Disclaimer: anything you recognize belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Anything you don't is mine, my own, my precious.....oops LOTR slipped in there!

A/N: This is my first fic, hope you enjoy.....please read and review...pretty please

Chapter One - Boys Dorm, Gryffindor Tower

"Oi, Padfoot, get up" the three remaining boys, found themselves shouting, not for the first time, at their best friend.

"No, Piss Off" The forth boy answered from somewhere in the depths of his enormous bed.

"Don't say we didn't warn you then" one of the other boys shouted back whilst giving a silent countdown to the others three...two...one... "Now". All three boys ran to where their friend was 'asleep' with pillows at the ready to hit him with, not to mention the large bucket of water hovering above his bed. They pulled back the drapes that surrounded his bed, as they did all of the others, and came face to face with a very big, very angry looking black dog
The others backed away muttering their apologies. "Sorry mate, we were just going to get some food". At this the dog instantly transformed into a boy..."Well why didn't you say so?" He asked with a huge grin on his face. A pillow fight immediately ensued.

To anyone looking in on this scene, it would seem very, very strange, but for the four boys it was a perfectly normal start to the day. Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were after all wizards, currently in their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Not only had these boys been best friends for almost seven years, they shared one very big secret and were probably the best pranksters ever to attend the school. One thing that helped them be so good was their secret. Sirius, James and Peter were all animagi. They had the ability to transform into an animal at will. They had spent three years working out how to do this in order to help their friend Remus.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf. His friends had discovered this in their second year and had immediately begun looking for a way to help him through the transformations each month. Werewolves are, the discovered, only a danger to humans, not animals. By being able to turn into animals they could therefore accompany Remus each month. Since they mastered how to do this in their fifth year, the four boys had had numerous adventures and had discovered more about the school than they suspected most of the teachers knew. Remus also found that by having company, his transformations had become a lot less painful.
It was no surprise to James, Remus and Peter therefore when they found themselves confronted with the black dog as this was Sirius' animagus form and they had seen it thousands of times before.

Sirius Black was what most girls would consider their ideal man. Tall, dark, and extremely handsome and he had the most amazing bright blue eyes. Not to mention the fact he was very clever, getting excellent grades without trying, and had a wicked sense of humor. And he knew it James Potter was very similar to Sirius in personality except he didn't loose his temper quite so easily and he was much more patient. James had short black hair that everyone was convinced had a mind of its own. It always looked just like he'd come of a broomstick no matter what he did to it, so he's given up trying to get it to lie flat and instead messed it up even more, especially when around girls. He had hazel eyes that seemed to glow and it goes without saying he was also very handsome. He was just as clever as Sirius and just as big a prankster. If the girls didn't swoon over Sirius then they would certainly be swooning over James. His animagus form was that of a beautiful white stag.

Remus Lupin was always considered to be the sensible one of the group, especially after he'd been made a prefect in his fifth year so people were very surprised to discover James was head boy. Remus had to agree with them. It's true to say that Remus usually thought things through before acting unlike James and Sirius but he was just as bad when it came to troublemaking. Other people saw Remus as a quiet, studious boy who didn't say much. His friends knew otherwise. Remus had sandy brown hair and light brown eyes to match. Very few people knew why he left once a month or why he came back looking very tired but he didn't care. He had the best friends a werewolf could ever have.

The last member of the group of friends was Peter Pettigrew. Peter didn't have the confidence of the intelligence of his friends, nor did he have the good looks, but he was loyal and his friends really respected that in him. Peter was small, chubby with brown hair and non de-script brown eyes. He worshipped James, Sirius and Remus like gods. He had the ability to turn into a rat at will. An animal his friends found highly amusing.

To themselves they were known a Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. To the rest of the school they were the Marauders.