By now, you all know the drill…basically, it's J.K. Rowling's universe, and I just play with her toys. On occasion, I bring in a few of my own.
I love the reviews, guys! I believe the same people had good comments this time:
HerDarkMaterials: I highly doubt Hermione will ever approve of this…she'll probably be the Marauder who constantly complains about how they'll get in trouble, but then comes up with the smartest plans. Also, I'm not sure who the fourth Marauder would be…Ginny? Neville? I'm thinking maybe Fred and George…there's no rules against five Marauders, right?
Prophetess of Hearts: That is such a better idea than what I had in mind…I think if I put our ideas together, I can make people fall out of their seats laughing when they read it! Thanks a bunch!
Chablis Jameson: As you may have guessed, I'm an American who doesn't know how English law works. Thank you for your correction.
ScottzBabygurl9271105: Insects are animals too, so you could be a butterfly ::smiles:: and a beautiful one at that. I love you baby!
Ok, now that that's out of the way, how about I continue
this?
All through the next day, Harry and Ron planned their prank against Draco. Harry was surprised to see that none of the Gryffindors seemed mad about him losing two hundred points. Fred and George even congratulated him on a job well done. Harry grinned at that.
During lunch, however, the Weasley twins wanted to take it further. They took seats closer to Harry and Ron and whispered, "Oi, Harry. How'd you do it?"
"I…I can't tell. It's a secret." Harry flushed a little.
"C'mon
Harry! Tell them about us!" a familiar voice exclaimed over Harry's shoulder.
"Yeah! You said they were our students!" Harry groaned inwardly, remembering how his father had asked the day before for Harry to let him stick around for a while longer, to go through Hogwarts and reminisce…Sirius and Remus had also wanted to stay, so Harry had brought the three back that morning. Now, however, it seemed they were back in the Great Hall with the newest members of the Marauders.
Harry sighed and said, "Ok." The twins were, of course, confused. "Who are you talking to?" they asked in unison. Harry took a deep breath and told them the whole story. The twins' eyes widened with both surprise and excitement as it unwound.
"-and now, the time has come for a new group of Marauders to emerge. Ron and I are the start…we plan to become a manticore and a griffin, respectively. Our Marauder nicknames will be Lionheart and Beaky. If you like, you can join us" he said. Fred and George looked at him like they had been expecting him to say that the whole time.
"Of course we'll join you!"
"I just wish you'd found that crest in your first year!"
Harry grinned. "Me too. Things would have been much more fun around here. Say…what do you think your Animagus forms will be?"
(A/N: DANGER! INTERESTING TWIST AHEAD!)
The twins smirked at Harry, who had no idea what was going on. Ron caught on to it first.
"You mean…you two are already…"
"Animagi?"
"Of course. How do you think we pull off so many pranks? The Marauder's Map was incredibly helpful, but after we assumed forms that could travel all over the place without being spotted, it got a lot easier!"
There was a loud gasp from Ron's other side. Hermione, who had been listening attentively the whole time, finally joined the conversation. "You two are Animagi? Are you registered?"
"Registered?" Fred said.
"That'd ruin all our fun!" George replied.
"Besides, what's the point in becoming an Animagus if everyone knows it?" asked Sirius. Of course, only Harry heard him. He chose to ignore it. "What are your Animagus forms?" he asked the twins.
"Well, I'm a fly" Fred said. "And I'm a moth" George finished. "You can tell they're us because both of them are a little more orange than usual…thanks to our hair" Fred added, smiling.
Ron brightened. "You can help us do the transformation! We won't have to work as hard as Harry's dad and Sirius!" Harry smiled as James added over his shoulder, "What's wrong, Lionheart? Afraid of a little hard work?"
Sirius added, "Let's call the fly Buzz!"
"And the moth can be Dusty!" Remus said.
"Why Dusty?" asked James.
"I noticed
once that when you hit a moth with a flyswatter, it leaves a sort of dusty film
where it was hit. It does the same on your hands. Besides, I think it sort of
goes with the rest of them…Beaky, Lionheart, Buzz, and Dusty?" Harry heard that
and smiled. 'I'm not done yet,' he thought to himself. 'I've got one more
person to recruit…' Turning to Hermione, he asked, "Hermione, if-"
"Stop right there, Harry
Potter. I'm certainly not doing something as illegal as becoming an
unregistered Animagus!"
Ron, the twins, and Harry all rolled their eyes simultaneously; Ron gave Harry a "you expected something different?" look. The twins grinned at each other.
"So, you're too scared to attempt it? You know how dangerous it is…" Fred taunted.
"That's right…we wouldn't want you to mess it up and end up looking stupid." George added. Hermione bristled, but didn't say anything. Ron looked a little puzzled, but Harry caught on and grinned.
