Summary – Sixteen year old James, Sirius and Remus have been thrown into an alternate, twisted dimension where the worlds of Reality and Harry Potter collide. Imagine all the insanity they can get into armed with a knowledge from the Books and Muggle technology—And still very mischievous minds—inside not only Hogwarts grounds, but the magical world.

Inspired by the infamous list of 586/807 things I'm not allowed to do at Hogwarts; going by Lexicon time line; book publishing dates moved up; yaddayadda... Feel free to chime in with ideas and what-not along the way!

Remus – Teenager; Lupin – Adult

-pokes her head in- … -slips inside- Uh. Hi! Look! -holds up several sheets of paper- I finished the chapter! Eheheh... I know it's waaaaay past due. But life has been hectic, and revealing our trio to Harry was a hard hurtle to jump over. So this might be a bit messy of a chapter, but I did include one of the things from the list for some fun! And in the next chapter you can look forward to some genuine trouble-making on behalf of the dear, dear Marauders. Things will start moving faster after this in the story, but I'm hoping to have some fun with the boys over the summer before we move onto Hogwarts.

Thank you everyone for your patience! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! And please, if you see anything that might need correcting feel free to drop me a line with that Review button. And if you don't see anything that might need correcting, drop me a line anyway and let me know how you liked the chappy. ^^ Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome. Flames with be doused with water then buried with dirt.

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas as to what this lot can get up to around Privet Drive, feel free to hand in your suggestions. Or requests for what number from the list you want to appear (keep in mind that it needs to be applicable outside of the school right now, though). This chapter contains number 273 as a funny reference and future chapters will be better centered on the list.

Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter (J.K Rowling), or the List (kupika's Demonic_Angel and a multitude of others). I'm simply using them for my amusement and the amusement of others.

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Chapter V

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"Well, I think we all know what we have to do."

Sirius, or rather, Padfoot was crouched in bushes just outside of Number Four, Privet Drive. Inside the house he could hear a ruckus being made by the boys who were supposedly over for 'tea'. His tail wagged back and forth adamantly as he waited, listening rather intently for the signal from Remus. A signal from a dog whistle that only he would hear, of course. As soon as it sounded, it was the over-excitable dog's job to bound around the garden and make enough ruckus to lure everyone out of the house. Then James would come bounding over under the Invisibility Cloak and mess around a bit before grabbing Harry.

What happened, though, was entirely different from what they had planned. There was a series of yells from inside the house and suddenly, in what to Padfoot sounded like an explosion, Harry burst out of the front door followed by about five other, larger boys. It was a startling event, to watch them all chase the smaller boy through the garden and out onto the street. A large, round looking one (easily the biggest of the group) was shouting instructions to the others until finally, they seemed to have cornered Harry down the street in front of an alley. Sirius watched for a moment before turning and bounding back to where he knew the others were hiding, shifting out of his animagus form as soon as he was out of sight of any Muggle passerby.

"Change of plans, mates. Harry's in trouble." He gestured for James to put the cloak away before turning and hurrying out of their hiding spot.

James slipped into step beside him and Remus on the messy haired boys' other side, the three of them walking quickly but calmly towards the group. So far, nothing had happened and it seemed like the gang was simply tossing insults back and forth with Harry. It was surprising how sharp the other wizards tongue was as well as how calm he managed to look. Sirius could tell, however, that the other teen had no idea how to get out of the mess he was in. That would be where the Marauders would have to step in, reaching the scene just as one of the larger boys started to move forward.

"Oy! What's going on over here, mates?" James called out as soon as he noted the movement, causing all attention to shift towards the three of them.

It must have been an intimidating sight, because the five boys eyes widened and they all took a few steps back. James raised an eyebrow and glanced down at himself curiously. They weren't dressed oddly, were they? He had pulled on a black t-shirt with some muggle band across it and matched it with some worn-down jeans and sneakers. Nothing that weird. Remus was wearing an old brown jacket over a plain white tee, also with jeans and sneakers and Sirius—had changed into Padfoot again and was baring his teeth rather unpleasantly at the group. Oh, well, that would explain quite a bit.

