Chapter 13: The Final Prank

A/N I was originally going to put a chapter between this one and the last one, but I wasn't sure where I planned to go with that anymore, so here we are. Also, sorry for the long wait between chapters. My only excuse is that I haven't really found the inspiration to write (bit of writer's block and interest in other things). I've been knitting a lot lately as well as working. Anyway, I've just been a bit busy, but enjoy the second to last chapter of this book. Please let me know what you think. And I'm sorry if it is a bit short.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in this story that appears to come from anything Harry Potter related. The only thing that I own in this story is my OC, Jasmine, as well as the plot of this story.

Shortly after James returned to Hogwarts from his extended stay at home, he received news that his father had recovered and was doing much better. That was a relief for James, and he was happy to hear that his father would be okay. He wasn't sure how much longer his parents would be around for as he knew they were on the older side. He just hoped they lived long enough to see him get married. And hopefully they would be seeing him marry Lily, but that was a thought for another time, a time when they weren't facing a war and NEWTs as their time at Hogwarts was nearing its end.

Also, as the term continued, the Marauders and Lily continued to study hard for NEWTs. James and Lily continued to try and set the best example they could as Head Boy and Head Girl, whilst simultaneously keeping up with their schoolwork and studying and revising for NEWTs. Also, in the case of James, taking the Gryffindor quidditch team to the quidditch cup final which they won, in part thanks to James as well as Sirius. The others were thrilled and the party in the Gryffindor common room afterwards was legendary, though most of them don't actually remember most of it (too much Firewhiskey).

Now, it was nearing the end of term (about 2 months left) and Hogwarts was in a flurry, particularly in the case of the 7th years what with NEWTs coming up so soon. But for 5 certain 7th year Gryffindors, NEWTs were not their main concern. Rather the Marauders were focused on how they were going to leave their mark on Hogwarts before they left for good. They knew they had to pull the ultimate prank before they left otherwise what would their legacy even be. It would all be for not, really. So, with about 2 months left at Hogwarts, the 5 Marauders gathered for one of the last times in that empty classroom they usually met in to start planning the most amazing prank ever (at least they hoped it would be).

"Well, since we will be leaving Hogwarts soon, we must figure out what we should do for our very last prank. It should be the prank to end all pranks," James announced to the others. "So, anyone have any ideas as to what that could be?"

"I think I remember seeing some rather promising ones in some of our old prank ideas, when we were looking through them at Halloween," Remus said. "I'll go back over those, but otherwise, I'm not sure what else we could do."

"It's as good as place to start as any," James agreed. "Maybe some of our old prank ideas will spark some ideas."

"I agree," Jaz said. "But before we go on with looking through the ideas, might I suggest something?" All four boys turned to look at her, "There was this one prank I always wanted to pull back when I was at Beauxbatons, but it was way too extravagant for me to pull off all by myself. I had tried to get some of my friends involved, but none were willing to risk getting caught."

"Well, what is it, Mare?" Sirius asked.

"My idea was to turn a few random objects into portkeys that would send students to random locations around the grounds and castle that Beauxbatons was located at. I thought it would be funny if students happened to just touch a doorknob and then are transported to the bathroom or something. It would be so funny, at least I thought it would be."

The boys stared at Jaz in awe, but really by now they should know that she was particularly clever, especially when it came to coming up with prank ideas. Though the stunned silence didn't last long as Sirius broke it a few moments later. "That is absolutely brilliant, Mare. We will probably tweak it slightly, but that idea is the perfect last ever prank." At that point Sirius strode over to his girlfriend and kissed her.

"Okay, so now that we have our prank idea, we need to come up with the logistics of how we are going to pull it off, especially given how extravagant this prank is going to be. We really need to be careful not to get caught," James said. And with that the Marauders set off to plan their biggest, most extravagant prank yet.

