A/N ~ Okay, so the Marauders are performing a play -- Othello. Uh-oh, WARNING WARNING! Aaaaaanyway, this includes a (slight at first, but increases later) slash pairing, namely Remus/Sirius, and a slight (mostly from James' side) Lily/James pairing. I've tried to make it humorous, but Merlin knows what happens when I try too hard! This is practically the first Marauder fic I've posted, so no 'I hate you, you suck' comments please - even if they ARE worded nicely. I don't know if the Marauders knew about the Room of Requirement in their Fifth Year, but what the hell - tell me if I'm wrong :) R & R encouraged :P If you people like this, I'll add more chapters - I don't just post for my own benefit, lol. (I don't normally like Shakespeare, so yay for me!)

WARNING(s): Remus and Sirius SLASH! If you cannot stand SLASH, please press your 'OMG, SLASH-ALERT' button now and resist leaving a snarky comment! Thank you muchlies. Rated T just in case :) Slight innuendo (may increase or decrease later), and perhaps mild language at times... Yadda yadda...

Disclaimer: OMG, I stole the Marauders! From JKR, no less! Don't worry, I'll give them back - they're not mine anyway :( *sniffs* They may be in a slightly-snuggled status though... ;) Oh, and Othello belongs to William Shakespeare - thanks dude.

The Marauders in Othello

"James!"

"What?"

Sirius sighed and shook his head at his best friend, James Potter – otherwise known as Prongs, the stag Animagus of the group.

"What?" James asked again, a hint of irritation in his tone now. "I was watching Evans—"

"So I could see." Sirius shot back, surprising James. "I'd been talking to you about Quidditch for at least ten minutes before I realised you weren't listening. I even announced that I'd snogged Snivellous and you didn't blink once. Now half the school thinks me and slimy over there have a thing between us!"

James paled considerably. "Do you?"

"No!" Sirius protested, looking scandalised. There was a silent moment in which disturbing thoughts crept into both the Fifth year's minds, and they shivered, unnerved.

"Perhaps I shouldn't ask."

Sirius and James both looked up to see a very pale looking Remus switching his gaze between them with an amused glint in his eyes. "You both look like you've seen Peter kiss a girl." He commented, sitting opposite them at the table they were at for breakfast in the Great Hall.

Sirius and James exchanged shocked looks again, and Remus frowned. "Worse?"

They nodded, and Remus suddenly heard a Gryffindor girl exclaim with disappointment; "Sirius and Snape? Aw, why do hot guys always end up with losers?" There was a short pause, then: "What are you saying? He's bound to go for me next? Oi, you-!"

"Ah." Remus attempted a small smile. "So, what brought on this change of heart?" He asked, teasingly.

"James wasn't listening to me—"

"But Evans—"

"So James not listening to you finally brought about the realisation that Severus was your last comfort?" Remus faked a hurt expression. "You could've come to me, Paddy."

"But I'm not—Snivellous—me—we're not—I—what? With you?"

James glanced despairingly between his two best friends before patting Sirius mock-comfortingly on his shoulder and smiling. "Don't worry, I'll help you get over your identity crisis. Come to the Room of Requirement later, after lunch."

"Have you chosen a play, then?" Remus smiled, catching on.

"Yup." James looked proud of himself. "It's called Othello." And with that, he left.

Confused, Sirius looked to Remus for an explanation. Remus sighed. "Have you not heard of Othello?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Othello is a play written by Shakespeare – heard of him?"

Sirius just looked blank. Remus rolled his eyes. "He was a writer in the sixteenth century. Othello was one of his tragedies."

"What, we're performing one of his lame plays? Why can't we do a good one?"

Remus chuckled at this. "Not that kind of tragedy, Paddy. Othello is a tragic play by genre, not by skill."

Sirius grinned. "Well, who are the characters then, o' knowledgeable one?"

"Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Roderigo and Cassio. You see them the most. There's also Emilia, Iago's wife, and Bianca – Cassio's interest. Roderigo loves Desdemona, to whom Othello is married, and Iago is plotting against Othello and Cassio, because Othello made Cassio his lieutenant and not him."

"So who will we be?" Sirius had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Remus gulped uneasily.

"Lets uhm… Wait to see what James has planned." Remus looked like he could promptly flee at any moment, and he hadn't eaten anything yet.

"Yes, lets."

~*~

I need a place to practise a play, I need a place to practise a—oh!

James grinned broadly as a door appeared and he slipped inside. "Perfect!" He exclaimed to the room, which had props and costumes galore, not to mention ample performing space. He quickly claimed a seat by dropping his script on it, doing the same with everyone else's. At the top of each script was the script owner's name, and just beneath it was their character's name. James bit his lip, hoping that they'd like the characters he'd chosen for them. As there was only four--no, wait—five of them altogether, they'd have to either edit the script a little or just multi-role massively.

The door opened silently across the room and Remus entered, Sirius following along beside him and Peter shuffling behind.

"Hey, guys!" James called, motioning each of them to their script and seat. Remus noticed there was one spare, and was about to point it out before James mouthed 'Lily' and Remus fell silent. Silent, that was, until Remus' cry of horror – "You put me as Desdemona!"

Sirius burst into hysterics and Remus glared at him, and then James, who paled.

"I changed my mind," he pointed out.

"But you were *going* to," Remus huffed, shifting his glare to Peter, who was trying desperately to stifle his sniggers, but to no avail.

"Hey, I gave you a better part!"

Remus glanced down at his script. "Yes, well… 'Better' is a term I would use loosely."

"Well, I'm Othello!" Sirius exclaimed loudly. "Too bad you're not Dezzy," he grinned, and winked at Remus.

"Who is Desdemona?" Remus asked, intrigued now.

"Lily," James stated happily.

"Lily? But why aren't you Othello then, him being her husband?"

James shifted his weight, looking embarrassed. "Uh, well… Lily refused to join in if I was, so I kinda told her you're doing it—" James nodded at Remus, "—and I know you're not, you're Iago, but I thought Sirius could pull Othello's voice off better. Besides," James added, grinning again; "I'm Roderigo. I get to pine after Lily relentlessly whilst Sirius gets to murder her."

"Joy."

Ignoring Sirius, Remus turned to Peter. "So, who are you, Wormy?"

"Cassio…" Peter's small voice returned. Sirius snorted, but looked innocent when Remus threw him a look.

"So, we're all here – where's Evans then?" Sirius asked, casually.

"Right here, boys."

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