Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Three

Number 40 – I am not the bereavement councillor for late pets

Number 19 – I will not corrupt the first years

Upon entering the common room this particular morning, the Marauders were met with a strange sight. In front of the fire, surrounded by a group of friends, was a sobbing first year girl.

Remus walked up to her, in full prefect mode.

"What's the matter?" he asked. She sobbed louder.

"Her cat just died," one of her friends answered for her.

"Oh," Remus looked sympathetic. Sirius got a gleam in his eye. "How?" Remus asked hesitantly, not liking the gleam in Sirius's eye at all.

"Hagrid just got a puppy," another friend told him.

The Marauders nodded, understanding dawning. Hagrid may be gentle, but his pets sure weren't.

Sirius muscled his way through the group of first years to the crying girl, trampling two of them under his feet, and knocking one unconscious due to excessive use of elbows. He got his friend by the arms and bodily moved him out of the way before Remus could even protest. Remus huffed, looking ruffled.

"I," Sirius declared dramatically, "am Sirius, Gryffindor House's bereavement councillor for late pets." He looked extremely pleased with himself. The Marauders raised their eyebrows in amazement.

One first year boy frowned at him. "Oh yeah? What makes you qualified, then?"

Sirius looked offended, and then put on a sorrowful face. "I recently lost my mother."

The girls all awed and looked sympathetic. "How?" one asked.

"By running as fast as possible in the opposite direction," James muttered. Remus and Peter sniggered.

Sirius ignored them. "She was poisoned," he said dramatically.

"He wishes," Remus snorted under his breath.

"He's probably planning it," James murmured.

Sirius glared at them, and then went on speaking to the girls. "I know all about the grieving process! Ask me anything! I'm a mine of information!"

The girl who had asked how Sirius lost his mother spoke. "Should we let her cry, or should we cheer her up?"

Sirius tilted his head. "How would you cheer her up?" he asked, as if it were some kind of test.

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I'd probably play a prank on that Slytherin that keeps picking on her. That would cheer her up!"

Sirius's eyes widened and the other Marauders all looked interested.

"What's your name, tiny firstie?" asked Sirius.

"Kelsie Quirke," she answered.

"Well, little Kelsie... How much do you know about pranks?"

Kelsie shrugged. "A fair bit. I have five older brothers. It is how I get them to do whatever Dayna and I want."

"Dayna?" he asked.

"My twin sister," she replied. "The one that's crying."

"Oh." Sirius seemed to have forgotten all about the twin without a cat. He was now fully focused on the twin who liked to prank. "Well little Kelsie, come with us and we'll perfect your pranking skills."

Her eyes widened. "You would do that?"

Sirius nodded. "You are the next generation of pranksters for this school. We need someone to pass all our knowledge on to. Right, guys?" He turned to his friends. Peter and James nodded solemnly.

Remus looked less convinced. "I don't know, Padfoot. An innocent first year...?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Moony! Put your prefect badge away for a moment and join in with the knowledge sharing!"

Remus hesitated a second longer, before nodding.

As they walked towards the portrait hole, the five of them heard a voice behind them.

"Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew! You had better not be corrupting the first years!"

They didn't even turn around. The four marauders just chimed, innocently and perfectly in time with each other, "Of course not, Lily!" and continued out of the portrait hole without pause.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." She then turned to comfort the sad twin, grumbling about idiotic boys and naive first years.