Throughout the next couple weeks, when they get the chance in between classes and revising for NEWTs, the Marauders meet up to plan the prank. It takes them the about 2½ weeks but by the end they have a solid plan for what they are going to turn into portkeys, how they are going to get the portkeys where they need to be, and where they portkeys are going to take students. They decided to limit the number of locations to only about 10 to make it a bit easier for them. The locations they decided on are: outside the greenhouses, outside Hagrid's hut, in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, McGonagall's office, the Hospital wing, on the shores of the Black Lake (they wanted to do in the Black Lake, but Jaz brought up that they didn't know if anyone couldn't swim or was afraid of water), the Potion's classroom, the Divination classroom, the library (specifically the restricted section), and a random classroom/room on the third floor.

For what the actual portkeys would be everyday items around the castle. They decided to replace some of the forks and serving spoons, at least two or three at every table. They figured since they are in pretty good with the House Elves, it shouldn't be a problem to convince them to go along with their plan. They would also replace certain doorknobs, specifically ones to certain classrooms that were used frequently so that would ensure that they would be used and not just left. Also, they decided to replace some quills with portkeys, that one was going to be the hardest to pull off, but they believed they could do it. They figured that they could just offer the quills to students or just slide them in with their stuff as they passed by. They could eve just offer to let their fellow classmates borrow one of their quills if necessary. And by replacing or making all these things portkeys, it would likely ensure that most students would fall for the prank.

The only part of the prank that needed to be researched at this point was how to actually make a portkey. Now Jasmine knew the basics because she had wanted to try it at Beauxbatons, but she wasn't sure if what she knew actually would work. Thus, over the next 4 weeks, they researched and practiced turning things into portkeys when they had free time. Their first few attempts were unsuccessful, but by the end of the first week, they had been able to turn a book into a portkey. The next 3 weeks were spent practicing and figuring out how to make the portkey go to a certain location. It took quite a while before they got one to successfully go to the place they wanted it to go. It took them 2 more weeks to create all the portkeys. And as they were making the portkeys, they also figured out how to set the specific time at which the portkey would transport someone. The Marauders were actually able to figure out a way for the portkey to activate as soon as someone touched it or was using the item. That really helped out with their prank.

Now, with only a couple weeks left of their final term at Hogwarts to go, the Marauders were all set to go on with their last ever prank at Hogwarts (and possibly their last prank ever given what awaited them outside the walls of Hogwarts). Though it was during this time that Jasmine came up with another idea.

The Marauders were setting up the final details for their pranks when Jasmine suggested it. "Guys, since we have been talking about leaving a legacy and such with this last prank, I have something I want to suggest."

The boys paused their discussion and turned their attention toward Jaz. "What is it, Mare?" Sirius asked rather curious as to what she might suggest. He knew it would likely be ingenious give how her earlier idea was turning out.

"I just thought that since we are leaving Hogwarts, we won't really need the Marauders' Map anymore. So, I thought that we could 'accidentally' lose it to Filch or something." Jasmine paused in case any of them had any objections. None of them did at least not at the moment, but quickly reassured them, nonetheless. "Obviously we wouldn't let Filch know it was a map or anything like that. And I'm not quite sure how we would go about it, but I just thought we could leave it for the future pranksters of Hogwarts to find and use. That was the original purpose of the map after all, is it not?"

The boys glanced quickly at one another, unsure of how they felt about this idea from Jasmine. "Well, that is an interesting idea, Jazzy. I will say, I hadn't really thought about what would happen to the map after we left Hogwarts. And we can't necessarily hand it down to our children as that would be unfair to the rest of the Marauders since their children might not have access to the map as well," James said, thinking out loud. "Overall, I think that is a great idea, Jazzy. What do the rest of you think?"

Remus readily agreed, as did Peter. Sirius agreed as well, but his agreement was given through a kiss to Jasmine's cheek rather than any words.

"That settles it then," James said. "Guess we are going to now come up with a plan to lose the Marauders' Map and have Filch find it."

"About that, I kind of already have an idea in mind," Jasmine revealed. Then she dove into her plan about causing a food fight at the final feast of term. Then somehow having Filch see the map (when it is just a parchment of course) fall out of one of their pockets, likely James's of Sirius's as he will see anything from either of them as "dangerous" and therefore will confiscate it immediately. By the end, they boys all thought it sounded like a pretty good plan and agreed it sounded like the best idea. And thus began the planning and tweaking of a secondary "prank" to lose the Marauders' map.