"Keep that mutt of yours away from us, shrimp!" The gang leader suddenly seemed to gain the courage to snap, his face having turned a strange shade of purple, "Or I'll pound it to a pulp!"

"Hey," Remus' eyes narrowed slightly to show irritation despite his calm tone, "don't you have any manners? He hasn't done anything, yet, you know."

"Yeah, not yet." James, never one to take threats very well, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the boy challengingly. "I don't think he likes you, though. Huh, Pads?"

Padfoot barked in response, darting forward a few paces before leaping back again. All the boys yelled and backed off a few more paces except Harry, who seemed to be a bit too preoccupied with staring to care. James grinned at the group and reached down to pat the top of the dog's head. He nuzzled into the hand briefly, but didn't relax, still growling threateningly; mainly towards the largest of the group now. Oh no, he didn't like being threatened either.

"I'm warning you, put that bloody thing on a leash before you find him hanging from a tree somewhere!"

This time, James actually let out a small growl of annoyance. What luck to encounter such a jerk so soon. Smirking suddenly, he shrugged. "Have it your way, then. Padfoot, sic'em."

Barking loudly, the large black dog quite eagerly bounded forward towards the group and sent them scattering. There were various yells as the boys bounded in different directions. None of them turned back to see if they were the one that the dog was after. None except the large one, whom Padfoot was adamantly chasing around until with a wail he ran back into Number Four, Privet Drive. It wasn't hard to hear the cries for his mum as he went, nor the following yells about a rabid dog.

Before Petunia Dursley even made it to the window, Sirius was back to his normal self and had joined his friends and Harry in the mouth of the alley. Well out of sight of the woman's critical gaze, he adjusted his leather jacket over the black muscle shirt and then fixed the belt of his pants, which were also black. Sirius was definitely the most intimidating looking of the group, having opted to try out what he deemed to be 'rocker style' after they had flipped through some muggle mags (Dumbledore had sent them so the boys could see the 'current style' for muggles). Of course, Remus and James were certain that this idea had come from Bill Weasley's outfit from earlier.

"Well, that was fun. Wish I could've gotten a bite in, though." The dark-haired boy muttered casually once he was done fixing his appearance.

"Nah, you wouldn't be able to get rid of the taste of lard for weeks, mate." James countered smoothly, grinning, "Besides, it looks like he may have wet his breeches anyways."

"Hah, good point. Anyways!" Sirius turned his attention towards Harry and paused, frowning slightly at the stunned expression the boy was wearing on his features, "Er... You alright, mate?"

The other two in the group also turned slightly worried gazes towards the frighteningly skinny boy. He simply kept staring at them before seeming to snap out of it, shaking his head and taking a few paces back from the three teens before him. A confused expression overcame the stunned one and was then taken over by a mistrustful one.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded quite suddenly, glaring suspiciously at the three of them, "And why are you here?"

"Not very friendly in person, is he?" Sirius muttered, crossing his arms and glancing over to his friends. He had been at least expecting a thank you.

"Can you really blame him, Pads? I mean, after what just happened and everything that full Moony told us..." James shook his head, raising his arms in a helpless gesture, "I don't think I'd be very friendly either, mate."

"Try to see it how Harry must be seeing it." Remus agreed, offering the wary teen before them a small smile, "I imagine that with our appearance and the normal impossibility of something like what has occurred to us happening... It becomes impossible to believe in what the signs are pointing at."

There was a loud, drawn out sigh from the Black heir and he rubbed the back of his neck before propping both arms up behind his head. An obviously thoughtful look came over his features as Sirius stared up at the sky. How could they explain everything, again, but in a way that would stave off the suspicion that was radiating off Harry? Better yet, where would they do it that Muggles would be unlikely to see but the other teen would agree to going? It was unimaginable that he would agree to returning to their current home with things as they were now—in fact, Sirius believed that even suggesting it would set off red flags for the other.

