I walked down to the Great Hall for lunch. It had been a week since Remus had been discharged from the Hospital Wing, and he was looking and feeling a lot better.

I was about to walk into the Great Hall when a second year Gryffindor stopped me.

"I – I was told to give you this," they said, handing me a note.

Before I could ask who they were, or who had given them the note, they'd run off and disappeared from sight.

I unrolled the parchment and read:

Y/n,

Meet us near the Hufflepuff common room at the painting of the silver fruit bowl.

- Anonymous

I reread the writing once more before sighing.

Who would want to see me? I assumed perhaps the Marauders, but why would they want to meet me near the Hufflepuff common room? And wouldn't they just ask me to meet with them in person, rather than through a suspicious note?

I began the trek to the Hufflepuff common room. I walked down staircases and passed multiple portraits and ghosts before I reached a hallway. I looked at the walls, searching for the silver bowl.

There was a painting of a cat, a painting of a castle, a painting of a weird looking bird...

I looked down the end of the empty hallway. There was no one waiting for me. Was this a prank? I turned around, looking at the other wall. There was a fruit bowl, but it was blue, not silver.

Was the person who wrote the note colour blind, or was there another painting?

This was pointless. I would rather have been eating lunch in the Great Hall.

"Y/n."

I jumped and turned around to face Remus.

"Merlin's beard, Remus!" I exclaimed. "You scared the life out of me!"

Remus chuckled and I glared playfully at him. There was a moment of confusion for me. How the hell did Remus get there? The hallway was empty a moment ago.

Remus beckoned me closer and, to my surprise and slight confusion, began tickling a painting of a pear in a silver fruit bowl.

The painting swung open, and Remus led me inside. I looked around to see the kitchens of Hogwarts.

How the hell did he find this place?

I then noticed James, Sirius, and Peter. They were going to prank me again; I just knew it.

"Moony! Grab her before she bolts!" James yelled.

"She's not going to–"

And then I bolted.

I ran for the door before Remus caught me around the waist with ease. Sirius shut the door and Remus let go of me. I pulled out my wand and pointed it at them.

"Touch me and I'll hex you," I warned, backing away.

"We're not going to hurt you," Remus reassured me.

He raised his hands in surrender and the other boys nodded enthusiastically.

"Then why am I here, away from witnesses?" I asked.

They all glanced at each other before smiling at me.

"We want you to become a Marauder," Sirius said.

There was a moment of silence before I snorted.

"Okay, sure," I replied. "Nice joke, guys."

"We're being Sirius," James said.

The others snorted at the pun and my mouth twitched upwards a little bit.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why?" Sirius exclaimed. "Because you pulled one of the best pranks in history!"

I shifted on my feet and looked away.

"It wasn't that good," I mumbled.

"You're being modest," Remus said.

I bit my lip, and I avoided his eyes.

"But we gotta know – how did you get past the teachers?" Sirius asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"The same way you guys do, I'm assuming," I said.

Sirius's jaw dropped and Remus blinked in surprise.

"You have an invisibility cloak?" James asked in surprise.

Now it was my turn to blink in surprise.

"You guys have an invisibility cloak?" I asked in shock.

The four Marauders glanced at each other and winced.

"I got around the castle with a Disillusionment Charm," I said. "You four have been causing havoc ever since you arrived. No first year would be able to perform a Disillusionment Charm. It all makes sense now."

"And technically, a sixth year shouldn't be able to perform a Disillusionment Charm, either," Remus said. "We learn that in seventh year."

"Yeah, well, I didn't get an O in Charms for nothing," I said.

"Yeah, yeah, we know you're smart," Sirius said. "But the most important question is: will you become a Marauder?"

"I – uh..."

I thought about it for a moment. I had wanted to be a Marauder for a while if I was being honest. And wreaking havoc with the four sounded like a lot of fun.

"Okay," I said. "I accept."

Sirius whooped and James gave me a hug. Remus smiled at me, and I smiled back. Peter gave me a thumbs up.

"Now, we have a few rules," James said. "As well as a couple of secrets to tell you."

I cocked my head in anticipation.

"Our first secret was about the invisibility cloak," James continued. "I got it from my dad as a gift. It's been very useful."

"The second secret is that we have a map. We call it The Marauders' Map," Sirius said.

Remus took a piece of parchment out of his pocket and handed it to me. I was expecting to see something, but it was just a blank page.

"Wow, guys, this is ingenious," I said. "I could find my way across Britain with this."

"Shut up, L/n," Sirius said. "You need to tap it with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'"

Sirius did just that and to my amazement, ink began to appear on the parchment. A map of Hogwarts appeared, as well as names and footsteps.

"Is this..." I trailed off, unable to form words.

"It is," James said proudly. "A map of Hogwarts, and all it's inhabitants. It's another way we've been getting around without being caught by teachers."

"Wow," I breathed. "This... this is actually amazing."

"Now, onto the rules!" Sirius said. "Personally, I like breaking rules, but these ones are like law."

I refrained from telling Sirius that he would probably love to break laws as well, and instead began to read the rules that Remus handed me.

1. No lying to each other

2. Never tell anyone about the cloak or the map without permission from the others

3. If James dies, the cloak goes to Sirius

4. No betrayals

5. No adding unnecessary rules to the rule list

"And that's all we have so far," James said.

"It's been, what, six years, and you four have been able to come up with five legitimate rules?" I asked.

"It was a very difficult process," Sirius said.

I chuckled and handed the list back to Remus.

"Okay, I'll join your gang," I said.

The boys hollered and pulled me into a group hug.

What had I just gotten myself into?