MISCHIEF MANAGED

Chapter Ten – The Right Way

A month after their Slytherin escapade, the Marauders were sitting in their dormitory planning their next adventure.

'Which house this time?' Peter asked eagerly.

'What about Hufflepuff?' Sirius suggested. 'I hear they're all idiots. They'll be easy to trick.'

Peter blushed profusely. 'What are we going to do then? Just sit there until somebody notices?'

'That's brilliant, Peter!' James exclaimed. 'It's so simple, they won't know what hit them.'

'Shouldn't it be a little more creative?' Remus inquired.

'No,' Sirius replied adamantly. 'This prank requires very little planning. Just the way I like it.'

Before they made their way to bed, the Marauders finalised their plan. James and Sirius were once again given the task of following someone to the targeted common room. Remus was in charge of disguises and Peter was credited with the idea.

The next day was a Friday. The boys struggled to sit still in their classes while waiting for the afternoon to finally arrive. At lunch Sirius tried to stalk a Hufflepuff to her common room, but was caught barely three steps in. The incident earned him much ridicule from his friends.

Their last lesson of the day was Transfiguration in which they received a weekend detention for their inability to sit still. When McGonagall finally let them go, the boys were first to leave the classroom.

Remus led his friends to a place where it would be safe to change their colours. Sirius stared in horror when he pushed open the door of a girls' bathroom. 'Why are we in a girls' bathroom?' he asked suspiciously.

'Because it's safe,' Remus replied. 'Nobody comes here. The resident ghost is dreadful.'

'I HEARD THAT!' Moaning Myrtle screeched from her cubicle.

Peter jumped at the sound. 'How did you know about her?' he whispered confusedly.

'Lily told me,' Remus explained.

'Do you regularly have conversations with Lily about her bathroom habits?' Sirius inquired, struggling to suppress a monstrous laugh.

Remus shook his head, laughing himself. 'No, Lily thought she had offended Myrtle and needed someone to talk to. That someone happened to be me.'

'Why would she talk to you and not her Potions partner?' James said, distraught.

Remus ignored this comment. Instead of replying, he began the difficult task of changing the Marauders' house colours to the yellow and black of Hufflepuff. Once their disguises were complete, the Marauders crept out of the door. Luckily for them, a group of Hufflepuffs were just walking down the corridor, their backs to the bathroom. The four followed the group closely for about five minutes, gradually making their way downward.

A slight difficulty arose when the group split and walked in different directions. 'Right seems right!' Sirius said in a childish manner, pointing his index finger into the air.

'Right you are, Sirius. Right seems best,' James responded immaturely. Together the two most childish boys Hogwarts had ever seen strode down the right passage, leaving their bemused friends staring after them.

Remus blinked and turned to Peter. 'Why are we friends with these loons? They have brains of trolls.'

Peter looked at Remus, confused, before turning and following the two accused lunatics down the hall. Muttering under his breath, Remus followed suit and began to walk down the same passage, following the nutcases he called his best friends.

They arrived at a still-life painting of a field with a fat pony, covering the way into the Hufflepuff common room. The Hufflepuffs in front gave the password and walked in, the Marauders stealthily in tow.

The Hufflepuff common room was cosy and welcoming, as unlike the Slytherin dungeon as it was possible to be. Yellow hangings covered the walls and fat armchairs were situated near tables in front of the fire. Little underground passages led off the common room and to the dormitories, which the boys could see had perfectly round doors.

Sirius threw himself onto one of the fat armchairs, kicked his feet up onto a nearby table and made himself at home. James quickly followed suit.

'These couches are great,' whispered James. 'Much better than those in Gryffindor. We should have done this earlier!'

Remus seated himself awkwardly on another couch, pulled out his Transfiguration book and started working on the essay McGonagall had given them on turning matches into needles. 'Are you sure we should be doing this?' he said out of the corner of his mouth. 'I don't like breaking the rules.'