"...How about we go to that park we saw earlier, then? It didn't look like the kind of place that Muggles would like to hang around much. And transforming would be easy with that grouping of trees nearby." He finally spoke, looking back at the others. When they gave him a set of confused looked, he rolled his eyes, "Well, we're not going to stay here to talk, are we? Don't want that Muggle group to drag their parents here and still be hanging around."

"...For once, Padfoot, you're thinking ahead. Amazing." Remus commented with a sudden smile, earning himself a light punch from the other and laughing softly, "Alright, then. If it's okay with you, Harry, of course. I think I saw some places we could sit there, too."

Harry stared between the three teenage wizards before him, not quite sure what to say. At the mention of relocating to the park with them to talk, though, his mind started calculating the pros and cons of such an idea. It was obvious that the long haired boy that looked a lot like Sirius (he ignored that they were all using the Marauders nicknames) had put a lot of thought into it. Was that because they were setting a trap, or because he was trying to keep them on neutral ground? Something told him that it was the latter.

"...Fine. But once we get there, you're going to answer my questions." He waited for a nod from each of them, ignoring the eye roll from the Sirius look-a-like, "Come on, then."

With that, Harry turned and moved out of the alley, heading in the straightest path towards the park. Normally Dudley and his gang hung around there, but after what had happened... Well, it was doubtful that any of them would be leaving their homes. Or, at least, that they would be coming around wherever they saw these three teens. That made the chances of the park being empty a lot higher, but if this summer was anything like that last (and he was sure it was), then there would be an Order member tailing him. It was safer to stay out in the open, without Muggles around, in case things got dangerous.

By the time they reached the park, Harry had formed a plan in his head. If these blokes were really friendly, then they would understand his next actions. Possibly even let him go through with it without a fight. After all, they obviously knew him even if he had no clue who they were (he refused to listen to that stupid voice telling him otherwise). Therefore upon reaching the swings, turned to fully face them.

"Expelliarmus!" Three wands jumped into the air and flew towards Harry. He caught them deftly and examined the expressions of the three strange teenagers. The one that looked rather like himself seemed exasperated while the Sirius lookalike was openly irritated and the last one—the honey brunette seemed as though he were trying not to laugh.

"Are you quite finished being a paranoid git?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms moodily. If not for James, the bloke would have never gotten the Black heirs highly prized wand from him. They had all known it would come; any intelligent wizard would never let three potential threats stay armed. Especially if they were out numbered; but still, he had not wanted to give up his wand so willingly.

"No." Sitting in the only good swing, Harry placed the three wands in his lap and kept his at ready, "Who are you?"

"Well, there's a question we've been answering a lot." Rolling his eyes, the long haired teen turned to look at his best friend, "He's just going to attack us, and now we won't have any way to defend ourselves."

"I doubt Harry is the type to attack someone disarmed."

"Yeah right, not if he's your blood."

"Hey!" James bristled, his features shifting into a decidingly unbecoming pout, "I wouldn't attack anyone if they were unarmed. Not really."

"Oh yeah? What about Snivellus, huh?" Sirius countered, grinning at successfully luring his friend into bickering with him.

"That's not attacking. And Snivellus doesn't really count, you know." Sniffing, the leader of the group turned back to Harry and blinked at the stormy expression that the other boy was wearing, "Oy, what's up?"

"Stop it. Stop acting like them and tell me who you really are." The Boy-Who-Lived demanded in a quiet voice that signaled what Peter would have called the calm before the storm.

"Acting like who? We're not acting like anyone, mate." Sirius replied, tilting his head and grinning innocently, "We are who we are. Bit of a rush, huh? We thought so."

"Pads, slow down. Give the bloke a chance to comprehend." Remus admonished before turning to look at Harry and asking, "Who do you think we are, Harry?"

Harry blinked, then frowned in thought. Their words were swirling around in his head and suddenly he felt grateful for having the foresight to sit down. The image of Snape's memory came to the forefront of his mind, "You remind me... Of..." Snapping out of it, he shook his head and glared at them, raising his wand, "But that's not possible! You're too young and two of them are dead! Voldemort must really be losing his touch if he thinks he can get me with such a poor plan."

