[HPforGrownups] when did the prank take place?

[James Sharman]

No: HPFGUIDX 83242

jwcph wrote:

Kneasy raised an interesting point in his post # 83201.  I said that 
the prank happened sometime after pensieve 2, which would make it 
after 5th year.  But Kneasy pointed out that we don't actually have 
any canon for that.  I had assumed that it happened at least that 
late because of the way the story is told in PoA.  Remus says it 
took the Marauders the better part of 3 years to figure out how to 
transform.  Then he mentions Snape's suspicion that he (Remus) was 
helping Sirius get into the school after the escape.  At that point, 
the story of the prank comes out-or at least a somewhat expurgated 
version of it. Because of the order in which Remus tells about the 
Marauders, I made the assumption that the prank followed 
chronologically after the Marauders learned to transform.  But 
that's not necessarily the case, is it?  If it weren't for Remus's 
offhand remark about Snape, the prank might not have come up at 
all.  Furthermore, Sirius and James could have known where Remus 
went on full moon nights well before they learned the animagus 
spell.  So when *did* the prank happen?  And what, if any, are the 
differing ramifications of it happening before pensieve 2 or after 
pensieve 2?  Or do I just need to get a life?  


SilentJim:

Very Interesting! I'll have to go and do some reading but it certainly
sounds plausible. It would also clear up another problem. We are told that
James risked his life to save Snape from Remus and the issue has been raised
that James didn't really risk his life because he could turn into a huge
stag. 

If the prank took place after the Marauders found out about remus' secret
but before they became Animagi (Is that the right pluralisation?) it would
cast the event in a different light.

A possible supporting fact to this is that we are told Prongs/Wormtail &
Padfoot prowled the forest and grounds with Remus on full moon nights but
the prank is described with Remus alone in the shack.