The common room was quiet again, but this time the trio leaned in with an almost conspiratorial energy.
A half-unrolled parchment lay across the low table in front of them, held open with ink bottles and biscuit tins. On it, sketched in neat script and playful doodles, were several Marauder-grade prank plans—each annotated in a new hand: Hadrian's tidy and methodical, Iris's curling and curious, and Dora's wild scrawl that sloped sideways and frequently included stick figures with explosion effects.
Hadrian tapped the parchment once with his wand and looked at the girls.
"As much as I want us to become Animagi," he began, eyes steady, "I think we should put that off until second year. It's advanced magic—risky and complicated. And..." His voice softened slightly. "We may have a chance to meet two Marauders in person at the end of July."
Dora blinked. "You mean—?"
He nodded once, then moved on, not wanting to say too much yet.
"For now," he continued, "I think we should start small. Do you see this one here?" He pointed to a prank James and Sirius once executed, labeled 'Operation Whispering Quills.'
Iris leaned over and read aloud, "'Charm all unused classroom quills to write notes to each other loudly when someone enters the room.' That's… oddly adorable."
"And harmless," Hadrian added. "Morally bright. Just confusing enough to get attention without hurting anyone."
Dora grinned. "Imagine McGonagall walking in and the quills go: 'Oh no, the strict one's here! Act natural!'"
They all chuckled.
"That's the spirit I want," Hadrian said, his voice low with amusement. "Nothing mean, nothing dangerous. Just... let the castle feel like the Marauders have returned—unseen."
"I like it," Iris said. "If we space them out, do a few every week... the professors might start whispering about ghosts from the past."
"They'll look at each other during staff meetings and say, 'But they graduated years ago!'" Dora said, giggling.
Hadrian smiled mischievously. "Let's give Hogwarts a whisper of its old chaos, but dressed in new colors. A golden era in black and yellow."
He leaned forward, and the others followed.
They began picking through the Marauders' list, identifying those pranks that were clever, cheerful, and could be done with their current level of magic. Some ideas were too complex for now—Hadrian marked those for future years—but a surprising number were within reach.
They dubbed their effort Project Echo.
That night, while the rest of the common room slept peacefully, the trio stayed up late laughing quietly, planning, enchanting, and imagining the bewildered faces of their professors.
The Marauders weren't truly back.
But their spirit was.
And soon, Hogwarts would remember.