Mischief Managed

The morning had been interesting enough in itself, but when the a.m. hours waned away with noon now on the horizon, the Marauders had new plans forming in their heads.

No afternoon classes meant time to pull off a few extra pranks. This time, it was Sirius who delivered. As they sat quietly in the darkest corner of the Gryffindor sitting room, he brought forth from the depths of his school bag a medium sized, yellow tin with red lettering inscribed largely across it's surface. James took it from his friend's hand and inspected it, then let our a roaring laugh before tossing the container back to it's owner.

"Itching powder." He shook his head. "Padfoot, that's so old!"

A grin danced across Sirius' features. "Not what I'm intending to do with it is." James leaned forward in interest. Remus merely groaned as Peter phased between his own level of curiosity and trepidation. "The toilets!"

James' brow nearly receded into his hairline. Remus gaped as Peter stifled a squeal-like giggle.

"You've got to be kidding!" Remus frowned.

Sirius shook his head.

A glimmer of humor and glee danced in James' brown eyes. "Well? What are we waiting for?" he roared, and bound for the exit. Sirius was at his heels, with Remus and Peter following mainly for sport.

"Wait," Sirius yelled as they ran off in no particular direction. "Let's make this worthwhile."

James raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The Slytherin bathrooms."

Grins came to all faces now. Not even Remus could refuse a good, old fashioned prank on their least favorite Hogwarts house. With three agreeing nods, the four of them bolted toward the dungeons where the green and silver flecked robes were always caught lurking around.

It didn't take long to find the bathrooms.

Sirius was first to sneak in with James close behind him. They made sure the place was clean before stepping into the first stall. The tin was very similarly fashioned into the likes of a salt shaker. This was helpful because then the four did not have to worry about getting any of the powder on their hands.

Suppressing a snort, Sirius let lose a small measurement of the white powder. It hid itself perfectly against the contrast of the white toilet seat. No one would suspect a thing!

"How is it looking out there, James?" Sirius said over his shoulder to James.

James in turn looked over toward Remus, who was standing idly in the doorway. Peter was a few meters ahead of him, standing in the main hall, looking mainly for prefects and teachers.

"Peter says it's all clear!" Remus replied. Sirius nodded, and moved to the second cubicle. The third, and then fourth. Satisfied that all the toilets that could be covered were covered, they moved on to the girl's bathroom.

Without thinking, Sirius slipped in. His heart skipped a beat, however, when he noticed his cousin Bellatrix washing her hands in the first sink nearest the door. She looked up and frowned instantly.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, very much like her house's mascot.

"I er, er, got lost?" Sirius tried. It was a terrible excuse. He suddenly wished he had thought of something witty and sarcastic.

"That stupid, are you?" she sneered, stepping closer to him. "You're a disgrace to the family name."

Sirius grinned. "Thank you."

Bellatrix hissed again, then shoved him out of her way as though he were nothing more than a bit of rubbish to her. It was all fine, really. Sirius couldn't care less what any of the Slytherins thought of him. He was only sorry that she had come in before he'd gotten the itching powder on the toilet seats. With a sigh, he poked his head out of the door and signaled to the others that he was ready to start the 'powdering'.

"Aren't you worried Bellatrix will turn you in?" asked Peter in his worried, high pitched voice.

Shrugging, Sirius moved from one cubicle to the other in an almost mechanical manner. A short whistle cut off his train of thought though, and Remus poked his head in. "Slytherin prefect just up the hall. Hurry up!"

James nodded and turned to Sirius. "Let's go."

"No, wait!" Sirius moved to the sinks and began to sprinkle powder over the faucet nozzles. James, despite their desperate situation, could not suppress his laughter. When Sirius did at last finish they flew from the bathroom entrance and down the opposite side of the hallway. Already they could hear Lucius Malfoy sneering at them and claiming revenge. The four Gryffindor boys brushed it aside. They didn't care.

No one said another word until they returned, out of breath and sweating, to their common room. "If only I could see Snape walk out of there scratching his-"

"Don't even!" Remus hissed, clutching a stitch in his side.

James grinned brightly, and Sirius returned it. Peter was shaking in fear having almost been caught by the tall, bleach blonde Slytherin but was otherwise fine. Remus seemed to be the most exhausted out of any of them.

"Mischief Managed." James smiled.

---

The afternoon soon died, and evening loomed over Hogwarts castle. Dinner was well over with (after the kitchen had been carefully observed by professors throughout the remainder of the day) and both full and tired students were lazily making their way back to their common rooms. All save four Gryffindors, who had another plan in mind.

James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius were huddled in a nearby darkened corner. When the crowds passed, they slipped into an abandoned corridor and began to go over their next plan for the day.

"Is it a holiday or something?" Remus asked, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

James frowned in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"Well it seems we've been a bit over productive today with the pranks. Don't you think?"

"Are you not having any fun, Moony?" asked Sirius with a mock pout, his right arm wrapped about Remus' shoulders. "Would you like to be more involved?"

Remus rolled his eyes and didn't say another word. Grinning, Sirius and James returned to their plans, the Marauder's map laid out clearly before them.

"Okay," James began. "Peter and I will make our way to the janitor's closet and block it up as best we can. Sirius, you and Remus make your way to the fourth corridor bathrooms and start sending the dung bombs south."

Sirius scratched his head. Neat tresses of silky black hair fell limp before his gray, alert eyes. Frowning, he took the map and peered closely at it. "No good."

"What?" James frowned.

Remus rested his head on Sirius' shoulder and frowned. "He's right, Prongs."