"That's right, Hermione…you're the cleverest witch in our year. Possibly the entire school…and yet you won't attempt the Animagus transformation? What will people think? They might start picking on you, and calling you names, and playing pranks on you…better to beat them to it, wouldn't you say?"
The four of them crowded around Hermione, repeating "c'mon Hermione…try it…be a Marauder…break the rules". Even the apparitions joined in, although they knew she wouldn't hear it. Hermione just got redder and redder, until she finally shrieked, "OKAY!" The Hall got quiet, and several heads turned. Hermione got even redder than before, and she whispered angrily, "Ok, I'll go along with your stupid plan and become an Animagus! I'll be a Marauder! I'll break the rules and have fun, ok?" The four other new Marauders smiled at her and said, "Ok!"
(time jump)
That night, the fivesome were assembled in Harry and Ron's dorm. Harry had his wand in one hand and a parchment in the other. The other four were, of course, puzzled by this.
"Harry, why are we here, and what is that parchment?" Ron asked. Harry smiled.
"The Marauders of the past created themselves a way to communicate with all the Marauders of the future, just in case some of them weren't direct descendants. The incantation on this parchment, along with your names and Marauder nicknames, will make you able to see my dad, Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black." James smiled and said, "Told you your mother was brilliant, didn't I?" The twins were in shock.
"Sirius Black is a Marauder?" Ron whirled on them. "Don't worry, he's okay!" "Yeah!" Sirius added. Ron continued, "And might I add, you may not be the great pranksters you are today without his work on the Marauder's Map, and his discoveries of the secrets of Slytherin House…which we're going to put to work tonight, right Harry?"
"That's right…but first, the incantation. When I point my wand at you, say your Marauder nickname."
"Wait a minute Harry, Hermione doesn't have one!"
"That's right! We don't even know what she's going to be!"
Harry turned to Hermione. "They've got a point, you know…what ARE you going to be?" Hermione smiled.
"I'm going to be an owl. My Marauder nickname will be 'Feathers'."
"Hmmmm…Beaky, Lionheart, Buzz, Dusty, and Feathers. I like it!" Remus exclaimed over Harry's shoulder.
"Well, Remus likes it, so I guess we pass. Now for the incantation-" Harry raised his wand and spoke. "Marauders past and present, unite! Let those of the present see the past for themselves! Ron Weasley!" Harry pointed his wand at Ron. Ron cleared his throat and said, "Lionheart!"
"Fred Weasley!" "Buzz!"
"George Weasley!" "Dusty!"
"Hermione Granger!" "Feathers!"
There was a small silence, and then the newest Marauders jumped in shock, seeing three floating apparitions behind Harry. He smiled and said, "May I present Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter…or as they're better known to us, Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs." Ron and Hermione made their welcomes. Fred asked, "So where's Wormtail?"
The six of them who knew the truth about Wormtail froze for a second, then Harry and Ron related the whole story to the twins. Their major reaction was one of disbelief.
"I can't believe a Marauder could be that bad" Fred said. George agreed.
"Well, he is!" everyone else exclaimed simultaneously.
"Annnnyway…weren't we going to pull off a prank tonight?" Hermione asked. The others, all seven of them, looked at her in shock.
"Hermione, you sound like you're excited about this!" Ron said in wonder. Hermione smiled mischievously at him. "Shall we go?"
Harry grinned. "Sure! To Slytherin House!"
The group walked (and floated) down to the common room. Harry climbed up on the fireplace and showed them how to open the passage to the Meeting Place. Once inside, he showed them how to lower the Shield Charm on each doorway. One by one, they passed through the archway with the snake on it, into the dungeon common room of Slytherin House. Harry led the way to the 4th year boys' dorms. A quick "Alohomora" and the door swung open. The group almost instantly recoiled at the sound of Crabbe and Goyle's snoring, but a quick "Quietus" from Hermione stopped that. The group stood in a semicircle around Draco's bed. The twins and Hermione sniggered quietly at the earmuffs and pajamas, while Harry explained the plan. The original Marauders stood by, watching proudly as the next generation went to work.
Hermione started by changing the colors of Draco's pajamas and earmuffs to the red and gold colors of Gryffindor House. Fred enchanted the pajamas so they couldn't be taken off, and added a pattern of lions that roared softly and prowled around the fabric. Ron Transfigured a mirror that was on Draco's beside table into a stuffed Gryffindor lion, which he put into Draco's arms. Harry pulled a photo of himself playing Quidditch out of his pocket. "Compliments of Colin Creevey" he said as he magically attached it to the wall over Draco's head, made it bigger with an "Engorgio", and added a caption that said "My Hero". George provided the best part…he waved his wand and said, "Restrainius Invisiblium!" No one could see it, but invisible walls sprang up around the bed, so Draco couldn't leave it.
