Panty Plot

The **Panty Plot** was a prank where the Marauders stole some of Professor Dedenne's underwear and hung it up from the rafters of the Great Hall. It took place in Book One.

## Idea

The Marauders got the idea for the prank in Chapter 66: Tartan Knickers. While sneaking around the school at nighttime, James and Sirius caught a glimpse of Professor McGonagall, dressed "head to toe in tartan". Sirius **speculated even her knickers are tartan**, and then said they should **steal them**. Since McGonagall is Remus's favourite teacher he disliked the idea and suggested stealing Slughorn's underwear instead — an idea James found both hilarious and disgusting — before **suggesting Dedenne**. Sirius guessed this was because of Dedenne's dislike of Remus and found the idea of avenging her great.

The next day James, Sirius and Remus filled Peter in on their plan.

## Preparation

First step was **finding out where Dedenne's rooms were by stalking her**. Remus thought he might be the best one for the job with his excellent hearing, but as his lycanthropy was still a secret **Sirius ended up being chosen for the task**. It took Dedenne a good while to go to her rooms, and Sirius almost got caught, but in the end he successfully found out the location and heard the password to the rooms. He returned to dorm well after the curfew.

James came to the conclusion that Monday would be their first opportunity to **invade the rooms**, as a time when Dedenne was supposed to be teaching had the least likely chance of her coming in while the Marauders were there. Remus suggested that since it was possible that Dedenne had **paintings in her rooms** whoever went in should put on **a disguise**. Peter suggested **another house's uniform**, and James decided the house would be Slytherin and that the one sneaking in would be either Sirius or Peter — James's glasses and ethnicity would give him away while Remus's sickly looks would do the same for him. **Sirius was up to sacrificing himself** if it meant a Slytherin would get in trouble, and they decided that during the next day Remus would do his best to **charm a tie into the Slytherin colours**. Sirius named the operation **Panty Plot** and James suggested he **nick a bra as well**.

On Monday, after Defense, the Marauders went to Dedenne's rooms. Sirius switched ties, said the password (erumpent), and went in. The others kept watch until Sirius came out, and then they all ran to their dorm with the stolen goods in tow.

In their dorm they inspected the underwear. Sirius had stolen **matching bra and panties**, both lemony yellow with white lace. They played with the bra for a while before discussing the prank. Remus suggested having them be **curled up and then unfurled with a spell during breakfast so they wouldn't be taken down** before anyone could see them. James came up with **making the underwear bigger** so they could be seen better once unfurled, and Peter, whose mother was a seamstress, said they need some other spell than engorgio as that would ruin the stitches. Remus was sent to **find and learn a spell**, and James and Sirius decided **the underwear would be hung up that night**.

It was agreed that Dedenne **probably wouldn't want the underwear back** after the prank, and as such engorgio was a good-enough spell. Remus practised it on James' socks before enlargening the underwear. James compared the size of the bra to a hammock.

## Execution

Since the underwear was too big to keep in pockets, James and Sirius draped them over their shoulders. The Marauders almost ran into Filch on the fifth floor, but in the end they managed to sneak into the Great Hall undetected. James decided **one of the middle rafters** would be the best place for the underwear. They used some **twine and sticking charms** **to get the panties to hang under the bra**, and then James and Remus floated them up. They stuck them to the rafter with another sticking spell, and Remus charmed them to roll up and out of view. Remus made sure the counter spell worked and James tested if the yellow could be seen from any direction. The Marauders had a scare when **Peeves came through the Great Hall**, but he saw neither them nor the underwear and didn't cause any other trouble. They snuck back to the Gryffindor tower successfully.

**The last act of the prank** went down in Chapter 69: An Argument. In the morning the Marauders went to breakfast eagerly and chose **a** place in the table that would give them a good view over the other tables, including that of the teachers'. They waited twenty minutes for the Great Hall to become as full of students as they would get, and James **shot up a spell to unroll the underwear**. Remus waited for other students' reactions before he looked up. First there were whispers and loud giggling, and soon **the entire hall was laughing**, fingers pointing up. Dedenne's face was going redder and redder, and the Marauders all gave in to laughter, tears in their eyes, pounding fists to the table, Remus sliding down his seat. Flitwick tried to get the underwear down, and with a SNAP it **fluttered down to the Hufflepuff table**. Sirius made a remark of how the colours fit together, while the Hufflepuffs shrieked and a couple flailed away from the cloth. Then the underwear jerked up and **went flying through the air** to the teachers' table, shrinking as it went until both pieces were of normal size. Then they went through a side door.

## Punishment

**McGonagall interrogated the Marauders** right after the underwear had disappeared from view. She couldn't get a confession out of them and **didn't have the proof to issue a proper punishment**, though she took five points away for cheek after Sirius suggested the underwear belonged to Hagrid's girlfriend. McGonagall was still cross with the Marauders during Transfiguration class later that day.

1. ↑ Book One, Chapter 67: The Panty Plot