"But that's just the thing, innit?" James countered, grinning and raising his arms in a shrug, "He would never think to send three of his little Death Eaters disguised as the Marauders. No one that dim would have made it as the most feared wizard in the age, right?"

"Er... I guess not." Still wary, Harry narrowed his eyes at the three, "But that still doesn't change the fact that what you want me to believe is bloody impossible. You can't bring back the dead! Sure, you can de-age someone, but not bring them back from death. And you two." He gestured between James and Sirius with his wand, "Are dead."

"Yeah, tell us about it." Sirius grumbled, crossing his arms, "Bloody disappointment, that was. All my brains and smarts... And my older self ends up killed by bloody drapery—with the assist of my crazy bint of a cousin."

It took all of Harry's control not to curse the teen right then and there. How dare he speak so casually of Sirius! Underplaying his death like that! His blood boiled but in the end, composure won out. For some reason, a part of him really had no wish to hurt these three. They seemed friendly and had not so much as raised a finger to try and hurt him. Not yet, at least. Still, they were practically making a joke out of him.

"...Look. You lot may think this is funny and all that, but I don't. You've had your laugh at the 'Boy-Who-Bloody-Well-Lived', so why don't you just get lost?" Standing from the swing, Harry tossed their wands towards them and turned to leave again. He knew Mad-Eye would wring his neck if he ever heard that 'Potter' had turned his back to three armed strangers, but he was past the point of caring.

"Funny? Oy! No one ever said anything about a joke, mate!" James frowned, grabbing his wand and hurrying after the other boy, "Look, we are the Marauders! If you'd just stop denying it and let us prove it to you, then we could explain the how!"

"As best we understand it ourselves, at least." Remus called after as he and Sirius trailed behind their friend and his (future) son. "Harry! Just ask us a question only we would know. Go on."

By this point Harry had stopped, allowing the trio to catch up. Slowly, he turned back around to face them. There was a reluctantly thoughtful expression on his features as he eyed the other teens. They waited expectantly, Sirius fidgeting and twirling his wand in his hand while James ran his through his hair. Remus was, unsurprisingly, the only one who stayed still. Harry's brow furrowed, obviously thinking hard for a question that he could ask three teenage versions of the Marauders. Finally, though, he gained a faint smile and snapped his fingers.

"After the Defense O.W.L., James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had an exchange about a question on the test. What was it?" There. No one but them would know that exactly, right? They had to be sixth years, like himself, now. Which meant they would remember the entire event clearly if they really were who they claimed to be.

"What? That's easy, O.W.L.s just ended. I asked 'Did you like question ten, Moony?'" Sirius piped, turning to Remus with a grin, "And he said..."

" 'Loved it. Give five signs that identify a werewolf. Excellent question.' " Remus recalled, a fond look on his face as James shook his head and recalled his own comment.

" 'D'you think you managed to get all the signs?' " He was even able to manage the mock tone of concern that he had given before.

" 'Think I did.' " Now Remus was grinning, trying to keep his tone completely serious as he had before, " 'One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin.' " (Quoted from OotP page 567, Chapter 'Snape's Worst Memory')

Then, all of a sudden, Sirius' bark-like laugh filled the air. It served to break the restraints on his two friends, all three of them ending up in a strange pile on the ground. Suddenly, though, the laughter died out as they remembered their fourth member. James' expression darkened as he disentangled himself from the other two and stood up. The thought of Peter had sobered them right up, reminding them just how Harry got in his current situation. Speaking of Harry. Currently, James found him staring gobsmacked at them. Smiling in amusement and trying to erase the previous thoughts from his mind, James leaned forward and waved.

"Good to meet ya, mate. We can't believe it, either. Dumbledore and the Moonies, though, came up with a good idea of an explanation." When he got no response from the other, James pushed on, "It's quite a long story. The Order—that's what it's called, right?—got us a place to stay, all on our own."

"Right next to your house, actually." Remus added, finishing dusting himself off, "We should probably head back that way before the Ministry shows up. They've taken an exceptionally long time to respond to your underage magic."

