Author: Fabs G.
Rating: PG
Summary: When someone threatens to steal the Marauder's title of pranksters extraordinaire, what will they do to see that they keep it?
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, and she's doing a wonderful job with them. I just borrowed them for a small while.
Pairing: None, but there's extremely vague hints of SBRL
Author's note: Ahh, the end at last! Hope you all enjoyed, thanks to all who reviewed! Also, I am in the middle of a mammoth-sized fic that is an alternate ending to OotP- taking from THAT event in the novel. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it.
CHAPTER 7
It had been now a week without word from either The Enemy or The Marauders. People tried to pry something from the four boys, but not one of them said anything beyond 'none of your business'. James and Sirius sniggered and looked proud every time someone asked them, Peter usually clamped a hand over his mouth and Remus had turned harder to pry for information than he had initially been credited for.
People were disappointed. They wanted a resolution, a closure. All the Marauders had to give them was a smile and the word 'patience'.
Regina Locowst, Ravenclaw third year, wondered where everyone was one Wednesday morning as she walked to the Great Hall. She checked a magic grandfather clock at the end of one hallway and whistled- no wonder no one was around, she was probably the first to wake up! Not that she was that surprised, she was usually the first of her house to wake up every morning, but usually other houses beat her to the Great Hall.
Congratulations for the newly set record, Regina, she congratulated herself.
She climbed down a set of stairs, went up another, held on to a third one as it changed direction with her on it, walked down two hallways and turned left towards the hallway that led her directly to the Great Hall. Her eyes opened very wide.
Well over her head, words were scribbled in the air, very much like the notes in the Great Hall ceiling, burning red, golden and gray:
The Maraudian War is over.
This Maraudian War goodbye 'gift' courtesy of an anonymous
cooperation between The Marauders and The Enemy (who
really isn't that much of an enemy anymore)
Regina looked down the hallway. A six-step high staircase shot out from the floor where yesterday no staircase had existed. Regina place one foot tentatively over the first step.
Nothing happened.
She tried the other foot with the same results. Slowly, and very carefully, she climbed up the six steps. A small landing crowned the small staircase. Regina stepped on it, fearful of what her eyes would see.
She swallowed.
The landing ended abruptly. The only way to go back down to floor level on the other side was to climb down a rope. Beyond it, a small pond had grown from Merlin-knows-where, and the only way to go across it was to walk over a narrow plank of wood. Obstacles to be climbed on laid beyond, as did more ropes to climb up, as did small harmless animals to be charmed and, through some incredible deal, Peeves to be dealt with at the end of the hallway. Merlin only knew what the Marauders and The Enemy had made to have Peeves agreed to do it and -supposedly- not spill their names.
Regina climbed down the steps, thinking it better to wait for someone of her own house to be there before going in there.
An hour later the students (and a couple of stray teachers) had worked out several things: All hallways leading to the Great Hall entrance doors had been 'obstacled', all of them being a copy of each other. Wands did not work in this hallway except in the spots you were supposed to use them. If you either tripped, fell, or failed to charm something as you were supposed to, you went back to the start automatically. Even teachers were forced to do the Obstacle Hallway. Also, no student was immune to the it. Even Sirius, James, Remus and Peter (the latter of them had to restart twice) had to sort it all out, including dealing with Peeves at the end. (Though, suspiciously, Peeves dropped less amount of water, ink bottles or dungbombs over them than over the rest of the students)
The Marauders, of course, were expecting the wrath of the teachers and even of Dumbledore himself but, out of the blue, the teachers who hadn't had to go through the Hallways beamed at them.
"Alright, this is getting on my nerves" said Sirius as McGonagall smiled at them for the third time after a student entered the Great Hall, triumphant of having gone through the obstacles.
"What?" asked James, his mouth full of toast.
"McGonagall. She's smiling at us. Again."
"You know, Sirius-" started Remus "She's not the only one" said Remus, glancing at the teacher's table.
Flitwick was downright glowing, Dumbledore had his twinkle in his eyes and Luros, while he wasn't smiling (no one knew for certain if he could) he certainly looked less gloomy than usual.
