"Come in," came a voice from the other side of the dark wood door. Fred Weasley opened it and held it for his brother. Once George had entered, he closed the door and they both crossed white fluffy carpet in the obnoxiously Gryffindor room to sit on the blood red couch. They were in Grimmauld Place for the summer, and they had a question for its reluctant resident.

"Any particular reason you came to see me?" Sirius Black asked from his armchair with a mischievous look in his eye, "Or did you just feel the need to bask in my wonderful presence."

George Weasley grinned at his brother. They loved talking with Sirius. He was a kindred spirit in a world filled with too many stuffy old downers.

"Actually, my brother and I" - "were just speaking with our" - "father about some people" - "who used to go to" - "Hogwarts and he" - "told us that you" - "might be of some assistance." - "Something about you knowing" - "everyone at Hogwarts" - "while you were there?"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, he's right about that. I consider myself an expert on my fellow Hogwarts students. Who did you want to know about?"

"Well, we found this in Filch's office," the twins spoke in tandem, Fred pulling a tattered old parchment out of his pocket. "And we quickly figured out that it wasn't exactly what it seemed."

At this, the Weasley Twins pulled out their wands and intoned together, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The familiar spidery lines spread across the page, forming the words "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder's Map" as well as an image of the prestigious school Hogwarts. They heard Sirius suck in a breath when he saw the map.

"So you recognize this then?"

At Sirius's nod, they continued,

"What can you" - "tell us about them?"

Sirius smiled at them and said, "The Marauders were the biggest pranksters in the school in my time. Well, everyone always knew it was them, but they almost never got caught doing the pranks so they couldn't be justifiably punished. Drove old Minnie batty. No one ever figured out how they avoided getting caught. I bet that you just found the reason."

The Twins grinned at the nickname for McGonagall. They would have to remember that one. Realizing they had information on their idols just sitting right in front of them. George turned to his brother with glint in his eye, and Fred nodded minutely in response.

"So, what can you tell" - "us about them? What" - "house were they in?" - "Where are they" - "today? Are they still alive?"

"Whoa! Slow down. One question at a time. They were all in Gryffindor. I'll tell you about each of them individually." Sirius laughed at the expectant looks on the Twins' faces.

"Let's do them in order, shall we? Moony was the brains behind the Marauders. He came off as a quintessential Ravenclaw, but if you looked deeper it was plain that he could bump heads with the best of 'em and come back raring for more. Admittedly, he was also the responsible one who stopped things from getting too far when a situation got out of hand. He was the one that came up with some of the best ideas for pranks and was essential in the research necessary for the prank. He is still alive and kickin' today and he's living in the British countryside. Wormtail was the tag-along of the group. He practically worshipped Padfoot and Prongs, but he never really fit in properly. I won't speak on him much, because not long into the war he turned traitor to the Light. He is, unfortunately, still alive and working for the Dark Tosser. Padfoot was the most energetic and creative of the group. He was always coming up with ideas, even if most of them were bordering on ridiculous. Although, I still maintain that some of those could have worked. But nooo."

Here Sirius trailed off, muttering darkly. The twins looked at him in confusion until Sirius stopped. He turned to them and continued, "Sorry. I'm getting off topic. Anyway, Padfoot is still alive today, even though he was *ahem* not around for about thirteen years. Prongs was the leader of the group. He was a star Quidditch player and the most popular of the four, even though they were all popular in their own right. Most of the Slytherins hated him, but that's Slytherins for you. He popped his cogs right around the end of the war in 1980, actually betrayed by P-Wormtail. Any questions?"

"What gave them their names?" George questioned first.

"They were named after their animagus forms, except Moony who 's name came from his status as a werewolf."

Fred spoke up next. "Who ar-"

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" a voice bellowed from downstairs, "YOU WILL REMOVE THIS SPELL AT ONCE."

Remus Lupin stormed into the room. Well, it was probably Remus. The person who had just entered appeared to be an overgrown canary, only without the beak. All in all it formed a rather grotesque image.

"Padfoot, I mean it. You don't want the chipmunk to come back, do you?" the werewolf asked sweetly. Fred and George froze at the use of the name, while Sirius paled drastically at the last few words.

"You wouldn't. Anything but the chipmunk. Come on, Moony. We're friends right?" he asked desperately, trying to disappear into the chair.

"I would. I might also tell Professor McGonagall exactly who it is that anonymously sends her catnip, a collar and a scratching post for Christmas every year. I'm sure she would be thrilled to find out. Don't you think so?" his voice never changed from that sweet tone, the feathers all over his body somehow making what he was saying all the more threatening. The terrified look on the convict's face had grown with every word. His only response to the question was an undignified squeak that he would deny vehemently later. This was immediately followed by him raising his wand and flicking it at his feathered friend. The down quickly fell away, revealing a deceptively calm appearance. Sirius turned back to the twins, nervously darting glances at his friend.

"So, what were we talking about before all that?"

Both Weasleys had gone into shock trying to process exactly what the use of those particular nicknames meant. Fred recovered first.

"We were asking who the Marauders were, but I guess that's been partially answered for us..."

George continued the thought, "who - who are the other two?"

Black was smirking victoriously at their faces and Remus turned to look at them. "Prongs was James Potter, Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew, I'm Moony and this mutt here is Padfoot. Now, I need to have a little talk with said mutt, so cheerio." He grabbed the other man's arm and dragged him out of the room, leaving two silent, star-struck twins behind them. This silence lasted for a few solid minutes before one word echoed through the house.

"WICKED!"

Hey! Thanks for reading my story. This is my first attempt a fluff fanfiction, so some feedback would be greatly appreciated. It is very different from what I normally write, and I know a few people who I'm fairly certain are going to have a heart attack when the realize that I wrote this. (If you don't believe me, just go to We Come Bearing Gifts on fictionpress to see my normal style.) Thanks again for taking the time to read this and I would love it if you would review.

Love,

Wiznerd