when did the prank take place?

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 83268

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jwcpgh" <jwcpgh at y...> wrote:
 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?

Oh, good. I was hoping that somebody would pick up on this one.
In fact, the original question came in two parts.
Both might have answers that dent some illusions.

1. When in their school careers did the 'Prank' take place?

I surmised that it took place sometime before their final year and also
before the 'underwear episode'. Laura wonders whether it happened
even further back, pre-Animagi, not something I  had considered. 
(VG and A+ grade to Laura.) This would make it even more interesting.

If the Gang knew about Remus being incarcerated in the Shack, but were 
not yet able to master the Animagus transformation, it was probably
much earlier than we have previously surmised. Perhaps their third 
or fourth year - does that sound reasonable? Before then it would be
unlikely that they had enough magical training under their belts to
attempt the spell, later than that and there might not be enough time
for Pettigrew to finally  master the trick (he supposedly took a long time
to learn it) and for other associated events to have taken place.

2. What if the 'Prank' was the first overt clash between Snape and the Gang?

It has always bothered  me that Snape trusted Sirius' information and
blithely wandered down that passageway. But if there was no history of
fights between them, why shouldn't he?

We know (or assume) that the Gang did not particularly like Snape, 
Sirius goes on about him nosing around, prying. But it need not have
gone much further than a generalised dislike. A "We don't mix much with
Slytherin" sort of thing.

Could it be that Rash!Sirius decided to teach Snape a lesson for asking
too many questions? If this was the first clash, no wonder Snape was
pissed about what happened. A 15 year old thrown to a werewolf.
Oh, dear!

It would explain much about  the undying hatred Snape nutures.

It also causes me to wonder where the Gang got the idea of becoming 
Animagi. Dumbledore, perhaps? Making sure that Remus' friends could 
guard him and make sure it never happened again? I've never believed 
that DD didn't know about their Animagus activities and I've wondered 
why he didn't do anything about it, but if he actively encouraged it as
an extra safeguard....

Kneasy