"I think I know why" said Remus.
James looked at him, and eyebrow raised. "You don't think…" he said, with very faint beginnings of a smile
"They certainly can't do it. Not legally." He cast another look at the teacher's table, where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking amiably "And most of us are having fun going through the hallways"
Peter's head bounced between the two of them, trying to understand, as if watching a tennis match,
"Except for the Peeves bit" said James offhandedly.
Sirius cleared his throat. James and Remus looked at him "Would you mind sharing your telepathic conversation?"
"You do know that telepathy implies no talking, Sirius, don't you?" smirked Remus.
"I don't care. Share it anyway." He growled.
Remus and James exchanged a smile "The Hallways are testing the students from all houses in charms, physical skills, hand-eye coordination, reflexes..." said Remus
"It's the ultimate test of abilities, as you well said last night." Interjected James
"The teachers can't do something like that inside the school, involving potential dangers for the students. It would be illegal to do it without the ministry's consent"
"In other words, we saved them the work" simplified Sirius.
The others nodded.
"So, what you're saying" began Peter "is that Sirius actually thought of something that helped the teachers?"
Sirius, recognizing that Peter was right, paled. James and Remus guffawed loudly.
Later that day, on their way to their last class of the day -divination-, James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were stopped by an unique voice.
"A word?" said Dumbledore's voice from behind them.
All four stopped dead in their places, inertia not budging them an inch. They turned around at the same time.
Dumbledore had his hands in his pockets, his long beard, for once, slung over his shoulder. His eyes were twinkling…
"We're late for class" squeaked Peter.
"Not to worry, I had a word or two with your teacher and it won't take long." He smiled "Can we have a short walk?"
They nodded, walked to where he was and started walking down a hallway away from the Divination classroom at an identical pace.
"Impressive, really" said Dumbledore, looking at the paintings along the hallway. "It'd have taken a month or two for me to take the proposal up to Bagnold and have her approve. Saved me quite a lot of work."
The fear was beginning to leave- very slowly.
"So, no detention?" asked James.
Dumbledore actually laughed "No, no detention- I'm appointing teachers at the beginning of each hallway, to keep an eye on the students. If by the end of the day no one is injured, no detention will be issued. Might I enquire who had the initial idea for the… whatever you called it?"
"Maraudian Obstacle Hallway" provided James.
Sirius raised a hand as if in class, already smiling smugly.
"Aahh.. of course. Young Mr. Black. Should have recognized your handiwork." Commented Dumbledore.
"Thank you, sir" he said, as if Dumbledore had just given him the Order of Merlin.
"Deflate, Sirius" said Remus "Or I'm going to be the one to puncture your ego"
Sirius cleared his throat, clearly thrown off "Yes, well… I had help"
Dumbledore stopped and faced them. "Speaking of which… one last word."
Remus's dread suddenly came back. Had he crossed the line? They had been just harmless pranks. No one had been hurt. Had he betrayed Dumbledore's confidence by actually doing something he had wanted to and had needed to work up the nerve for over a year?
"I do not want you to think that I approve of what you do. I do not." He wasn't completely serious- the twinkle remained- but all four knew he was not joking "However, I realize I cannot stop you- nor do I want you, for you need some sort of distraction. In your case, it's this. I am condoning this prank because it has actually turned useful- rather unexpectedly to you I believe- to have students and teachers brush up on their field techniques. It is not the same to charm an angry Crup in a classroom under controlled circumstances than when running for your life in the field. Still, be very careful with your actions." He said pointedly.
All four nodded solemnly, taking in his words.
"And last, but not least… I do hope this is the last we'll see of The Enemy…" he said, raising up and eyebrow at a blushing Remus "… yet not of the Marauders." He turned around to go, leaving them free to go to class.
All four saw him go, and get lost in the darkness. When he was gone, they broke into four identical slightly mystified grins. They felt odd- as though they had just been punished with sweet wordsy while being imparted a lesson. Sirius grinned wider, passed an arm round Remus's shoulders, and turned themselves round to go to class, James and Peter closely behind.