Author's note: I know I haven't updated in a really long time. I'm really sorry. The new year had started and I've been really busy with my homework at school, I rarely have time to write anything. So, readers please be patient, I will update once in a while and I will keep this story going as far as possible.


Chapter 11
The First Prank


The golden orb was slowly rising into the sky and the wicked silver moon had disappeared. In the room was an unconscious little boy, his body full of tiny scars that the wolf had scratched long ago. There was an extremely deep and long scratch running down the boy's arm. There was also a pool of dried blood on the floor; the walls and the door also suffered deep scratches.

Madam Pomfrey gasped as she pulled open the door; she put a hand to her mouth in horror. She had never expected that werewolf transformations could be this bad, this terrifying. Apparently, she was really very wrong. She quickly covered the boy in robes and carried him back to the infirmary with a little spell.

She began treating his wounds, cleaning them, and fixing them with a swish or flick of her wand, depending how serious the wound was. She gaped when she fixed that deep gash that ran down his arm.

Remus stirred in the bed and opened his eyes tiredly. He smiled weakly at her.

"It's terrible, Remus," said Madam Pomfrey quietly. "Did you go through this every time?"

Remus nodded. "It's not as bad every time though," he said.

Madam Pomfrey sighed; it was so awful to imagine a boy only at eleven to go through all these sufferings. She had no idea how Remus had survived when he was so young; perhaps the wolf wasn't so agitated then. She bustled around in her office and came out carrying a goblet of potion. "Drink up," she said.

Remus drank all of it and felt like vomiting. "Ewww," he said. "What was that?"

"Blood replenishing potion," answered Madam Pomfrey. "Eat this." And she shoved a chocolate frog towards him.

"Gee, thanks," said Remus weakly.

"I afraid you've to stay here for the whole day," said Madam Pomfrey, immediately Remus tried to protest but felt pain in his head.

"Owww," he said painfully.

"You've no energy for studying," said the matron. "And it looks like the wolf tried to destroy the door by trying to knock it down."

Remus groaned. "I must look terrible," he said.

"And thus, you must stay here," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Ma'am, can you tell my friends," said Remus, "you know, the ones that took me here yesterday, to help me take notes or anything important?"

"Of course, dear," said Madam Pomfrey. "But now, you should have a good rest."

Remus came back from the hospital wing a few days later and he had missed a lot of classes. James and Sirius took the trouble to copy notes for their dear friend, they knew something wrong was going on, but just couldn't point out what it was. They had wanted to visit him but the matron didn't allow them to. Remus just told them that he was really sick and had to stay in the hospital wing and the three friends accepted his reason


A few weeks had passed and the four of them settled down on the floor in their dormitory.

"Now," said Sirius. "Halloween is coming in a few days time."

"So?" asked Peter.

"It's time for some pranks, Pete!" Sirius announced and flashed his mischievous smile.

"I don't like the sound of it," said Remus. "But it sounds fun." He grinned.

"I'm all in for this!" said James.

"Me too!" said Peter excitedly. "So what's the plan about Halloween?"

"I found out," Sirius started, "that on every Halloween there bound to be pumpkins and bats in the Great Hall during the feast."

"And what are we going to do?" asked James.

"Bewitched the pumpkins," said Sirius, his smile broadening, "and enlarge the bats."

"How are we going to do all this stuff?" said Remus.

"That's simple enough, Remus," said Sirius. "I'm sure the charms could be found in our lessons' textbook."

"We'd need a few days to master the spells," said James, "just enough for Halloween."


"Wrong wand movement!" said Remus at once as he watched Peter practicing the spells in their dormitories. "It's a big swish, like circling something, and then a really hard flick. Watch me. Enchanmento!"

He yelled the incantation, his hand moving as quickly, the chair his wand was pointing to started to move on its own accord.

"That's brilliant, Remus!" praised James. "I'm not so good with charms…"

"I'm sure you'd master it," said Remus, grinning. "Enlargement charm?" James nodded. "Look here, Engorgio!"

James' hand started to swell twice its size, the boy looked at his own hand and a very shocked and angry expression dawned on his face. "REMUS LUPIN!"

Remus stuck out his tongue, grinning and laughing wildly as James chased him all around the dormitory, yelling, "REMUS LUPIN! YOU BETTER GET THIS PROPER AND DONE!"

"The Enlargement charm is already done," said Remus, as James finally caught up with him and the two of them rolling about in a bed.

"REMUS LUPIN!" James shouted, but the very next second he was laughing like a mad person. Remus joined in the laughter.

"Oh Remus!" said James. "You're one absolute Marauder!"

"Aren't we all?" said Remus cheekily. "Marauders?"

"Yeah, yeah!" piped up Peter. "The Marauders Four?"

"Agreed!" said Sirius, walking into the dormitory. "How are you all getting on?" he asked and James raised his right hand, his face turning gloomy. "I could get it done. Grantanto!"

James' mouth dropped open as his hand swelled even bigger, looking as though it was about to burst. He heard an awful crack and his hand fell on his arm. "SIRIUS BLACK!"

"Whoooops!" said Sirius, putting an innocent face on his face. "Wrong incantation!"

James was about to chase him around the room like a little boy when he realized his hand was throbbing painfully.