This secondary "prank" didn't take nearly as long to plan as the first one did as this one was much simpler and didn't have as many moving pieces. The actual main issue that they had to figure out with this "prank" was how they would make sure that Filch would see them drop them map. They definitely would have James or Sirius drop the map, but they couldn't agree on how to do it or the best that would make sure that the caretaker would see it. In the end, they just decided to wing it as really the best way to actually get Filch to see the map fall out of their pocket would be to actually see where he is so they can make sure that he sees it happen.

By the time that all of this was decided and planned, it was about time for them to set up their last final prank at Hogwarts. They had decided to set it up the night before, as they did with the first prank that Jasmine ever helped them with. That way they could divide and conquer, which would get everything in place in time (hopefully). Also, they could make sure that the places that students and possibly faculty would appear would be clear enough to few a few dozen people or so. It was all so brilliant and fantastic, and the Marauders were all super excited to see what would happen the following day. They just couldn't wait to see the madness that would endue due to their prank.

Obviously though, they would also need to get "pranked" as to not make it obvious that this was their doing. They all planned to go to different places as if they all ended up in the same place, that would be too suspicious.

The next morning was one of the best days ever for the 5 Gryffindor pranksters. They were so excited that Lily noticed and asked about it at breakfast. "What's got you five so cheery this morning?" Before any of them (*cough*James*cough) could tell her, Lily said, "Wait, no. I don't want to know. I'm sure this has to do with a prank, and at the moment I want no part of that." Lily then abruptly stood up to leave, but before going gave James a kiss. "Don't get into too much trouble now. Term is almost over, and it wouldn't look good if the Head Boy ended the term in detention." Then she turned to leave.

Before Lily had gotten too far though, James "ran" after her. "Lils, hold up." Lily stopped and waited to see what her boyfriend wanted. "Do you need a spare quill? I've got a bunch extra and wanted to make sure you had enough just in case."

"That's sweet, but I'm sure I have enough," Lily answered, but then hesitated. "Though another wouldn't hurt. Thanks, James." And so, James handed Lily one of the portkey quills, which wouldn't activated until she would use it, as long as it was after or around lunch time. Hopefully she would understand why he gave her the quill later. James also hoped she used the quill before she used any other portkey items.

Once James made it back to the table, Sirius spoke to him. "You sly dog, you. You purposefully gave Lily that quill because it will take her to the same location that you will be at later."

"Pretty sure you're the dog, mate," James said. "And I didn't even notice I did that. I had no idea."

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned back to his food. Sometimes even James was a bit much for him. "I wish I could do that with my girlfriend," Sirius mumbled under his breath.

Jasmine, who was sitting right next to him, heard him. She whispered in his ear, "What's stopping you?" Then she got up to follow Lily out of the Great Hall. She walked at a somewhat slower pace than she normally would to see if Sirius would take the hint to take his chance now. Thankfully he caught on, but rather than do it in the middle of the hall, he pulled her out of the Great Hall Instead. And after a short snog session, he gave her a quill that would send her to the same location he would be at later.

"I know this wasn't part of the original plan, so I didn't want the other to see us breaking the plan a slight bit," Sirius explained.

Jasmine smiled and nodded. "Wouldn't want the others to know what we're up to," Jasmine smirked before giving her boyfriend a kiss. "We better go now, wouldn't want to be later to class."

Sirius smiled at Jasmine, taking her hand as the walked to class together. It was nice to have a bit of alone time because of how rarely they have been privy to it as of late. And even though they weren't truly alone, it was nice to just be together without the other Marauders interrupting them.

As the day continued, the Marauders only got more excited. They tried to hide their enthusiasm as best they could as not to let on that they had something planned, but it got harder as noon approached. Some of the students were starting to be wary of what the day could hold, especially those that knew the Marauders well. But soon it would all be over, and really the Marauders almost couldn't wait.

