As the sun sets over Hogwarts castle, two figures, a tall strapping young man with light brown hair, and a shorter boy with a pointed nose and pasty skin, stroll along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The shorter boy seems to be on edge, constantly looking around as if expecting something to jump out at them from within the shadows. The taller young man, however, seems less concerned with his surroundings than his squat companion.
The two boys meander past a thicket when a pair of grey eyes peer out at them from the shadows. A low growl emanates from behind a bush, which causes the short pointed nose boy to frantically look around. “What was that?”
“What was what?” inquires the taller boy without breaking his lazy stride.
“I-It was a-a growl!”
“You’re being paranoid,” muses the brown-haired boy, who still continues forward.
“I’m telling you, something is following us!” pleads the shorter boy.
This leaves the taller boy unfazed, and he continues forward until he is stopped in his tracks by a stag standing in his path. There is another low growl, which causes the stocky young man to spin around before being pounced upon by a large black dog.
As the stout lad struggles under the weight of the huge animal, the stag makes an audible snort. The trapped teen looks up to see the stag kneel down and magically transform into thin young-man with glasses. He is doubled over, clutching his stomach as he howls with laughter.
The short young-man looks back at the dog to instead find a tall boy with long, black hair.
“Get off!” demands Peter as he pushes the taller boy off of him.
“Come now Peter, don’t be a killjoy,” chuckles the black-haired boy as he helps up his friend.
“Why do you keep doing that, Sirius?”
“Because you keep falling for it!”
“So, James… Sirius… why are we out here?” asks Lupin. “I hope that you didn’t drag us out here just for game of hide and seek?”
“No, no, no!” declares James between gasps, his laughter subsiding. “We are going to plan the biggest stunt of our Hogwarts’ careers. We will become legends for this one!”
“Okay…” muses Lupin, whom appears to be unimpressed by the proposition. “Who is the target?”
“Professor Dumbledore!” chirps Sirius, which now garners Lupin’s undivided attention.
“The Headmaster?!” squeaks Peter.
“I don’t know about this one, James,” says Lupin hesitantly. “This is a lot bigger than filling the Slytherin common room with dungbombs.”
“Oh trust me, it will be worth it,” smirks James. “We found out something about Dumbledore that will make this stunt extra special.”
“The old fool actually thinks that he can keep something this big a secret from the students… least of all us.” Sirius scowls at the thought.
The other three boys look at Lupin, awaiting his approval. Lupin gives it a long thought. “Was immortality worth the risk?” he ponders.
He gives each of his three compatriots a passing glance before realizing that he is better off helping them (if anything, so that they won’t get caught) than letting them try and pull it off themselves.
“Alright,” says Lupin with an exasperated huff. “But if we are going to pull off something this big, and not get caught by Filch, then we are definitely going to be needing this.” Lupin reaches into his coat pocket, and pulls out a folded piece of parchment.
“You finished it!” James and Sirius say in unison.
“I don’t understand,” says a confused Peter. “There is nothing on it.”
“Watch,” instructs Lupin as he pulls out his wand. He gives the parchment a tap and says, “I solemnly swear that I am up to do good.”
To the delight of the three other boys, the Map springs into action. A complete layout of the school appears on the Map with tiny moving dots.
“What are the little moving dots?” asks Peter, who has to stand on his tippy toes to see the Map among his taller friends.
“They represent everyone in the castle, so now we will know where everyone is anytime of the day.”
“Including Filch!” Sirius says whimsically as he realizes the potential of their new mischief-maker.
“There is only one thing left to do on this map to complete it,” says Lupin.
“What is that?” asks James.
“We have to sign it.”
Lupin holds his wand like a pencil, and magically signs the name “Moony” on the front of the map. He then hands the Map to Peter who proceeds to sign the name “Wormtail,” followed by Sirius (Padfoot) and finally the leader of their merry band, James (Prongs). Once James finishes signing his name, the four names fade into the parchment and are replaced with the message:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder’s Map.
The four boys look down at their creation, which makes their minds boggle with thoughts of the mischief they would to be able to cause with it.
*
A week later, James is making his way to the Great Hall for lunch. Most of the older students have taken the trip to Hogsmeade, but after a particularly grueling Quiddich match the previous day, James had decided that he would have preferred to sleep in that morning. James descends the final flight of stairs before the Great Hall when he hears an angry voice yell, “POTTER!”
