Disclaimer: I do not own or claim as my own any part of the Harry Potter realm and make no profits from any of my fanfiction.
Author's Note: Hello to all! It's been a while and a long time since I've written, but I thought I'd pop my head up and say hello to all!
Title: First Prank
Summary: Before Sirius ever entered Hogwarts and was sorted, he never imagined being placed anywhere other than Slytherin. Then he met James.
"We could prank them," James replied to Sirius Black's furious gaze. The dark first year yet again punched his pillow.
"And what would that do? It's not as satisfying as revenge."
James sighed. As much as he wished to, he really did not understand the other boy. He was a Gryffindor, of course, and yet he had been bred by one of the most Slytherin families known in Europe. He wanted to understand him, though. James loved puzzles, and Sirius Black was the biggest one he had come across yet.
"We wouldn't be kicked out of school. Besides, there is the humiliation factor in getting hit with a prank. And it's fun for us."
"You keep saying 'we' and 'us'. They didn't humiliate you. You weren't the one taunted for getting a howler from you mother for being a Gryffindor."
"No, but I am a Gryffindor, and being such, they insulted our whole house…"
"But they humiliated me."
James continued as if never interrupted. "…and besides that, Gryffindors stand by each other. What is done to one Gryffindor is done to all Gryffindors. Therefore, I feel the definite need to humiliate them in return. I don't do revenge. As a Gryffindor, I am above that. However, the beauty of pranking is that adults, for the most part, see it as harmless childhood fun. They see it as jokes and laughs. They seemingly brush off the idea that a joke can be more than a joke."
"You've been pranked before, haven't you?"
"Of course. How else would I know how effective it is and how much adults usually ignore it?"
"Are you really eleven? You don't sound it."
"Twelve, actually. Today."
"Happy Birthday."
"Thanks. Now, about the prank we need to pull. I'm thinking stink bombs. A lot of them. And we'll need to borrow my seventh year second cousin for a bubble spell."
Sirius sat up straight on his bed and stared intently at James, suddenly seeing the emergence of a prank as a form of revenge. "During breakfast. We can surround the whole Slytherin table with the spell. Watch as they suffer the stink without any other table affected."
James grinned. "And then, when they have to go to classes, everyone will smell how they smell, and not want to be anywhere near them."
"Can't be stink bombs, though," interjected Sirius.
"Why not? It's a good idea."
"Like you said, the teachers have to think it's harmless and in good fun. Flowers or perfume wouldn't seem harmful to adults like stink bombs would. It would be like when my mother wears her rancid perfume. Not even my father wants to be near her then. Only this will be ten times stronger, and for all Slytherins."
"I'm seeing your genius."
"And we'll have to come up with another prank for when they try and get revenge. We can't get caught, though. And we have to make sure they do. We have to make sure that when they try and seek revenge, they can't avoid getting caught."
"But if they don't know who played the prank…"
Sirius grinned. "They will. The teachers won't."
The two of them had a plan.
o0oOo0o
Two days later, their prank went off without a hitch. Sirius made certain to taunt a certain sniveling Slytherin to make certain the house of serpents knew who was responsible, guaranteeing a continued war between the Slytherins and Sirius and James.
Two weeks later, their two dorm mates, Remus and Peter, joined in the fun.
Two months later, they had a name. The Marauders.
Two years later, Sirius fully realized he had been wrong. It wasn't a bad thing that he was sorted into Gryffindor. Who wanted Slytherin anyway when you could have this much fun?