"We are so getting expelled for this." Remus said as he looked down on what used to be the front staircase of Hogwarts. Now, the staircase was gone, or more appropriately, transfigured into a giant water slide. Already, students had gathered in anticipation of getting to use the giant water attraction. James stood next to Remus, grinning, as Sirius came rushing over, dragging several large hoses behind him.

"Turn it on, Pete!" He hollered, placing the hoses on the floor and securing them with a water proof temporary sticking charm. Water came gushing from the hoses and down the slide, bringing cheers from the surrounding students.

"As the brains behind this operation, I think Remus should be first, don't you?" Sirius said to James, who nodded vigorously.

"No, oh no. No way I'm going to be in enough trouble if anyone finds out that I helped you three." Remus said, shaking his head and waving his hands around.

"Oh, but we insist!" James said, enthusiastically, placing a hand on Remus' shoulder. Sirius approached, cautiously, and did the same thing on Remus' other side. "Oh yes, we insist." The two boys skillfully knocked Remus' legs from beneath him, sending him down the slide on his back kicking and screaming. James and Sirius were doubled over with laughter as Peter found his way over to them.

"What's so funny, guys?" Pete asked, having missed Remus' fate. He peered down the slide and marveled at the fact that their plan had worked out so well. The other boys exchanged a knowing glance and a smile spread cross both their faces.

"This." They said, in unison as they shoved Peter down the slide. Now it was just the two of them.

The game of pushing and dodging began as other students launched themselves down the slide. A few minutes into the battle, the boys heard a funny sound. Sirius had James in a head lock when it happened again, louder, and they froze. It was a groaning noise, like wood with too much weight on it. Sirius let James go just as Remus finally found his way back to the top of the slide again.

"What was tha-" A loud snap cut of Remus' question. The three boys looked over in the direction of the toilets just as a small chunk of the wall was blown away, and a large jet of water gushed through the hole. The boys looked around quickly, unsure of what to do, and rushed towards the hole in the wall. Remus, in a moment of panic, threw himself against the rushing water, in an attempt to hold it back, only to be blasted away by the sheer force of the water.

He slid across the floor on his back, finally coming to a stop at the feet of highly bemused looking brunette. Addison Sheridan looked down at Remus, trying desperately not to laugh. "Having fun?" She asked from behind the hand she held over her mouth, trying to keep the laughter in.

"Not really." He replied, not bothering to get up off the floor.

"You're all wet." She stated, simply.

"I panicked."

* * * *

"We need a name." Sirius said as the four boys sat in detention, a place they would be daily for two months. They were lucky that Professor McGonagall had been so impressed b y their Transfiguration skills, she hadn't had it in her heart to expel them. Instead, Gryffindor lost two hundred house points (fifty points for each of them) and they'd received two months worth of detentions.

"We already have names." Peter said, dumbly.

"No, not that kind of name." Sirius said, shaking his head. "All good gangs in history had names. The Three Musketeers, for example. "

"Or the Three Stooges." James added.

"Or the Sharks and the Jets." Remus said, nodding.

"Exactly!" Sirius said, jumping up to sit on top of his desk. "Personally, I was thinking 'Sirius' Gang'."

"Do you have any idea how lame that sounds?" James said, shaking his head. "James' Gang sounds so much cooler." The banter went on between James and Sirius for several minutes (resulting in such names as "Team Extreme", "Team Awesome", "The Midnight Rockers", and "The Cool Cats") . Peter even interjected a couple of names himself ("the Rat Pack" and "The Dudes"), but Remus sat quietly thinking.

"What about The Marauders?" He said, finally. The other three boys stopped their talking to look at him, curiously. The Marauders. It had a nice ring to it. They looked at each other, before all looking back at Remus, nodding.

"The Marauders it is." Sirius said, a huge grin on his lips as he looked at the faces of the three boys he sat with. It was in that moment a bond was forged between four people, not only making them best friends, but brothers.