The new generation of Marauders stood back and admired their handiwork. Harry pulled out a camera and snapped a photo of the sleeping Draco. He then said "Finite Incantatem!" Everything changed back to normal, and Harry took back the photo of him playing Quidditch. His fellow pranksters were in shock.
"I'm sure you have your reasons Harry, but WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Ron yelled. Everyone seemed to agree with him. Harry sighed.
"Because, Lionheart…if Draco woke up before breakfast and found himself in that position, he'd easily be able to get out of it. No, I want him to make it to breakfast ok…that's where it's gonna hit him." He explained the rest of the plan to the rest of the Marauders as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.
(Time jump again)
The Marauders were all smiles as they sat down to breakfast the next day, with the exception of Harry. He had decided to at least pretend to look sad, so Snape would assume the stint in the Trophy Room had affected him. Looking up, he noticed the nasty smile on Snape's face as he looked at him. Harry seethed, but forced himself to stay calm. The best, he thought to himself, is yet to come. Everything went along as usual, until a large noise broke the silence.
"ENGORGIO!"
Something large was spreading over the enchanted ceiling. It grew and grew until it covered the entire ceiling. It was the picture Harry had taken of Draco the night before, magically enchanted so it moved, and big enough for everyone to see EVERYTHING. The earmuffs, the pajamas, the stuffed lion, the picture of Harry playing Quidditch…Draco Malfoy looked like the biggest Gryffindor fan in the entire school.
Laughter rang out through the Great Hall. Even the Slytherins were cackling at Draco, who looked like his dog had died. He started screaming, but no one could hear him over the laughter. About half the students had hit the floor laughing (including all the Marauders). The teachers were cackling, including McGonagall this time, Harry noted. Snape had his usual murderous look. Dumbledore surveyed the scene on the ceiling with an emotion Harry couldn't identify. Around that time, the picture-Draco woke up. Seeing and hearing everyone laughing at him, he looked around in confusion. Seeing the picture on the wall, he attempted frantically to rip it off, but couldn't. He stood in front of it, yelling for quiet, and noticed his pajamas. Shrieking, he pulled and tugged at them, but they just wouldn't come off. If anything, the lions on them roared a little louder. The picture-Draco looked around frantically, trying to find an escape. He leaped off his bed, only to bounce off the invisible wall, back onto his bed, off the wall on the other side, and finally on the bed on his stomach. At this, the other half of the students hit the floor laughing. The picture-Draco sat on his bed and cried. The Draco in the Great Hall was still screaming. Dumbledore spoke something no one could hear, and the picture disappeared.
"POTTER!!!!!" Draco screamed. "I KNOW THIS WAS YOUR DOING!!!!!"
"You can't prove that!" Harry retorted. "And why exactly was there a picture of me playing Quidditch over your bed, with a caption that said "My Hero."?" Quite a few heads turned in Draco's direction at that point. Crabbe and Goyle moved away from him quickly. Draco fumed and reached for his wand. Harry reached for his.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy…that won't be necessary." Dumbledore said. "Harry, did you do this?" "Not all of it" Ron whispered. Harry choked back his laugh and said, "No, Headmaster."
"I believe
he's lying, Headmaster" Snape spoke up, pulling a familiar looking vial out of
his robes. Harry recognized the Veritaserum. "And I can prove it with just
three drops of this serum."
Dumbledore looked at Harry with the familiar twinkle in his eye. Harry got the feeling he always did…that somehow, Dumbledore was looking right through him. "I don't think that will be necessary, Severus. Harry said he didn't do it, and I believe him. I'm sure he learned his lesson from the prank he pulled on you." A few chuckles and sniggers popped up from the audience. Snape whirled around, eyes flashing, attempting to find the ones who laughed, almost as if he was daring anyone to recall what had happened the day before. A small silence was broken by the clatter of cutlery. Draco had attempted to dart out the door while everyone's attention was diverted…unfortunately, he had knocked his plate and silverware to the floor.
"Where ya going, Lion Boy?" Fred yelled out.
"I think the Sorting Hat made a mistake with you, Gryffy!" George added. The name caught on like wildfire.
"GRYFFY! GRYFFY! GRYFFY!" The shout rang out through the Hall. Draco stared at everyone, tears rolling down his cheeks, before he ran out crying. Everyone had another good laugh, then settled back into breakfast.
(A/N: And there we have Chapter 4. You like? I hope you did. The bit where they find out the Weasley twins are Animagi was a bit of genius, in my humble opinion…it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, knowing secret passages is all well and good, but if you travel them as inconspicuous animals, there's less of a chance of getting caught. And just because you transform doesn't mean you can't carry anything with you. I think Chapter 5's gonna be the end. Maybe not though…the gang still hasn't gotten into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff House yet. Do you think Harry's grown up enough to attempt to sneak into Cho Chang's room and see what she wears to bed? Mayyyyybe ::smiles:: Anyway, read and review!