"Yeah... Hey, Moony, d'you think that maybe whatever is keeping us from being Traced is cloaking Harry while he's with us, too?" Sirius twirled his wand, a thoughtful frown on his features, "I mean, it would have to. Right? Otherwise we can't do magic with him around. That would put a real damper on our plans."

"Plans? What plans?" Harry asked, immediately gaining that wary feeling again as he snapped out of shock.

"Well, to make you a Marauder, of course!" Sirius beamed, grinning and slinging an arm around the shorter boy, "After all, from what we've heard about you from the adults... Well, you fit right in with us!"

"A lot more than Pete." James muttered darkly, barely reigning in control of his scowl. He had to keep reminding himself that this was a different universe. There was a good chance that what had happened here would never have in his reality. Still, it hurt to think about, "Besides, it's in your blood, you know!"

"Me a Marauder? I don't know..." Harry provided in a half-hearted form of protest, but it was quite obvious that he was excited by the concept of joining in the group of troublemakers.

The teen was practically glowing, unbeknownst to him. The three friends exchanged a knowing glance before leading the way back to their current home, Sirius keeping his arm around Harry's shoulders. Within minutes they were inside. Harry detached himself from the others and moved to look around. He made a quick tour of the ground floor, ending up in the living room staring at the various pictures that the trio had put up. At some point between the exchange at the park and now, he had found himself slipping into believing the truth of it and now... Looking at the pictures it seemed as though he had no other choice but to accept what they were telling him. Still.

"...You said you would explain once we got back here." Harry turned back towards the three and found that Sirius had sprawled out over the couch (and Remus, who had sat down before him) while James had taken up an arm chair. They were all watching him with faint amusement, "Er... Well, we're here and I'd fancy hearing that explanation..."

"...But you want to have someone from the Order here to help explain, too?" Remus offered, grinning despite himself.

"There's a pot of floo powder on the fireplace. Feel free to give them a ring." Sirius waved a hand lazily, also smiling. His earlier annoyance at Harry's paranoia seemed to have vanished completely. "Try Moody or big Moony. Oh, or that Weasley bloke who brought my bike. What was his name, again?"

"Bill." James offered, grinning and sitting up, "D'you think he'll come back? Full Moony seemed a bit upset at him earlier... And I think he went to work."

"Damn."

Harry smiled faintly at their exchange before shaking his head and grinning, "I know someone. Another Weasley, actually. I think you'll like him." That said, he turned and tossed a small handful of floo powder into the fireplace and calling "The Burrow!" before sticking his head into the midst of the flames. Almost reminiscent of that June, when... The thought was cut off by the sound of Mrs. Weasley's voice calling out to him.

"Harry dear! What a surprise! What's wrong—where are you? Those muggles of yours don't have floo, do th-"

"No, Mrs. Weasley. I'm at a...Friend's. Sorry to worry you but everything's fine... Er... Is Mr. Weasley here?" Harry cut across the motherly woman's words hurriedly, doing his best to act as though everything really was okay. Which, it was. He was simply.. Overwhelmed. "I'd really like for him to help me clear something up."

"Oh, yes, he just got home. Arthur! Harry's on the floo!" Once she finished calling for her husband, Mrs. Weasley turned back to examine the teen worriedly, "Are you quite sure everything is okay, dear? You look quite shaken... And tired. Have you been sleeping right, Harry dear? Are those muggles feeding you properly?"

"Er..." Feeling his face heat up, Harry was relieved from answering the questions by the arrival of Mr. Weasley. After a quick exchange to reassure them that yes, everything was alright, he bid farewell to Mrs. Weasley and yanked his head out of the fireplace, moving aside so that Mr. Weasley could step out of it a moment later.

The adult looked around himself for a moment, trying to decipher where he was exactly before his gaze landed on the trio lounging in the room. At this point his eyes lit up, "Ahh... I thought that was what this was all about. It's not like Harry to wander into a wizarding place when everything is 'fine'. Hello, boys. I've heard quite a lot about you. Arthur Weasley, at your service."

"So, you do know them?" Harry asked, straightening up expectantly, "Mr. Weasley, what they're telling me is true?"