By the time it was almost noon and time for their prank, everything was all set and in place. James had made sure to swing by the kitchens to check on if the house elves had made sure to use the serving spoons and utensils that they gave them to use for lunch when they were preparing for the meal (they had). Meanwhile, Remus and Sirius had given out most of the quills they had. It was all going according to plan, and it appeared that they would be able to pull this all off without a hitch. That is until just before lunch, Jaz came running up to Sirius looking rather frantic.

Jasmine, who had a free period before lunch, had been tasked with making sure the locations they had set were still set to hold the amount of people that were to be there around lunch time. As she was checking around the potions' classroom, she ran into Snape and some of the other unsavory Slytherins Snape hung out with. The exchange did not go over well, which she knew was not what they needed right now. So, after the incident with the Slytherins, Jasmine ran to go find Sirius. And that is how Sirius found himself walking down the corridor and only to suddenly get an armful of Jasmine.

"Mare? What are you doing here? I thought you we were supposed to meet up in the Great Hall." Sirius was worried. This wasn't something Jasmine typically did.

Jasmine, having had her head buried in Sirius's cloak, pulled back so she could answer him. She had tear tracks on her face, but before Sirius could say anything about it, Jasmine spoke up. "I was down by the potions' classroom checking to make sure it would still do for our plan and such. Well, as I was leaving, I ran into Snape and some other Slytherins. The wanted to know what I was doing down by the dungeons. Of course, I didn't tell them my real reason for being down there, but they were convinced that it had something to do with a prank. Evidently, we didn't hide our excitement for the prank very well. They were convinced I had done something to their common room of something. They cornered me and I don't know what they could have done if Slughorn hadn't happened to come by at that very moment. And I will say that I wasn't sure I could manage them all by myself. There were like 5 of them against just me. As I left though, because I wasn't about to let them off that easy, I cast a nonverbal jinx on Snape. I would have done the others too, but I didn't want to get caught." Jasmine took a breath before continuing. "Anyway, I got out of there as soon as I could and went to find you. I really just needed a hug, so I'm glad I found you rather quickly, Sirius."

Sirius was angry. He couldn't believe those Slytherins had the nerve to threaten his girlfriend. But he knew it would get them nowhere if he went after them now. It was just not worth it (at least at this point). He would have to get his revenge later, although, Jasmine already did get them back a little, so that was something. "I'm so sorry, Mare. But I'm glad you are okay and that Slughorn was there before anything could happen. Also, I can't wait to see Snivellus's face after the jinx you used." Sirius pecked her on the lips and took her hand. He started to lead them toward the Great Hall. "Also, I can't wait to see his face when he suddenly disappears a lunch, at least I hope that is when he disappears. It would be rather disappointing to not see that happen."

Jasmine nudged him in the side, but that didn't do much to knock down Sirius's spirit. He couldn't help but feel that the Slytherins deserved what was about to come to them and the rest of the school. It would be pretty amazing to watch half of the student body (or at least a quarter), disappear in a few minutes. The rest wouldn't happen until later as the other items that they enchanted to be portkeys (the doorknobs and quills) would have to be used first before they would activate.

Now the way that this was supposed to work was that Remus and Peter were going to disappear at lunch in the Great Hall as to not arouse suspicion. Originally Jasmine was going to disappear as well, but well Sirius had changed that. Plus, he didn't really want her going off without him, especially if any of the Slytherins tried to corner her again for some kind of revenge on Snape. Later in class, when Lily would evidently use the quill James gave her (as she has been using it all day), James would disappear too, but not immediately after as that would raise suspicion. Rather he would wait a few moments before disappearing by breaking his quill and getting out a new one, which will end up being a portkey. Then in class, as Sirius is opening the door to go inside (having been early for once) he will disappear. It won't be until Jasmine starts using her quill that Sirius gave her that she too will disappear due to the portkey. And hopefully, no one will be able to prove that they were the ones that orchestrated this whole thing.

Jasmine and Sirius entered the Great Hall and joined the other Marauders at the Gryffindor table. It was just in time too because soon after they took their seats, some of the students disappeared. At first no one noticed that anything was going on as most of the student body was there. It took a couple dozen more students and a bit of screaming from their friends before people started to notice that something was going on. And soon after that, Remus and Peter both disappeared, which "freaked out" the other Marauders. They started "panicking" about their friends disappearing in thin air. By the time it was "over" (meaning all the portkeys that were in place had been used), about a third of the students had disappeared. Also, Dumbledore had stood up and quieted the Great Hall down. "Now students, I assure you that we are just as concerned as you are about where the missing students have gone. We will do our best to find them quickly. Rest assured, I am sure they are not hurt or injured."

