Greetings! No, I don't own Harry Potter and my other Harry fic isn't dead- I've just been busy. This is not canon with my other HP fic.
The Feast of Fools was usually Fred and George's favorite holiday as well as their birthday. For once in the year they had a valid excuse to play pranks as well as getting lots of presents and eating cake!
But this year was different. Since their departure from Hogwarts, the Weasley twins dropped by the Order's headquarters almost daily for dinner with their parents and whatever other Order members were in the house. This almost always included Lupin and Black.
Now, the problem with this was that the two duos had instigated a prank war against one another. And no way how they stacked up the score the founders of Weasley Wizards Wheezes were losing badly to a mild werewolf scholar and a temperamental Azkaban escapee. But their birthday was now on their side- right?
Wrong. After a day of pranking, Fred and George couldn't land a single prank on them- in fact, they got tricked into falling into their own pranks several times. So it was a pair of sulky teenagers with neon green hair and magicked into silver ball gowns who sat down at the table in the dining hall and a cranky Molly who dished out stew to the Order members there for dinner.
The triumphant Lupin and Black were chatting happily among themselves at the other end of the table; Tonks and Moody were discussing the Dark Lord's latest strategies; and the twins' parents were quiet. The twins' sour, aloof mood was broken when Professor McGonagall swept in as their mother brought in a Black Forest cake with candles on it for a special dessert.
"Ah, Professor! You're just in time to sing for the twins," their dad beamed. McGonagall raised her eyebrows. Black sniggered, "Her singing sounds like a cat whose tail just got stepped on."
The look the Deputy Headmistress gave him was chilling but he was unaffected. But the look she gave the dumpy redheaded witch was sympathetic.
"The only way this prank war could possibly be worse is if James was still alive."
"Oh?" an interested Tonks asked. Due to her fondness for the twins' brother Charlie and her crush on Lupin she had remained a by-stander in the prank war. Their dad chuckled weakly. "You don't want to know."
"Why are you here, Minnie?" Moody asked gruffly. Collapsing into a chair she sighed, "I needed a break from that awful toad."
"Ah," went everyone else in total understanding. Nothing occurred during the singing and the cake-eating but what McGonagall said as she left the house caused the twins to do a spit-take with their butterbeer.
"I'm sorry, Molly, for having to deal with a prank war between the twins and the remaining Marauders."
Fred and George stared gaping at Black and Lupin, who just grinned, "We solemnly swear we're up to no good."
In the library after dinner the twins discussed the matter. Pacing Fred insisted, "It has to be their biggest prank yet- they hoodwinked Harry and McGonagall into helping somehow."
George arched an eyebrow at his twin who questioned crossly, "What?"
"If they are the Marauders, it would explain why they can prank us. Besides, they were four of them during Hogwarts."
"Lupin is a werewolf… Moony; Black can turn into a dog… Padfoot; Pettigrew can turn into a rat… Wormtail," Fred had to admit. "But Prongs would have to be Harry's dad then."
"It would explain why he's the Boy Who Lived," George mused. "And why we felt the urge to pass the Map down to him- it's his birthright."
"And why Harry gets into so much trouble," realized Fred. "Huh… so they're the Marauders. Wicked!"
"Oh- Harry's Patronus is a stag," George commented. Reaching the same conclusion Fred observed, "So Harry's dad probably was a stag Animagus, whose antlers do kind of resemble prongs. Wow. We know who the Marauders are!"
George laid back in his armchair and exhaled, "Best April's Fools Day cum birthday ever."
"Uh-huh," Fred nodded as he flopped down into the opposite armchair. Then he sat straight up, his eyes wide. "George! Do you realize what this means?"
"We've been holding our own against half of the greatest pranksters of all time?"
"Well, that. But also that now we can unite with Moony and Padfoot against the TOAD."
The birthday boys exchanged devious grins.