"Well, I don't know what they're telling you Harry-"

James cut across their exchange, "Actually, we haven't really explained it fully yet. I'm guessing that Professor Dumbledore must have filled you in, though, sir."

"If you two sit down, we'll get started." Sirius gestured to the two vacant arm chairs. Though, he was looking thoughtfully at Arthur as he spoke. As if the man had reminded him suddenly of someone else. He shook the feeling off and continued, "It feels like we've been repeating ourselves a lot, so I'm just gonna let Moony catch you up."

"Agreed." James piped up, smiling, "Moony, if you'd do the honors."

Waiting only long enough for their guests to take a seat, Remus shot into a rather long but detailed recount of events up until the point that Harry had asked Arthur to come. He went so far only for the adult's sake, as everyone else was present for the last bit of it and didn't need it to be repeated. Every so often Sirius or James would chime in to provide some kind of helpful (so they claimed) comment. Soon enough, though, everyone was caught up and the three friends were waiting quietly for some kind of reaction from the two guests sitting before them.

A heavy silence hung in the air before Harry fell back against his chair and sighed, "I need a drink."

"Harry." Arthur immediately admonished, before shaking his head and smiling faintly. The three friends were grinning, of course, as the wizard raised his wand and summoned them all butterbeers from the kitchen (which was met by surprised cries from the Marauders, who had yet to realize their pantry and kitchen was fully stocked), "I'll admit when Dumbledore called Kingsley and myself into his office and told us about you three, I didn't fully believe him. But now..."

"Yeah. It seems a lot of people have trouble believing even when proof is right before their eyes." Sirius grumbled good-naturedly before taking a long draft from his bottle. "But, there you have it, Harry. The Headmaster believes us and he obviously informed the Order already."

"Nothing left to do but believe us, too, ey Harry?" James grinned around his own drink, winking at his friends. "Sorry to have startled you like that outside, we honestly didn't plan for you to find out that way. But I guess Padfoot just couldn't contain himself at the sight of those louts ganging up on you like that."

"You're bloody right I couldn't!" Swinging his legs off from where they had been laying across Remus' lap, Sirius sat up straight and glared at his friend, "Who the hell gangs up on someone who's defenseless like that? I know we gang up on Snivellus at times, but we only outnumber him two to one and he always starts out with his wand to fight back!"

"Pad, it's al-"

"It's not alright! That tub of lard is lucky I didn't catch up to him. I still say I'd like to take a chunk outta him." Having worked himself up with the subject, Sirius stood and started pacing, obviously fuming.

"Geeze, Padfoot, you're acting like you did the time your brothe-"

"Don't. Bring Regulus into this. Please. I can't even..." Rubbing his temples, the long haired teen heaved a sigh of frustration, "Harry... No offense, mate, but you just look so... Small. I felt bad for you after meeting you as Padfoot; and then when full Moony filled us in, I guess it made me feel worse. We don't really know you well, but watching that group gang up on you was like watching my little brother...Ergh. It just..."

"It's okay." Harry blinked a few times, finally finding his voice after the initial surprise he'd experienced at the sudden outburst. Shaking his head, he gave a faint smile, "Really. I'm used to it. A-and, it's nice of you to be so...Er..."

"Protective? Anal? Insane?" James offered, grinning. A successful attempt to lighten the atmosphere, as Sirius choked back a snicker and moved over to shove his shoulder. "Really, though, Pads. I was mad, too. We might not know Harry personally, yet, but the fact of the matter is that we had decided to make him one of us when we set out to introduce ourselves to him."

"Provided you were willing, of course." Remus told Harry, cutting cleanly across his friend, "After everything we heard, well. It sounded as though you would need some pleasant company for the summer."

"Yeah. Don't get us wrong, mate, we're not just doing this because you're related to James or anything like that." Sirius paused, then grinned and tilted his head, "Though, that's definitely part of it. But the fact of the matter is that you seem like the kind of guy who should have friends around all the time, not just during term. We're in the best spot to provide that."