Before Dumbledore could say anymore, a student rushed in. They were one of the first ones to disappear when the portkeys had activated. "Don't worry. I'm okay. My fork was a portkey for some odd reason."

Dumbledore glanced toward the Gryffindor table. Jasmine caught his eye and could have sworn she saw a twinkle in it. "Well, there you have it. It appears as though the whole this is some elaborate prank. I believe that the other missing students have also been transported to places by portkeys that replaced the usual items at the tables. I'm sure they will all return soon. For now, you may all continue on with your meals as there is nothing to worry about." Dumbledore took his seat back at the faculty able and resumed his conversation with McGonagall, but not before throwing a wink toward the Gryffindor table, specifically in the direction of the Marauders.

Jasmine, who saw the wink, said to James and Sirius, "Dumbledore knows. I don't know how he knows, but he does. He just winked at us."

"Doesn't surprise me," said James. "Who else would have dared pull off a prank like this? Dumbledore's not stupid after all. He's headmaster for a reason."

Jasmine couldn't argue with that logic and decided to just drop the issue. Even if Dumbledore knew it was them, there was no way he could prove it. They hadn't left any evidence behind that would tie it to them. Even the quills couldn't be tied to them as they looked like every other quill. So, Jaz decided it was best not to question it and decided to just continue eating her lunch. It was about 10 minutes later before Peter and Remus rejoined them as did the rest of the students who had disappeared. For the rest of the meal, Peter and Remus filled the other Marauders in on what happened in the location that they went to. It was actually rather comical at how freaked out everyone was until they realized they hadn't actually left the castle or the grounds at all. Once they figured that out, the students were rather actually annoyed that they had to now walk all the way back to the Great Hall.

Overall, their prank was going over quite well. Though, just as they were leaving the Great Hall to head to class, James remembered, "Hey, Jazzy, weren't you supposed to disappear at lunch as well? What happened?"

Jasmine glanced at Sirius before turning back to James, "Well, I know it wasn't part of the original plan, but you gave a quill to Lily so you would be stuck together. I felt that was unfair, so Pads gave me a quill so that we will be together as well. Also, I ran into some Slytherins earlier who were might suspicious and I'd rather not chance being alone so they can corner me again."

"Wait, what? When did that happen?" James asked, but he was talking to no one as Sirius and Jasmine were running down the hallway toward their shared class. James rolled his eyes and followed after them. He would just have to ask Jasmine about it later as he planned his revenge with Sirius.

It didn't take James very long to reach his next class. He took his seat next to Lily and took out a quill he knew was not the portkey along with the other stuff he needed to take notes. Luckily it was only History of Magic, so he doubted that Binns would even notice if anyone went missing. It was going to be an interesting class period. James almost wished he could see what would be happening in the other classes too.

It wasn't long before students started to disappear and soon Lily, who had been sitting next to James was gone. A few moments later, James's quill broke, and he took out his portkey quill. Not long after, he disappeared too. And during all of this, Binns didn't notice a single thing. Nobody interrupted him either, despite some of the students freaking out that their desk mate disappeared. It wasn't as bad as in the Great Hall though, as many of the students were sure that this was also the work of the Marauders and a continuation of their prank.

Meanwhile, James was now in that random empty classroom with Lily and a few other students, none of whom he really recognized. Most of the students were aware of what had happened at lunch. One of them even cried out, "Not again! This just happened to me at lunch." That almost broke James. He couldn't believe they had managed to get someone twice. That was just pure luck, and it was hilarious. Too bad James didn't have time to enjoy the hilarity of that statement as he now had an angry Lily glaring at him. And at that moment, James knew he was in trouble.