Ripping the map out of Sirius' hands, James peered down the fourth floor corridor. "Damn it," he hissed bitterly. "What's he doing there?"

Filch, the grounds caretaker, was patrolling the fourth story corridor.

"New plan," James sighed. "Get the fifth floor."

Remus sighed. "I really don't want to go up all those flights of stairs."

"Oh c'mon." Sirius winked casually. Sighing, Remus nodded. "When are you going to let us know you've finished?"

James blinked. "I'll send Peeves up."

"Peeves?" Peter, Sirius, and Remus blinked at once.

'I have my ways." James said, grinning. "Now get going!"

Sirius and Remus nodded, bolting up the stairs. James watched them for a few moments before turning to Peter.

"Ready?" he asked. Peter nodded. Together they slipped into the darkened halls, praying that no one found them out.

---

It didn't take long for James to figure out the best way to stall Filch from getting into the janitor's closet. A simple piece of muggle gum that Peter had been chewing (though James wasn't sure why) worked well enough on it's own to clog up the lock. After that, everything was a piece of cake. He summoned Peeves, and with a sharp whistle and a wink the problematic poltergeist was soaring upward, ever and anon to where Remus and Sirius awaited their signal.

"Piece of cake," James repeated out loud. "Don't you think so, Wormtail?"

Peter nodded and grinned brightly. Happy with the prank being now well underway James started off at a brisk pace, Peter following clumsily in his shadow.

---

Peeves erupted from one of the toilets, wailing loudly. Suddenly understanding what James meant when he had stated that Peeves was annoying, Sirius grit his teeth against the piercing sound and waited for the ghost to be finished with his foolishness.

"Mr. Prongs says that all is ready to go, Mr. Padfoot!" Peeves saluted and disappeared back down into the U-bend. Probably to tease Moaning Myrtle on the second floor.

Sighing, Sirius turned to Remus who already had the first dung bomb lit.

"Are you ready for this?" Sirius asked, that sly, plotting grin already forming on his features.

Remus, rolling his eyes, took a few steps back and groaned. "I'm never ready for any insane schemes you and James cook up. One of these days you two will probably get yourselves killed."

"At least you'll still have Peter." Sirius snorted, letting the first dung bomb fall. Remus had placed a specific timing spell on them so that the pair would have safely cleared the bathroom before anything exploded.

A sudden frown came across Remus' face. "Well that's no good," he chuckled, a bit of discomfort evident in his slumped shoulders due to Sirius' statement.. "Then I won't have any fun!"

Sirius laughed lightly, dropping another dung bomb into the second toilet. "At least I will be able to rest in peace knowing you will miss all of our ridiculous antics."

"Naturally." Remus nodded.

Grinning brightly, Sirius let lose the last dung bomb. "All right, let's get going!" he stated jovially. They left the bathroom casually and strolled down the hall before suddenly;

"RUN FOR IT!!!" Sirius yelled. They both set off at a very fast run, meeting James and Peter just before sprinting to the common room together. It would be the second time that day that they reached the Gryffindor sitting room covered in sweat and panting heavily.

---

"One more!" James hissed into the dark of night. Remus and Peter groaned in their beds.

"One more Prongs, then that's it for the night." Came Sirius' drained voice. "We've done double overtime for the day..." he yawned, slipped from his bed, and groped his way over to the door. Slipping out into the halls, James' lead the way back toward the Slytherin corridors.

Sirius looked around and shuddered when an unexpected wave of cold air hit his neck. "Why are we down here, Prongs?"

"You'll see."

Yawning once more, Sirius waited, poised carefully behind James. They stayed there for what seemed like forever, before suddenly, voices came to their ears.

"Is that-?"

"Snape." James stated.

"And-"

"Yep!"

Suddenly wide awake, Sirius leaned past James and peered idly down the corridor. There was Snape, and at his side, a young Regulus Black.

"Incredible," Sirius hissed. James nodded, and together they inched down toward the pair; unnoticed in the shadows of the night. Neither Sirius nor James paid attention to what the other two were discussing. "What do you have in mind?"

James grinned. It was remarkably similar to Sirius' own, but in the low lighting of the corridor, he looked positively wicked. "Watch this!"

With a flick of his wrist, James charmed a nearby suit of armor. It would take a few minutes to fully kick into effect. Snape looked up and around, trying to find the source of the sound of shifting metal.

"What is it?" Regulus sneered.

Snape, frowning, looked around once more and then back to his peer. "Nothing."

They continued talking. Suddenly, the suit of armor tingled to life, and with the air of a highly esteemed soldier, spun around and faced the two Slytherin students in a battle stance. Both Snape and Regulus paled noticeably, even in the dim light. It was incredibly difficult for James and Sirius not to burst out in laughter.

"What's going on?" Regulus asked in a very high pitched squeak that was surprisingly similar to Peter.

Snape didn't answer. His throat was too constricted, it seemed.

This time, Sirius found a great opportunity to add to James' idea. Pointing his wand at his throat, he did a voice throwing charm, and then cast another charm on the armor's helm so that the eye guard acted as a mouth for Sirius' words.

"Flee now," he yelled in a very eerie echo. "Flee for your lives! Flee, or face the wrath of Sir Cadogan!"

Regulus and Snape both let out two terrified screams, and flew the opposite direction down the corridor. The suit of armor chased after the duo all the way down the corridor and to their dormitories, where they found refuge the rest of the night hiding beneath their beds.

James was roaring in laughter, as was Sirius. They returned to their own dorms that night, tired but feeling energized at the same time.

"Goodnight, Prongs!" Sirius bid, crawling beneath his sheets.

"'Night Padfoot," James returned.