"Plus, we'll need some friends when term comes around. Actually, we'll need some friends in this place period. Might as well start with someone we know we like already." James chimed in, grinning, "And you know we aren't just going to hang around you because you're the 'boy-who-bloody-well-lived' as you so nicely put it. Since we-"

"I think he gets it, you guys." Remus cut in again, rolling his eyes and smiling at Harry. "Simply put, we'd greatly appreciate it if you accepted our offer to be friends."

"O-of course." Was the only reply Harry could get out. He wasn't sure what he felt about all their reasoning out why he should join their ranks, but he found himself grateful for Remus' timely injection. "I'd be bonkers not to, after all this."

"Well, now that that's settled, I think Molly might be working up a storm of worry. I'll be getting home now." Arthur stood, beaming, "Look after yourself, Harry. Boys. Don't go getting into too much trouble; I doubt Dumbledore'll like that, ey?" He winked at them and started towards the fireplace before pausing and turning back, "Oh, Harry. I expect you'll want to fill Ron in yourself?"

"Oh. Yeah." Straightening at the mention of his best friend, Harry suddenly looked unsure of himself, "Mr. Weasley, d'you think..."

"I believe he'll understand just fine. Hermione, too. Not a worry, Harry. Not a worry. We're planning a trip to Diagon in a week, why don't you boys join us? I daresay Hermione will be there as well."

"Brilliant." Harry beamed, nodding, "I'd love to, sir."

"We'll come. I want to check out that joke shop... Without the risk of attack, mind you." James chimed in, grinning. "I s'pose those twins would be a right laugh to be around, once everything is straightened out."

"Splendid. Simply splendid. I'll let Molly and the kids know. Expect a letter tonight, Harry."

"Yes sir. Thanks a ton."

Shaking his head and claiming once more that it was no problem at all, Arthur vanished into the green flames of the fireplace. This left the four teens to themselves in the small living room, quietly sipping at their butterbeer and wondering just how much they could get up to in the course of the week. At least, that's what three of them were thinking about. Several minutes passed in silence before Sirius straightened up and asked, with all the innocence in the world.

"Say, Harry, there was a little tv-like thing on the desk in that bookstore... Any chance that you could fill us in on what it was, exactly?"

"A small... A computer?"

"Oh, is that what it was? Sure, then. Can you tell us more about it?"

By now the other two were listening with rapt interest, all three waiting for the response of the smaller boy. Harry looked between them all warily, thinking to himself for a few moments before smiling.

"Well, I could tell you about it... Or we could go to the library and I'll just show you. They have computers there for public u-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence before both James and Sirius whooped in triumph.

"Brilliant. We can go tomorrow; it's already getting late here." Remus stated, smiling, "But for now, we should probably get to work on something to eat. Want to stay for dinner, Harry?"

"Yeah. Brilliant." Finally starting to settle into the idea of gaining the three wayward Marauders as friends, Harry found himself grinning and getting a bit more comfortable in his seat. After a pause, though, it occurred to him to ask, "...Do any of you even know how to cook?"

All he got in response was some sheepish grins and shrugs. Remus rolled his eyes, "I'm sure we could... Manage something."

"I'll help. I used to cook for the Dursleys, and Mrs. Weasley lets me help around the kitchen sometimes at the Burrow. Maybe together we can come up with something edible."

"Or, or." Sirius held up his hands, motioning for the others to stop in their tracks. "Orrrrr. We could remember that Dumbledore let us bring that Dobby elf along with us and see if he could whip something up that we know will be edible."

"Did you say Dobby was here?" Looking around as if expecting to find the elf right behind him, Harry paused then called out almost hesitantly, "Dobby?"

POP! "Mister Harry Potter called for Dobby, sir? Oh, Dobby is so glad to be seeing Harry Potter again!"

"Er... Yeah. Hi, Dobby. Good to see you again, too." Smiling, Harry lifted a hand to wave at the creature but a foot in front of him.

"Did Harry Potter need something from Dobby, sir? Dobby would be most honored to help Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, uh, Dobby, do you think you could make us some dinner? None of us are very great cooks-"

"Dinner, dinner! Yes! Dobby will get started on dinner for Harry Potter and his friends immediately!" Without waiting for a response, the elf snapped his fingers and vanished with yet another POP!