'Live a little, Remus,' Sirius sighed happily. 'These duffers won't notice anything out of the ordinary. And Peter, you really should sit down. You look really out of place. Even the Hufflepuffs might notice something soon!'

Peter sat promptly on one of the other chairs in the common room, looking nervously from side to side. Noticing Peter's pale face, Remus slid the nearest book on the table to him. 'At least pretend to read this, Peter. It'll make you fit in more.'

The Marauders managed to fit in with the Hufflepuffs for a good two hours. James and Sirius had started a mass game of Exploding Snap with some fellow Hufflepuffs, mainly third and fourth years, so as not to be noticed by their classmates. Remus had started to help a second year with his Potions homework. He conveniently forgot to mention that he was not a third year. Peter was watching the Exploding Snap game intently, wanting to join in but wary of bringing attention to himself.

Having managed to remain out of trouble, the Marauders were pleased with their achievements. Then disaster hit. A fifth-year prefect, whom Sirius had told the others was called Ted Tonks, strode over to the four mischief-makers. 'I know you,' he said, addressing Sirius. 'You're Andromeda's cousin. She was very pleased when you got into Gryffindor.'

'I have no idea what you are talking about,' Sirius replied suspiciously. 'Excuse me fellows,' he addressed to the group of Hufflepuffs with whom he was playing Exploding Snap. 'Sorry to disappoint, but I have a detention with McGonagall.'

'Me too,' James piped up, sprinting out of the door after Sirius and leaving Remus and Peter to fend for themselves in the sea of Hufflepuffs.

Ted turned to them. 'I don't think I've seen you around before, and I make it my business to know the name of every Hufflepuff.' At this comment, Remus leapt up, pulling Peter with him.

'Very sorry, Ted, I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to finish an assignment in the library,' said Remus while gathering his books. The two Marauders sidled towards the door. As he was pushing open the door, a genius idea struck him. 'Hufflepuff,' he said proudly, 'you have been Maraudered.' And with that, he dashed outside, Peter on his heels.

Once they had overcome their laughter, the Marauders started to make their way back to their own common room. However, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Entrance Hall they spotted Lily Evans and Severus Snape talking animatedly. The four tried to eavesdrop, but as they got closer a buzzing noise filled their ears.

Eventually the noise became unbearable and they decided to take another route. 'I can understand why she talks to Remus,' James ranted, 'but Snivellus? He's just a filthy Slytherin with greasy hair.'

'We have to give him some credit,' Sirius mocked. 'He can move faster than a Snitch when confronted with soap.'

'But what does he have that I don't?' James asked the world at large, using large hand gestures in order to express his frustration. Remus ducked to avoid a collision with James' arm, but Peter wasn't so lucky. He toppled sideways, almost knocking a painting of fruit off the wall.

'Wait,' said Remus. 'Did someone just giggle?'

A horrified look crossed Peters face. 'I think it was a piece of fruit,' he said.

'And I think you're mad,' Sirius mocked. 'Let me show you. Fruit does not giggle.' He then began to run his forefinger over the painting. It wasn't until he had reached the huge green pear that something happened. The pear began to squirm and chuckle until it turned into a large green door handle.

James, curious about what was behind the painting, seized the handle and pulled the door open. The Marauders stood gaping at the enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the great hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stonewalls, with a great brick fireplace at the other end.

They walked into the room between the four wooden tables that stood there. These tables, Remus realised, were positioned exactly beneath the four house tables above. They were laden with dishes of the delicious Hogwarts feast, ready to be sent up through the ceiling to their counterparts above once it was time for dinner to be served.

'The kitchens!' all four boys gasped in unison. Around the room were at least a hundred house elves, all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest and tied much like a toga. As the Marauders walked past the elves, some of the elves started beaming at them, bowing and curtseying, while others came trotting up behind the boys, bearing trays of tea and biscuits.

'I think I'm going to like it down here,' Peter said enthusiastically, taking the offerings from the elves.