Boys will be Boys

The walk back to the castle was, surprisingly, uneventful. No one was cursed, kissed, or harassed. Lily and Dara were starting to get worried and a bit apprehensive. The boys had not done ONE thing to them yet. And they were almost back to the castle. James and Sirius were terribly preoccupied. They were walking so quickly that Lily had to half run to keep up.

"Where's the fire?" she asked, panting.

"What?" James asked.

"Muggle expressionÂ…it means what's your hurry?"

"We're not in a hurry."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Come ON. I know you don't have the highest opinion of us, but PLEASE don't undermine our intelligence. You're so obvious that Gilderoy Lockhart could catch on."

"Enough insults!" Sirius cried, "I HATE that stupid, vain git!" he glanced at Dara, "No offense meant," he lied.

"WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME FORGET THAT?! I DO NOT like Gilderoy Lockhart! He is a vain pompous ass and I will NEVER go out with him again!" Dara gasped for breath, "Any questions?"

Lily couldn't resist, "I heard he was a KILLER kisser, is that true?"

"Lily, if you were one of those two," she gestured to the boys, "I'd beat you up."

Lily laughed and hugged her friend, "I'm just kiddingÂ…sort ofÂ…"

Dara rolled her eyes heavenward and sighed, "Are we there yet?"

"Trying to change the subject?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Got a problem with that, Black?"

"Nope, nope, not at all," he answered quickly.

James was lost in thought, "What time is it?"

"After eight," Dara answered.

"Uh-" James said as one who wanted to leave, "We really have to run. We have a- er- appointment."

"Right, right," Sirius agreed quickly.

"We can find our way back, if that's what you're wondering," Lily told them, "Better go to your- er- appointment." The last part was forgivably sarcastic.

Without a further word to the girls, they dashed off down the dark tunnel.

Dara huffed, "Well! I wonder what they're up to NOW."

Lily was looking thoughtful, "It's a full moon, isn't it?"

Dara's eyes widened, "Yes! That explains itÂ…but yet it doesn't."

They had known for some time that Remus Lupin, Sirius and James' friend, was a werewolf. They figured that a lot of people had to suspect it at least. They were silent as they walked along.

"They can't go and SEE him because they'd get killed, so WHAT are they doing?" Lily mused to herself.

"May be it has nothing to do with Remus," Dara suggested. "We should have followed them! Then we'd knowÂ…"

Lily laughed, "I'm glad that we DIDN'T follow them. I'm not sure that I want to get entangled in anything that they're planning. Most everything they do has a 100% chance of getting them killed and/or expelled."

Dara looked thoughtful, "Maybe- whoa!" she cried out as she slipped and fell to the ground with a thump. Swearing with feeling, she got to her feet and brushed her robes off.

"What is that?" Lily asked, pointing to the object that her friend had slipped on. It was a piece of parchment, battered and filled with word and pictures. Dara picked it up. Not just pictures. It was a map. A map of Hogwarts. And that wasn't all.

"Wow," she breathed reverently, "LOOK at this!" Lily looked.

"Awesome," she whispered, "There's a dot for everyone! It shows exactly where they are!" She touched it lightly, "Wow."

Dara laughed harshly, "This is theirs! It must have fallen from one of their pockets!" She peered at it, "Look! Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and ProngsÂ…that's them! Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James."

"I always wondered why they called themselves those goofy names!" Lily said. "What do they mean?"

Suddenly, Dara gasped. She looked Lily in the eyes, "I think I know."