Hey guys, I'm back! So this chapter is going to be the last for second year (I'm lazy, I know, but I want to hurry to the better parts).

Thanks to Sparkleforreason for reviewing and more 1 weasley for following. Also, a special, special thanks to Kalavinka for being such a constant support. Love you all!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.

Enjoy!

Prankster

12th March, 1973

It was a quiet evening in the Gryffindor common room, which was a surprising fact in itself, seeing as it was a Saturday. But as it so happened, the place was more or less empty, with only a few inhabitants occupying the best of the squishy armchairs, engrossed in their respective work. There were four first- years sitting in a corner, gossiping quietly, a couple of fifth years lazing around with a chess set, and such others. The fire burnt brightly, casting a warm glow to the room. And perhaps the most significant reason for the unusual peace and quiet was the absence of the four Marauders in the common room, the absence of three of them, to be precise.

Sirius was sitting by the fire, finishing his Transfiguration essay. He happened to be the only one of the second year Gryffindor boys there. James had gone to wear himself out on the Quidditch pitch (the boy had got into the Gryffindor team this year, and although he kept acting like he was a professional, Sirius knew that he was actually quite nervous about keeping up a good performance), Remus had gone to the library and Peter had tagged along too because he wanted help with his Charms work (and Merlin knows Sirius couldn't stand being silent for hours on end or otherwise suffer the wrath of Madam Pince, that horrid woman).

He had finally lost himself completely in the essay, with his hand moving quick and smooth over his parchment, when he heard muffled sounds of commotion in the corridor outside. Seconds later, the portrait hole opened, and a very dishevelled, out of breath Marlene McKinnon tumbled into the Common Room, effectively shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

At once, all pair of eyes in the common room raised themselves to look at her. She blushed a little, but otherwise disregarded the attention. Her eyes quickly scanned the room as she picked herself up, and landed on Sirius. She nearly knocked him over, quill, ink pot and all, in her haste to reach him.

"Hide me, quick!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, but observing the sheer urgency in her demeanour, pointed towards the second year boys' dormitory. What did the girl get herself into now? She gave him a grateful smile, and the next moment, she was gone.

The room quietened again now that she was gone. Sirius got a few odd looks from the rest of the students, but ignoring them, flexed his arm to resume his work. But his concentration had been heavily disrupted, and try as he might, he couldn't immediately get his mind to refocus on the fundamental laws of transfiguration just yet. Sighing, he dropped his quill on the table. Now he would have to waste another half an hour some other time finishing this stuff.

He had barely leaned back in his arm chair and had begun to think about how comical and yet adorable Marlene looked with her red cheeks, rumpled uniform and her hair askew (he would later wonder why that line of thought had entered his mind in the first place), when the portrait hole opened a second time.

The gazes of all the occupants once again fell on the newcomer, but the person did not pay the slightest heed to the fact that she was being stared at (rather avidly, I might add) by the entire common room. Her narrowed eyes scanned the room with a predatory sharpness.

Lily Evans looked the very personification of a dragon, with her chest heaving and her eyes flashing. She even looked ready to breathe fire. But what drew Sirius' attention was her hair, from which a gooey, greenish liquid was dripping down to the carpeted floor.

"MARLENE!" she roared.

But of course, the blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"Have you seen Marlene?" she asked Sirius when she noticed his presence.

He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, his face rapidly turning red with the effort of suppressing his laughter.

"Got to you, did she, Evans?" he asked with a small (highly repressed) smile.

"Oh, don't talk about it," she groaned, reaching with her hand to wipe some of the gooey mess which had slipped down to her face.

"I will find you, Marlene McKinnon!" she called out to the common room in general. "And then you will regret this!" And with that, she stormed up the girls' dormitory.

As soon as she was gone, Sirius broke into helpless fits of laughter. Well, he wasn't alone. After a moment of shocked silence, most of the common room had burst into laughter, from nervous giggles from the first years to snickers from the seniors. Still laughing, Sirius abandoned his homework and went up the stairs to his dormitory.

Marlene was sitting on his head, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Didn't know you had prankster blood in you," he grinned at her.

"She woke me up too early in the morning, so I made her pay," she said with a smile, shrugging.

"Well, she will make you pay once she finds you," he laughed, dropping down on the bed beside her.

"Oh no, I am doomed!" she cried in feigned panic. "Can I live in with you boys till her rage passes?"

"I doubt that you will survive our messy ways and smelly socks," he chuckled. "But I dare say that you would have made a nice marauder, you know."

She brightened up, her cheeks flushing a bit in pleasure.

"Hey, thanks!"

"So are you up for a round of exploding snap, seeing as you are hiding in here for the while?"

They settled down on the soft four-poster bed, and spent the hours in happy banter, and by the time Marlene left, a few strands of her golden hair were dark and singed, but she didn't mind, because she was too busy laughing at Sirius, whose right eyebrow was a charred mess.

The next day, however, Marlene didn't look too happy with her hair a shade of blue matching with her eyes, and Lily Evans had earned a new-found respect in the eyes of the Marauders for her magical skills and pranking abilities.

How is it going, then? Any suggestions, comments or questions? Just click that little review button down there. :)