Wulfenite

"This way."

"Come on, Peter!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Peter replied.

"Shhhhhhh!" Three other voices said in unison.

James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin walked quickly along the corridor trying to get by unnoticed.

"Ha, That buffoon will never catch me!" a tinny voice said around the corner.

"Peeves Hide!" James whispered urgently.

"Oh no!" moaned Peter.

"Shhhhhhh!"

"Sorry."

In a small broom closet the four friends waited. Unfortunately for them the caretaker Apollyon Pringle came around the corner.

"Peeves, I'll have you expelled for this!" Pringle hollered, running down the corridor.

Peeves attempting to hide from him, floated into the closet where the Marauders were hidden.

Forgetting that the caretaker was after him, Peeves bellowed "STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE BROOM CLOSET IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"Peeves, NO!" Sirius whispered urgently but it was too late. Peeves floated through the back wall to escape Apollyon, leaving the Marauders trapped in the closet.

The door handle creaked as it slowly open revealing the caretaker.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

§ § § § § § § § § § § § §

Chapter 1 ~ Owls

" James Potter, I'm going to kill you!" Lily shouted as she stormed across the common room. "Where is he? I'm going to twist him into a pretzel, rip him into pieces, and feed him to a hippogriff!"

"Calm down, Lils. Now what did they do this time?" said Lily's best friend Guinevere.

"They kidnapped my owl and left me this!" Lily raged, brandishing a scrap of parchment.

"Stop!" Guinevere commanded. Lily froze. "That's better," she continued, lowering her voice. She then noticed that the entire common room was listening. "Don't you people have anything better to do?" she yelled at the rest of her house.

A chorus of "No's" answered her question.

"Well, find something," Guinevere murmured, then turned to her friend. "Now Lily, give me that parchment." Lily handed over the hostage note. "Thank you"

Guinevere read the note quickly.

'Your owl will be returned to you upon your compliance with the following conditions.

1. You may NOT kill us.

2. You must leave 5 galleons in Green House 3

3. You may NOT kill us

4. We are not responsible for the condition of your owl when it is returned

5. You may NOT kill us

Sincerely Yours,

The Marauders

"So did you give them the money Lils?" Guinevere asked, while trying to keep a straight face.

"Of course not, would you?" Lily responded. She then noticed Guinevere's expression. "Oh, you think this is funny, do you? Well here you go, you got one too." Lily countered pulling another piece of parchment.

"Give me that! No! Why did they take my owl? What do they want the money for? They're in the library, let's go!" Guinevere said and she began running towards the portrait hole

"Wait, I have a plan," Lily said, stopping her friend.

"Well, what is it?"

§ § § § § § § § § § § § §

"She will have gotten it by now," Sirius whispered urgently to James.

"I know. We should head out to the green houses," James replied.

"What did you guys do now?" Remus asked them.

James and Sirius exchanged a conspiratorial glance. "Oh nothing."

"It must be worse then I thought! Oh no! You didn't - You did! What are you thinking? They're going to KILL you!" Remus said excitedly.

Peter came running down the corridor and into the library. "Ummm... Guys? Lily and Guinevere are coming down the hall and they look really angry!"

"Er..." James and Sirius replied in unison.

"Run, you idiots!" Remus shouted at them.

§ § § § § § § § § § § § §

Lily and Guinevere were running down the corridor at top speed. When they reached the library, they spotted Remus and Peter.

"Where are they?" Guinevere asked threateningly.

"We know they're here! Just tell us where they are and no one gets hurt," Lily insisted.

Remus tried his best to keep a straight face while the girls seethed. "I have no idea where they are. Why do you want them?"

"You know perfectly well why we want them! Now, I will give you one more chance to tell me where they are. If you don't, then... well, let's hope it doesn't come to that... Where are they?" Guinevere asked.

"I don't know. Honestly," Remus replied innocently.

"Then we'll just have to ask Peter," Lily said turning to him. "Peter you know where they are don't you?"

Peter shook his head mutely.

"No? Are you sure of that? You can tell me. Don't worry, I won't hurt them," Lily reassured him. "Much," she added in an undertone.

Remus gave Peter a warning glance, trying to keep him from answering.

"Really? You won't hurt them?"

"No. Whatever gave you that idea?" Guinevere asked Peter.

"Remus did. But if you won't hurt them, I guess it's ok to tell you they're at the green..."

"Peter NO!" Remus interrupted loudly earning himself an icy glare from Madam. Pince. The girls were halfway to the door before he finished his sentence.

"Thanks so much for the help Peter," Lily said without looking back.

"Welcome."