In mid-October Dumbledore announced that he and Professor McGonagall would be out of the castle for a week, and that the Hogsmeade visit that weekend would be cancelled.
There was an instant uproar.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" wailed the Marauders.
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" yelled a group of Ravenclaws.
The entire school was shouting.
"All right, all right," said Dumbledore above the noise, his eyes twinkling. "Then I must ask Argus Filch to supervise the visit."
Filch, who had been standing in the shadows, came out and bowed deeply, looking immensely pleased with himself.
James and Sirius exchanged a wicked look.
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Great preparations were going on in the Gryffindor common room next evening.
Unsurprisingly, the Marauders had come up with an elaborate plan of causing havoc and disruption. Edgar and Hestia, Head Boy and Girl, were just as eager in the preparations. They were all charming colourful ribbons which would entangle a person and then make colourful hats and make-up appear on their faces, making them look like a clown.
When the first ribbon was done, Frank called for a volunteer. John Creevery stood up eagerly.
James threw the ribbon close to him.
The spectacle was hilarious. Everyone in the common room fell about laughing. Only Lily was sitting in a corner, studying something with a frown on her face.
"We'll leave these ribbons under each chair of the other three tables," said James.
"And we'll not go down to dinner tomorrow," said Sirius.
"What?" yelled almost all the boys. "And starve for the night?"
"The Marauders will see to it that no Gryffindors shall starve," said James grandly.
All of them pitched in to charm a huge number of ribbons.
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The next evening, the Marauders and Frank, Edgar and their group and the fifth year boys along with Marlene and Alice sneaked out to the Great Hall and positioned their ribbons.
James had the map in his hand. "Use the rear staircase!" he hissed. "Professor Flitwick is passing the main one."
After some time, the Marauders told the others to move on without them.
They had decided to do the thing properly. James and Peter went to the kitchens to wangle food for seventy hungry Gryffindors. Sirius and Remus slipped through the secret passage into Hogsmeade and bought a large number of Butterbeers.
They met in the hallway, laden with food. They were extremely noticeable by anyone pasing, but the wonderful Marauder's Map lived up to its high reputation, and they reached the common room safely.
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Nearly all the food was finished by dinner time. The Gryffindors were unnaturally silent in the common room, but there were frequent outbursts of giggling and hushing.
"Let's go to see what's happening down there," said Sirius suddenly, though it hadn't been part of the plan.
"No," said Lily. "We'll be caught."
"Let's go there, let's go there!" shouted Marlene, getting excited.
The majority voted in favour of Sirius' idea.
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The Ghosts of the Past (The Marauders' Story)
Fanfiction"We're friends. We're the Marauders. We stick together, remember?" "Yes, Moony. I remember." One of them was mischievous and brave and had the perfect life. Another of them was reckless and loyal and desperate to leave behind his family name. The th...
