A.N.: I own nothing.
Mischief Managed
Biting his bottom lip in concentration, Sirius dipped his quill into the small bottle of black ink before continuing to sketch several last minute designs on the front of the folded parchment. Having spent the past four days mapping out the entire castle, detailing each and every corridor, classroom, closet, and office (thanks to the files James managed to nab from Filch during his detention), Sirius was making the final touches on the rough draft of the map he, James, and Remus collectively invented during a late night gathering.
The idea of constructing a map that had the power to name and locate every person within the confides of castle at the current moment was a concept that seemed nearly impossible only a week before. However, it wasn't until three of the four Marauders (Peter was MIA, most likely sleeping or raiding the kitchens) congregated to discuss their newest prank involving the release of nearly fifty wild Nifflers throughout the castle during dinner.
Having difficult deciding upon the proper release time and the nagging concern of being caught by Filch, James cleverly offered the creation of a map. With helpful input from both Remus and Sirius, the three split up various roles to help make this dream become a reality. James, who had a knack for receiving detentions from Filch, was responsible for obtaining the secret files the Hogwarts' caretaker possessed, which contained important and confidential information regarding the many unknown, secret passages within the castle.
Always the most studious and reliable member of the threesome, Remus was assigned the responsibility of perusing the library for any and all books that contained information regarding tracking spells. As for Sirius, he was designated the illustrator of the map. Being as though he was the most artistically inclined member of the group, Sirius excitedly and enthusiastically took on the role and began to work on detailing sketches of the layout of the castle.
Using the files James' so cleverly obtained, Sirius spent the past three evening, neglecting his Transfiguration and Potions homework, to draft various sketches of the castle. It was very copious and time-consuming; however, Sirius worked diligently to craft the best floor plans as possible, so he could produce a magnificent work of art for the final presentation of the map.
The Common Roomw as emptying as Sirius worked under the dim light of the candle. It wasn't until Remus dropped his load of books onto the table, when Sirius snapped out of the trance he was in as he concentrated on finishing his masterpiece.
Watching Remus plop into a chair across from him, Sirius placed his quil in a stand. Cracking his fingers, he stretched. Offering Moony a cheerful smile, Sirius said, "Oi, Moony. Pleased to see you, mate. How's the library treating you? Any success?"
"I have something Padfoot," He replied pulling out a rather large tome titled Traveling Charms, and Tracking Runes by Tobias Swift, "This pretty much explains how to magically track anyone who sets foot into the castle. It won't work on the grounds, though. So we're limited to just the castle..."
Sirius took the book from Remus' hands, flipped opened the worn, leather bound book, and flipped through the text. "This is brilliant, Moony. The interior of the castle is all we really need to worry about. Is this all you could find?", Sirius asked curiously, eying the pages of the text.
Remus sighed, "I haven't gotten much else. I've been so distracted..." He reclined into the armchair he had claimed and shut his eyes, rubbing his forehead to aleviate a nasty headache.
Sirius looked up at Remus with concern. "Are you alright, mate? I'm assuming that little love affair you have with the library is finally taking its toll, eh?", he asked with a smirk. Reaching into his pocket, Sirius pulled out a small Honeydukes chocolate bar and tossed it over to Remus, who looked extremely grateful.
"Well I almost told Hestia Jones I was a werewolf in the middle of the Great Hall," Remus replied, "I'm such a bloody git! That and I'm partnered with Augustus Rookwood for the year's study partners."
Remus opened his eyes and found chocolate on his lap, he happily devoured it, forgetting all about his troubles. Soon James came into the common room diverting the original conversation to that of the map.
"Alas, I've arrived. I'm telling you, Evans can't get enough of me. Begging me to stay and chat, but I finally had to put my foot down and remind her that I have friends to attend to and that she'd have to wait", he said breathlessly as he plopped down beside Remus with a boyish grin of his face.
Sirius looked at James with amusement. "Oh you don't say?", he egged his best mate on. Before James could humor Sirius with a response, Remus, who finished his chocolate treat, assumed his position as the voice of reason and said, "Alright, now that you're here. We have a few things to discuss. Sirius is nearly done with the sketches for the map, which by the way mate, you've done a fantastic job. Outstanding work", Remus said, taking a break from his spiel to compliment Sirius.
Sirius flashed a modest smile as he said, "Oh, why thank you, Moony. I tried", he replied.
