planning parchment. Rem? One more piece of parchment please."

Sirius quickly finishes writing and, like I suspected, his handwriting is perfection. More like manufactured perfection, though. 

            "Okay, boys, do go on," he says after a moment. 

I take it as a hint.

           "We could re-do the Greenhouses but that would be far to cliche for my liking. So-okay, listen up boys, we need to thoroughly explore Hogwarts. It can't be by day 'cause the patrols will wonder what we're doing so far from the common room so it has to be by night."