James immediately recognizes the voice, and does a poor job of pretending not to hear it. He turns on his heel and disappears around a corner.
“Don’t you walk away from me, Potter. I know you heard me!” calls Lily Evans, Gryffindor prefect, and bane of James’s existence.
“What is it now, Evans?” chirps James as he turns around and walks down the stairs.
James descends the final stairs to meet a stern-looking Lily at the bottom. Once within her grasp, Lily grabs James by the arm, and pulls him into a secluded corner away from prying eyes. “I know that you and your cronies are planning something.”
“What are you talking about, Evans?” asks James defensively. “Every time something happens around here, you come chasing after me with all these accusations, but you have yet to pin anything on me. I hear that it’s going to rain tonight. Is that going to be my fault as well?”
“Don’t get smart with me Potter, I KNOW that you have something in the works. I saw Sirius Black in Hogsmeade this morning talking with Zonko in his joke shop.”
“Is that all you do these days? Follow us around trying to catch us in the act of something? Get a life Evans, or better yet, get a boyfriend, and torture him so that I can have a moments peace.”
“You think that you are so smart, don’t you? You may have everyone else at this school convinced of how wonderful you are, but I’m not fooled. I’m not one of those empty-headed gits that you and Sirius Black sneak off with to the Room of Requirement for your snogging parties.”
“HA! You’re just jealous because I’ve never invited you to come with us. Tell me something Evans… Been snogging anyone lately? Snivellus, perhaps?”
Lily is taken aback by what James has said. Before James has a chance to make another sly retort, Lily slaps James across the face, then turns and walks away.
“Always had a way with the women, eh Potter?” Sirius teases as he, Lupin and Pettigrew approach.
“Can’t you do something about her?” James asks his lanky friend Remus. “What’s the use of having a prefect as a friend if he can’t keep the other prefects off of his back?”
“You know as well as I do that there is nothing that I can do once she gets her mind set on something. She seems to have bit of a vendetta against you. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that she has a crush on ya mate,” utters Remus, drawing chuckles from Sirius and Peter.
“What!” James bellows in annoyance. “I could never go out with that-that-that PRUDE!” James says as he mimes strangling her - a reaction that draws sly grins from the other boys.
Sensing James aggravation mixed with an odd touch of embarrassment, Sirius comes to the aid of his friend and breaks the silence. “I talked to Zonko.”
“Yeah, I heard!” James snaps. “Evans saw you. You have to be more careful!”
“Careful about what? Everybody goes to Zonko’s”
“Yeah, but now Evans is onto us…” James whispers as a group of first years walk by on their way to lunch.
“He’s right,” adds Lupin. “Lily won’t let us out of her sight now that she suspects that we are up to something.”
“Has anyone ever considered maybe telling her?” Peter suggests garnering shocked expressions.
“Are you mad!” says James. “She’d never agree to help us.”
“As I was saying,” continues Sirius, “I talked to Zonko, and he said that he can get what we need, but it is going to cost us… a lot!”
“Don’t worry about it,” James reassures them. “I’ll take care of it. It will be worth it to see the expression on Ole Dumbledore’s face when we pull it off.”
“Yes, well, getting the things we need here is one thing, but how are we supposed to get them into the castle with Filch and now Lily watching our every move?” inquires Remus.
“That reminds me, I found something that needs to be added to the Map,” smirks Sirius, while his friends look at him quizzically over the sudden change of subject. “I found another secret passage out of the castle.”
“Where is it?” asks James, who has started to understand what Sirius was hinting at.
“Behind the statue of the One-Eyed Witch on the third floor,” Sirius answers.
“And where prey tell does it lead?” asks Remus with a growing smile on his face.
“The Honeydukes’s cellar.”
“S-So that’s why you weren’t with us when we left this morning,” squeaks Peter.
“Yes, I was wondering how you beat us down to Hogsmeade when we left the common room before you did,” adds Remus.
“My-My Sirius. You’ve been a busy boy this morning,” grins James.
“Well someone had to pick up the slack, seeing as someone in this group… I won’t say who… decided to sleep in today.”
“I didn’t mean too. I was only five minutes late,” Peter says sheepishly, which draws haughty laughter from the three taller boys.
Sirius throws his arm around his pudgy friend, and the four compatriots head into the Great Hall for a spot of lunch.
A Marauder's Tale by NctnlBst
Chapter Notes: Rating: PG for Profanity in later chapters.
Much Thanks to my Beta Kask.