"You know the elf?" Sirius asked, bewildered by the very idea of being on friendly terms with a house elf of all things. James just rolled his eyes at his friend, unwilling to admit that he was interested in the new development as well. "He seemed to really like you. Couldn't even in a word in edge-wise."

"Yeah, well. It's a long story... I freed him from the Malfoy's, actually." Harry replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'll have to tell you about it; Mr. Malfoy was furious."

"I bet. Sounds like something that would make Haldir really angry." Sirius rolled his eyes, "He's so stuck up."

"...'Haldir'?' Harry asked, taking pause to the sudden change in names, "From Lord of the Rings?"

"Yeah! Did you read those? I used to call my cousin that all the time; drove him nuts to be called an elf-name. Of course I didn't tell him it wasn't the same kind as a house elf." Snickering, Sirius shrugged and sighed wistfully as if wishing he could relive something, "I remember the first time I called him that, too. Really sent him for a loop. Then of course I had to explain it was because he looked like an elf from this muggle book I was reading and-"

"And we spent the next half hour trying to undo the langlock jinx he put on you." Remus finished for him, receiving a charming grin in reply.

"It was worth it. Did I ever thank you for being so good at counter curses?"

"Never did thank Snivellus for teaching that to blondy..." James muttered almost thoughtfully before shaking his head, "I don't suppose we could do it now. Wouldn't be the same."

"Snape would probably outdo you all in this time. No offense but, well..." Harry shrugged, "He's pretty frightening when he's really putting his mind to something. I've never really seen him in a real duel or anything like that aside from the time he disarmed both Sirius and Lupin in the shrieking shack, but..."

"Yeah." Sighing, James shook his head in a sign of defeat, "We all knew that Snivellus would grow up as a force to be reckoned with, but I figured that so would be. Now the tables are turned against us and, well, we'll just have to get creative."

"You can bet that he'll do his best to make life miserable for us during term. We'll have to put aside plenty of plans to get back at him with." Sirius chimed in, suddenly gaining a wicked gleam in his eye. "I'm sure there's plenty of things for us to do. Don't worry, Prongs. Besides, in the end you did get Evans."

"Well, my future self did at least. But yeah, we can start planning things for term early. Just because we're not in exactly familiar waters doesn't mean that we can't still have fun." Nodding to himself, the leader of the group grinned and turned to Harry suddenly, "Besides, we have a fresh mind to contribute to our antics now. Gotta make use of it, you know. And I'm sure that Harry's friends would get a kick out of helping too, once we meet up with them. You will introduce us, right Harry?"

"Of course! Ron and Hermione'll never believe me if I don't introduce you guys. And Ron'll definitely help come up with ideas; Fred and George are his brothers so he's bound to have good ideas. Hermione might not approve at first, but I'm sure she'll warm up to the idea." He smiled sheepishly, "She's a bit of a stickler for the rules."

"Sounds like Remus was when we first started our mischief making." Sirius stated, reaching over to nudge the honey blond playfully, "He was a real stick in the mud at first, scared of getting expelled. After the first couple of rounds, though, he started giving us ideas to help make things safer and less..."

"Destructive? Promising of capture? Smarter? Subtle? Surprising?" Remus offered up, eyes alight with good humor, "We all know that my contributions made the pranks far better than they were when it was just you two behind the wheel."

"Yeah, yeah, stop gloating."

They continued chatting and exchanging stories up to and throughout dinner and, after deciding that Harry was better off just staying over, well into the night. By the time any of them fell asleep it wasn't in the rooms upstairs, but sprawled about the living room with a fire crackling still in the fireplace. The next morning they would sneak Harry into his room at the Dursley's so he could make them believe he had been there the entire night before whisking away to begin their week of adventure and learning at the library. Given that they had to catch up on twenty one years in both the muggle and wizarding world, they had stuck Harry as their all too willing guide.

Seeing as their leap to catch up with the times was starting with computers and Harry knew only basic things about the items himself, there was bound to be some fun to come from it.