A/N: This is my second time uploading this chapter, and I apologize for having to do so, I happened to forget a disclaimer of any sort the first time, which was absolutely bright, wouldn't you say? Also, please note that this is unbeta'ed until I see a need for one, so please let me know if you happen to find any spelling or grammatical errors that aren't supposed to be there. Thanks.

About the story: Uhm, the basic premise of it is like I said, a collection of short stories from the Marauders while they were at Hogwarts. it's set up as individual chapters, one or two per year, and I doubt they necessarily have anything to do with each other, for the most part. They are going to build on the things that happen, as in, they don't start out having the Invisibility Cloak, James gets that as the years go by, and after that, they just have it.

Disclaimer: I own a spoon. I also own a half a roll of duct tape. Imagine the possibilities.

What It Takes

A collection of short stories from the Marauders at school

I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Prank 1.

Arrival, Encounters.

Remus Lupin was a quiet boy who liked to read. That was the first thing Sirius learned about him. He was reading when they met him for the first time, Sirius and his best mate, James Potter. It was on the train, and the two had been looking for a compartment to sit in, since they'd missed the opportunity to stake out their own because James's mother had given them such a long, tearful good-bye.

That good-bye had made Sirius feel awkward; his mother would never cry like that, she thought crying was for babies, and if she ever caught Sirius or Regulus, his younger brother, crying, she'd make sure they knew not to ever again. It wasn't that he disliked Mrs. Potter, because he thought she was quite the nice contrast to his own mother, and she was nice enough in her own way. He had just never had anyone cry over him like that before and found it shocking and strange. At least James had seemed a bit weird about it too.

James always seemed to know how Sirius felt, when no one else did. They might as well be brothers, and Sirius liked him a lot better than he liked little Regulus anyway. Regulus was too snotty, always sucking up to their mother. But not James. James always had time for Sirius, even for the stupidest things.

And then they met Remus. Remus was a grand contrast to James. Remus was generally calm and even-tempered, and you could always follow his line of thought if you cared to, because he thought in a straight line, if you will. Not like James. James was something of a creative genius, and while predictable in his own way, he'd always had something of a temper if you upset him, which was not too terribly hard. James thought in circles and loop-the-loops, and sometimes it was just easier to wait for him to tell you his idea when he'd got it fully formed, instead of trying to follow his thought process.

They were a good contrast in other ways, too. Where Remus was all soft brown hair and amber eyes, skinny and a bit on the short side, and overall a bit wimpy looking, James had messy black hair that always stuck up in the back and bright hazel eyes behind his glasses. And while he was almost as skinny as Remus was, James had more muscle and was a bit taller, so his build was much more solid.

When Sirius and James stepped into Remus's compartment, they were met by the shy gaze of the amber eyed boy who was mostly hidden by the big book he was reading. Something about him had instantly struck Sirius, and so he'd grinned brilliantly and given a small wave, taking a seat across from the small boy. He seemed reluctant to talk at first, but Sirius and James had gotten him to open up a bit by offering him some of the chocolate James's mother had given them. Remus admitted to having something of a chocolate obsession, and looked very relieved when neither of the other two boys were inclined to tease him about it, though Sirius did take the opportunity to stick a glob of chocolate on James's nose when his friend wasn't paying attention. It had led to a slight chocolate-smearing war, but James had cleaned it up with a quick spell before they left the train.

They were all sorted into Gryffindor, along with another small boy, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius was the most surprised by this. His entire family was generally considered to be Slytherins, and he wasn't quite sure that his mother would accept his placement. She might even come up to the school and demand he be resorted. That would be embarrassing, but he wouldn't put it past his mother. She could be very insisted upon silly little things like that. Sirius was just glad that he was with his friends and not that Snape kid. Severus, he thought his name was. The boy had always been a bit too greasy and superior for the Black heir. Thankfully, he was in Slytherin.

Peter Pettigrew, on the other hand, was smaller even then Remus, though he was slightly chubby, with short blond hair and watery blue eyes. He gave off the type of feeling that tells you he'd be very easy to bully around without any argument, and James seemed immediately inclined to protect him. Sirius didn't particularly like Peter, but he was James's friend, and if James was going to be friends with Peter, then Sirius would be nice to him, too. It wasn't that he always did what James did, or anything like that, just that James was his best mate, and it was nice when they did everything together, so James wouldn't have to feel guilty about hanging out with Peter, and Sirius wouldn't feel guilty for making James feel guilty. Besides, this way if there really was something off with Peter, then Sirius would be there to help James out.

But Peter never did seem to do anything strange, other than following James and, by virtue of his being there, Sirius around. And Remus, because Remus was their friend too, even if he did like to follow the rules a lot more closely than James or Sirius ever had. He was still a good friend, and he was smart like James and Sirius were smart, and really good at researching. Sometimes Sirius would have to drag Remus out of the library so they could all hang out before dinner. More often than not, it would take both Sirius and James to convince Remus they really wanted him along.

Remus was weird like that. He always had fun when then four of them were hanging out, but everytime they came to get him he protested anew, as though he didn't really want to come. Or he thought they didn't want him to come, and were just asking because he was their dormmate and they were being polite. He'd even gone so far as to say that, once, and it had left Sirius speechless for a moment--a rare feat, indeed--before he gathered himself enough to tell Remus off for even suggesting such a thing. Then the brunette had drawn into himself a little bit and apologized, but at least after that it had been much easier to get him to run amok with them.

That's really what they did, too, in Sirius's opinion. They ran amok. They created chaos. They were the harbingers of doom. James wasn't the only creative genius in the group.

Between Sirius and James, new ways to torture the school were thought up every few days, and when even they were out of ideas, it seemed like Remus or Peter would timidly suggest something. Remus's suggestions tended to be well thought out, almost-complete ideas that could be set into action with little to no preparation, and generally to spectacular results. Peter's were often creative enough, but tended to be more unrealistic than was really reasonable, but the others always encouraged him to keep trying.

The foursome's favorite targets were the Slytherins, and especially Snape. He was always acting superior and picking fights with them, and so it wasn't like they could just let him get away with it. So it was a regular sight for Snape to be coming in for breakfast in the mornings with parchment airplanes zooming around his head, or quills writing inappropriate phrases on the back of his robes, or, one time, his shoelaces tying themselves together and getting progressively tighter and tighter until--finally-- the boy tripped and fell on his face as he reached his House table.

For first years, the four had quite a few enemies, and just as many or more friends, as well as a reputation that could only grow with time.

Mischief Managed.