a note on the term "Marauders"

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 25791

I realize that this has been mentioned before, but I think it's worth 
a repeat. The term "Marauders" is used a lot by fans to refer to the 
group of friends which included James, Sirius, and Lupin. That's a 
convenient term and I sometimes use it myself. But that isn't canon; 
that group is never refered to by that name in the books. 

The term comes from the name of the map they created, which is 
the "Marauder's Map," singular, not "Marauders' Map," plural (note 
the position of the apostrophe). The word does not refer to the 
people who created it, but to the unnamed person who may be holding 
it and using it at any moment. A person would use the map to maraud 
around the school grounds, hence would be called a marauder. 

James and company are not "The Marauders" except to us fans. 

Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http;//www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon