Y'all know the deal...I own nothing. Actually, scratch that. I own quite a bit of the things in this story, considering it deals with the second generation of the Marauders (an idea I came up with) and their children, the third generation (whom I created).

The Next Generation: Marauders^3

Chapter 6: What Now?

Richard and Eddie spent a good portion of the evening explaining to Henry about the Marauders. He was understandably surprised (and more than a little jealous that his father wasn't a member).

"So this all started with your grandfather and his friends?" he asked Richard, who nodded.

"That's right...who would have thought a Head Boy would cause so much trouble?"

"Two" Eddie remarked. "Your dad was Head Boy too." Richard smiled.

"Well, I guess I'll have to make that one of my goals...wouldn't want to break family tradition, would I?" he said.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" said Eddie. "How about we show him the Meeting Place? And the statues?" Richard brightened.

"Perfect...but we have to wait a little bit first. The common room's way too crowded right now."

Later that night, the newest generation of Marauders (plus one) padded slowly down the stairs from their dormitory to the common room.

"I wish your dad hadn't lost that cloak" Eddie remarked. "Invisibility would definitely come in handy right about now." The three paused in front of the fireplace and pulled off the cloak.

"Ok, Henry, up we go." The boys climbed up onto the mantle, next to the portrait of Godric Gryffindor.

"See that crest right there, Henry?" Richard asked, pointing to the familiar Marauders crest next to the portrait. "Tap the side of the frame with your wand and say "Moonium"."

Henry nodded, tapped, and spoke. "Moonium" The portrait swung outward, revealing the same hole Harry had found so many years before...and his father before him.

Richard and Eddie led Henry inside. "This" Eddie said, "is the Meeting Place. It connects the common rooms of all four Houses." Henry looked around in awe.

"This may be the coolest thing I've ever seen...hey, what are those statues?" he asked, pointing to the seven statues in the center of the room. Eddie smiled.

"Ahhh...the statues. They were created in honor of the ultimate pranks pulled by the Marauders. Unfortunately, we have yet to hear about them."

"Yeah" Richard added. "It'd be nice to know what we have to live up to, though. So, Henry," he said, quickly changing the subject, "shall we go back to bed, or would you like to pull a prank tonight?"

"A prank?" Henry said. "I hadn't been thinking about that...do we really have to? My dad would go ballistic if he found out I got in trouble."

Richard and Eddie just stared at him, mouths slightly agape. Eddie was the first to speak.

"Henry, we haven't been Marauders very long...or maybe we have, since we're the sons of Marauders. Kind of like the Stonecutters."

"Eddie," said Richard, "enough with the Muggle TV show references. Henry was brought up completely magic, you know. And I think you're losing your train of thought."

"Ok, ok...ANYWAY. As far as being Marauders goes, there's only one thing you need to know about pranks."

"What's that?" Henry asked.

"THAT'S WHAT MARAUDERS DO!" the boys yelled. Henry winced and hissed, "Shhhhhh!"

"What? The portrait hole's closed, no one can hear us."

"We could be miles away from Hogwarts, you know...just because this room connects the common rooms doesn't mean it's IN the castle."

"The point is, Marauders pull pranks. If we had a charter or a constitution of any kind, it would be written in the very first article. Our parents did it..."

"Well, not my mom" Richard said. "And our grandparents did it..."

"Mine didn't!" Eddie remarked.

"It's tradition, Henry. A tradition we're proud to carry on, even if we don't have any ideas for pranks right now. And we want you to help us carry on the tradition...with the assistance of your special gift, of course." Henry thought it over for a while.

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble?" Richard looked at him oddly...like he'd grown an extra head or something.

"Are you kidding? Of course we're going to get in trouble! That would be article 2 of our charter, if we had one. Our parents were in trouble so many times when they were here, I'm sure they lost count...but they never got worse than detention." Henry went quiet for a few minutes before nodding.

"Well, I'm definitely in...I think we should to go bed though. I've got no ideas for pranks, and tomorrow's a big day."

"I agree" Eddie chimed in. "We'll all need a good night's sleep for tomorrow." The boys quickly popped through to the Gryffindor common room, sneaking quietly up the stairs to their beds.

(A/N: Ok. If I'm on Chapter 6 and there's only been one prank pulled (two if you count Henry's little trick against the Malfoy twins), then I am definitely falling behind. I guess I'll have to stretch this installment out, since my next chapter will deal with a couple of classes at least...not to mention two surprises. Reviews please!)