"I think it's broken," said Remus, examining his friend's hand closely. "C'mon, let's get him to the infirmary." The four boys went down to the common room, out of the portrait hole and towards the hospital wing. Remus knocked on the door and stepped back a little as he heard somebody approaching. The other three was further back from Remus; none of them had been in the infirmary before.

The door opened and a young matron smiled warmly, "Remus!" she said. "You're not hurt or anything are you?" she said, peering at the small boy. "It's not that time yet. The moon's still –"

"ERHEM," Remus interrupted to keep her from mentioning more, Sirius ears perked, he had caught hearing something related to the moon. It sounds as though Remus bound to be in the hospital a lot. That time eh? Sirius thought to himself, taking a little note in his head. "Madam Pomfrey, my friend's sick."

"Sick?" said the matron, "Poor boy! Who had enlarged your hand like this? Oh no, it's broken, you poor lamb, come in, come in!" Madam Pomfrey grabbed his other hand and pulled James inside the hospital wing. The three of them also went into the hospital wing.

The place was almost pure white; the white beds, the white ceiling, white hangings. There's a room somewhere in the infirmary, which Remus reckoned is Madam Pomfrey's office. That place must have cupboards, which contained rows of potions like that disgusting blood-replenishing potion.

Madam Pomfrey took her wand by a table and muttered a little spell, which caused the arm to deflate to its regular size and murmured another one and the broken hand was fixed. She stuffed a piece of chocolate inside James' mouth before he could say anything.

"You don't mess around with those enlargement charms again," said Madam Pomfrey strictly. "Boys running here to get themselves OK, playing with spells among themselves, duels in the corridors, Slytherins and Gryffindors rivalry, really."

James put up a thumbs-up sign with his repaired hand and grinned, then as he was about to put it down, he messed up his hair, looking as though he had just landed from his broom.

The pumpkins were flying around in the dark Great Hall randomly; the bats were swooshing about normally. Delicacies for the Halloween feast were all placed on the five tables in the Great Hall, including the Staff's. Everything seemed all right. The boys ate hurriedly and silently distinguished all the candles in the craved pumpkins.

"Who switched off the lights?" said a gruff voice.

"There's no lights here, you idiot!" said another voice. "Hogwarts cannot run on electricity."

"What's eleckrity, my dear housemate," replied the gruff voice. "Where are all the candles?"

"You've not a wizard for nothing!" said yet another voice.

The four boys were doing it quickly, sending pumpkins flying and crashing into people's head out of their own accord.

"Enchanmento!" whispered a voice. "Phrase One almost done. Start on Phrase Two," Instructed someone.

"Engorgio," squeaked a voice, his wand pointing about.

"Engorgio!" said another Gryffindor, his wand aimed at the creature flying about.

"Stop, stop, stop," said a voice, which Remus recognized as James'. "All done, lights about to be on."

Remus realized this was true. A good lot of students had realized that they were not wizards (or witches) for nothing, many of them started muttering Lumos and the Great Hall was filled with dim wand lights.

"OUCH!" said a Slytherin. "What was that?" he spun around, pointing his wand at the 'creature', which had attacked him earlier on. "What the – MONSTER!"

The prank had gone wrong, maybe not that wrong. Enlarged bats were flying low, most of the girls were screaming while the others tried to identify what was going on. The craved pumpkins were also enlarged. The three boys had been sure they aimed properly and rounded on the fourth marauder.

"Good job Pete!" said Sirius, patting on his friend's back.

"What?" Peter squeaked. "OUCH!"

"Good," commented James. "Now we'd have to blend into the crowd."

"Lumos!" muttered Remus. "Owww! What was that?" his mouth dropped open, and saw an out-of-the-ordinary enlarged bat perched on his shoulder. "Shooooo!" the bat took no notice and began pecking at Remus.

"What's going on?" a strict voice shouted. "STUPEFY!" a red jet of light shot out somewhere from the staff's table and hit something flying about. The pumpkin hit the chaotic students, people started running about, screaming, yelling and shouting. Many had started to run towards the exit of the Great Hall, which now was crammed and stuck. People were pushing one another and tripping on the floor.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore shouted. The people all froze and looked at the headmaster. There was a still silence, but alas, it was before a pumpkin flew towards Dumbledore and hit him on the back of the head. He whipped out his wand and shot the pumpkin down with a stunning spell. "SILENCE!" he roared once more. "Fifth years and above, stay to stun, fourth years and before, out!"

The people started to move out of the Great Hall orderly, the four pranksters among them. Red jets of light were shooting out of many people's wand, bats began to descend and pumpkins exploded at the spell.

Professor McGonagall had arranged all the students in the Entrance Hall according to their houses. Students were muttering to one another excitedly, discussing who was behind all these attacking. The four marauders were grinning and whispering among themselves. About half an hour later, all the students, and staff assembled at the Entrance Hall.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I wished those who were and know who was behind this would stay behind, the others were dismissed."

The four Marauders stayed and one boy, a Slytherin

none other than Severus Snape.


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Author's note: This chapter has stated where the title of the story, the Marauders Four came from. The first prank of the story is already done, more to look forward to, especially with Remus. I'd try my best to update once every month if the schedule in school get really tight.

Thanks to the two readers who reviewed, continue to read, please!