Lily had heard about what had happened at lunch. She hadn't made it to the Great Hall as she had been doing a bit of revising in the library, which was when she found out about what had happened at lunch. She had overheard it from some students who had suddenly appeared in the restricted section of the library. Lily heard them talking about portkeys and how they had only just been in the Great Hall moments ago when this all happened. Thankfully it seemed as though Madam Prince understood that it was not their fault that they had ended up in the restricted section without a note from a teacher. But what Lily got out of what she overheard was that the Marauders had pulled off one incredibly advanced prank. Plus, given that there wasn't much time left in the term, Lily assumed this was their last hurrah. She had to admit, it was a pretty good prank. But now as she was standing in what appeared to be an empty classroom, she was pissed off. She couldn't believe them. Then when James appeared the same way she had, she knew exactly whose idea this was.

Lily marched over to James and dragged him right out of the room. But as soon as she exited the room, Lily wasn't exactly sure where they were right away. So, James decided to take over from there. He dragged her into a different empty classroom and cast a few spells and charms so that no one would hear them. James didn't really want any nosy students hearing his girlfriend chew him out.

After James was done casting his spells and such, he turned back to an angry Lily. He tried his best to look innocent, but he knew that it was pointless at this point. Lily marched right up to him, and James braced himself. Instead of getting a punch like he expected, Lily pulled him into a kiss. Now James wasn't complaining, but he was incredibly confused.

Lily pulled back after a few moments. "James Potter, I can't believe you. How could you do this when you know how worried about NEWTs?!"

James still a bit confused didn't reply right away. "Hold up. So, you are angry with me?"

"Only a little bit. It is incredibly annoying that you chose now to do this, but I really needed a break. I think I've been going a bit too hard with my revising for NEWTs. So, I appreciate that you did this and made sure that you would be with me." Lily kissed him on the cheek. "Now, fill me in on the whole prank. I know this morning I wanted nothing to do with it but given how I saw students coming out of the restricted section of the library earlier and that is not where we are now, I want to know everything. How did the five of you manage to come up with such an elaborate prank and send people to different locations around the castle?"

James smiled down at Lily. "Oh, you don't even know the half of it," James started. Then he went on to explain to Lily all about the plan and how it was Jasmine's idea. He told her how long it had taken them to figure out how to set everything up and plan it. "And we were doing this while also revising for our NEWTs," James ended with.

"I'm impressed you all managed to pull off such a prank. This is amazing." Lily smiled. "We better get back to class now though. I'm sure that some of our other classmates that disappeared have returned by now." Lily grabbed James's hand and led them out of the room, but soon remembered that she wasn't entirely sure where exactly they were. "Wait, where are we exactly?"

"An empty classroom on the third floor. Don't worry, I know the way back to History of Magic," James answered as he started to lead Lily toward History of Magic.

Later when Sirius and Jasmine both disappeared, they also delayed their return to their class in the way that James and Lily had. Though, there delay was mainly due to them snogging rather than an explanation. It was rather nice that they were able to actually have a little bit of alone time again.

By the time everyone convened in the Great Hall for dinner, the prank was the talk of the school. Everyone was sure that it had been the Marauders who had pulled it off. Most students were amazed at the complexity of the prank. They didn't know that the Marauders had it in them to pull off such a complicated prank. Other students (mainly the Slytherins) were just annoyed at refused to speak of the prank as anything more than a distraction. Some other students also felt that it was a bit annoying, but they also were amazed by the prank. Plus, in the end most students felt it was definitely something that they needed as the school year was coming to a close in a few weeks' time.

Meanwhile, the Marauders were just glad that the prank went off without a real hitch. Everything went according to plan. Now all that was left was to finish out their final term strong and make sure they lose the Marauders' Map to Filch. Hopefully they were able to accomplish both of those without any issue as well.

A/N Well, that wasn't exactly how I originally thought this chapter would go, but I think it turned out pretty good. And despite it being almost 4 months since I last updated, it didn't take too long to actually write this chapter. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I got one more chapter left of this 'book'. I am hoping to have that one done by sometime next week (maybe even tomorrow). I have several parts of the chapter already planned and some even written out already. So, it shouldn't take me too long to write that chapter, but who knows?

Peace Out,
Knk6700