"I spent most of the day hauled up in the library, and I found this book by Tobias Swift. There are several incantations that can help us track people within a certain vicinity. However, for our purposes, we can only track the inhabitants of this school strictly within the confides of this castle. From what I've gathered, the effects of the Polyjuice Potions, the protection of an invisibility cloak, or taking on the form of an animagus can protect an individual from being tracked. I've looked over the charms, and it doesn't seem too difficult", he finished looking from James to Sirius.
James, who had been examining Sirius' artwork, now took hold of the book and flipped through the text. "Bloody brilliant. So, it's possible then?", he asked confidently already aware of the answer.
Remus gave a nod, a small smile playing on his lips. Sirius then looked at his best mates thoughtfully. "Okay, so once we finally put this whole map together, we have to take the necessary precautions to make sure that only the four of us can access and use the map", he said. This was a though Sirius mulled over for the past few nights as he worked on his drawings.
"If this map fell into the wrong hands, it could be very destructive", Sirius continued.
Remus nodded. "Yes, that's true. However, we can charm the map so that it looks like an ordinary piece of parchment. However, I suppose it couldn't hurt to create some sort of shielding or protection charm on the map to insure its safety. What do you think?", he asked turning to James.
With a swift nod, James tapped his chin. "Absolutely. Maybe we could recreate a secret code in order to access the map and another one to clear the map after we use it."
Sirius, who was leaning forward with his elbows on the table, inquired, "But what should the code be? Some ort of saying or incantation?"
"Well, what is the purpose of this map? Knowing the two of you, this map will certainly aid us in practicing mischief and causing mayhem", Remus added with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you trying to say that we're always up to no good? Honestly, Moony, we not always terrorizing the entire student body and faculty of Hogwarts. We're an equal opportunity mischief managing team!", James said with a confident nod.
Then Sirius slammed his hand down on the table. "Brilliant! I have it. To gain access to the make, we have to tap the map with our wand and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'. And to clear the map we can say", he began.
"Mischief Managed!", cried Remus excitedly. "That's brilliant! Now, what if someone tries to tap into our resources? There has to be consequences", he added with a uncharacteristic mischievous smile.
"Personally, I think the insolent fool should be royally insulted. With our quick wit, we could easily offend anyone daring to obtain access to our newest prized possession. I mean, it will be our new partner in crime", James said, leaning back in his chair.
Sirius nodded. "We can't use our real names either. We should go by our nicknames to conceal our true identity", he said, his eyes lighting up in excitement.
Remus shook his head in agreement. "I'm sure we can come up with several cunning insults for any individual who dares to unravel the secrets our little map possesses. Nothing a few spells can't handle. I'll just do some more research", Remus said.
After a moment, James suggested, "We have to come up with a name for our map. Being as though we are using this map to roam around the school and keeping tabs on anyone and everyone in the school so we can create some mischief with our infamous pranks, I suggest calling it 'The Marauders' Map'. Thus, deeming us the 'Marauders'", he said grinning triumphantly.
Sirius reached over extending his hand for James to high-five. "Prefect! Prongs, Moony, Padfoot, and Wormail; the Marauders", he said with a proud grin.
Remus raised his chocolate wrapper. "Cheers! The Marauders we shall be. Now let's get started on this map", he said eagerly. "I have some more research to do, but we can have this done by tomorrow", he said confidently.
But as for now", he said rising from the table, "I'm exhausted."
As he collecting his belongings, James nodded in agreement, following Remus' motions. "Yeah, it is rather late. Besides, I have a Transfiguration essay I've been putting off", he said, looking sideways at Remus.
"Don't even think about it", Remus called over his shoulder. "I'm not letting you copy mine", he added climbing the stairs. "Goodnight."
"Night", Sirius and James called after him.
Then James turned to Sirius, who smirked at the tall boy with glasses. "What? It was worth a try", he said defensively, a smirk of his own escaping his lips.
Sirius chuckled and shook his head. "Remus means business this year. We on our own this year, I'm afraid", Sirius admitted.
Pulling out his Transfiguration text, Sirius looked at James. "Care to work on it together? Two brains are better than one", he added with a grin.
James laughed and took his seat again across from Sirius. "I knew I could count on my trusty, procrastinating friend", he said shaking his forefinger at Sirius.
The two worked well into the early morning working on their Transfguration with their only motivation being to get as much homework completed as possible so they could finish working on their map.