Golden Black

Chapter One: Sweet, Sweet Vengeance

An unusual silence fell over the Gryffindor Common Room, stretching out to the cracks and corners of the room and leaving the fire crackling in the fireplace, along with a few whispers, the only sound in the room. Off to the side a boy with untidy jet-black hair, dark glasses and light hazel eyes found this silence unnatural and almost unnerving.

"Oy, Moony, where's Padfoot? It's too quiet in here with out him jumping around and screaming on the top of his lungs."

A sandy-haired boy averted his reposeful saffron eyes from So You Think You Know Vampires?, the leather-bound book he was reading and rested them on the untidy haired boy. "Sorry, Prongs. No idea. He's probably still sleeping. It is only 5 in the evening." He let out a soft chuckle. "Wormtail, you see Padfoot?"

A chubby, mousy boy with blonde hair looked up from a long piece of parchment he was reading over from his position on the floor. His watery, soft blue eyes went from the black-haired boy to the boy with the yellow eyes. A small smile played on his lips. "Who knows with Padfoot! He could be sleeping, but he could also be exploding chairs in the Charms classroom."

The door at the top of the stairs leading to the Seventh Year Boys' Dorm opened, as if on queue, then slammed shut. A small paper airplane flew out and circled the common room, dipping and spinning as it went. It was a violent lime-green color and made a small whistling noise.

James Potter, the boy wearing the glasses, looked up at the plane and laughed. "Oh, no! What's he up to now? He thinks we're crazy if we're gonna touch that!"

Remus Lupin, the sandy-haired boy, nodded in agreement. "Too right you are, Prongs."

Peter Pettigrew, the blonde boy, squealed in fright. "Y-you don't think it's dangerous, do you?"

"Naw, not mortally dangerous, anyway," James said, laughing.

Most of the room was staring up at the bright little plane expectantly, waiting for someone stupid enough to jump up and grab it, but no one did. A few whispers of 'What's that?' and 'Oh, look it!' were circling through the common room. The plane circled, closing in on the center of the room. It made a dramatic dive to the floor and hit nose first into the red area rug between the couches. There was an echoing boom as the room filled with scarlet smoke. Coughing was heard in a few scattered places as the fog covered the entire room, obstructing everyone's vision. Then another explosion rang out and a loud and familiar voice radiated around the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Prongs." There was a laugh that broke through the announcement and James crossed his arms, grinning. "It's the moment you've all been waiting for- hoping for since you woke up! It's that time of the day again! Get ready and brace yourselves! Heeeeeerrrrrreeeeeee's SIRIUS!"

The sound a door flying open was heard up the steps to the Seventh Year Boys' Dorm. The smoke started to recede and a boy with dark silky hair just up to his shoulders flew down the steps on a broomstick. He jumped off as the broom lower itself to the ground. He slid across the floor in black tube socks, a white T-shirt, dark glasses, and bright blue boxers with a red diamond pentagon filled in with yellow, and a huge red 'S' in the middle. A tiny silver hoop earring glittered in his left ear. He held the broom up to his mouth like a microphone. "WHAT'S UP, GRYFFINDOR?" The red smoke was now circling around his feet and then disappeared into the ground. A huge grin was plastered across his face as the common room erupted into applause. He took a huge, dramatic bow. "Thank you, thank you!" He was soaking up the attention and admiration until the excitement wore down and everyone turned to each other, speaking admirably about Sirius Black's latest stunt.

"Oh, isn't he so dreamy?" A small sort of girl with golden brown hair was mooning over Sirius to her brunette friend, who nodded fervently.

"But James is cute, too," the brunette said and it was the golden haired girl's turn to nod.

A blonde girl to the brunette's left smiled and looked over toward the boys. "We all have our favorite Marauder, don't we?" Her eyes lingered on Remus before turning back to her friends.

Sirius turned and walked over to the three boys on the side, his face held a mischievous grin. "So, Prongsy, what'd ya think of that one?"

James ran a hand through his already untidy hair and ruffled it up more. "I could have done better."

"You liar." Sirius crossed his arms, still grinning. He set his broom next to the couch, laughing. He dropped in between Remus and James on the couch, throwing his arms around their shoulder.

"Alright, Padfoot. It was good. Next time you do something, let me in on it."

"Sorry, Jamsie, no promises."

"How nice you are to your best mate!"

"I know. I'm just kind. I can't help myself."

"Get off me, Padfoot!" Remus shoved Sirius's arm off his shoulder. "I'm trying to read."

"Are you ever not reading, Moony?"

"Shut up, Sirius."

Sirius put his hand to his chest. "You cut me deep, Moony.... Real deep."

"Good. I hope you bleed to death."

"Uh!" He jumped up, whirling his fists around. "That's it, Lupin! I'm taking you on!"

"You're on, Black!" Remus dog-eared his page and set the book on the couch, standing up. Sirius jumped backwards, grinning.

"Guys, quit it!" Peter squeaked, pulling back his parchment. "You almost stepped on my Transfiguration essay!"

"Oh," Sirius looked down. "Sorry bout that, Wormtail."

"Aha!" Remus leapt at Sirius, putting him into a headlock and putting his fist on top of Sirius's head and running his knuckles into his scalp.

"Hey, hey!" Sirius pulled his head out of Remus's arm, smoothing back his hair. "No noogies! Watch the hair!"

Remus laughed and fell back into his seat, opening up his book again.

Sirius took refuge in an armchair adjacent to the chair where James and Remus were sitting. He put his arms behind his head, closed his eyes and leaned back. The grin was still plastered to his face.

The portrait hole creaked open and a red-haired girl with blazing, forest green eyes came into the common room, hugging her books to her chest. Her eyes searched the common room wearily and timidly. The blonde, brunette, and golden-haired girls waved to her. "Lily! Lily! Over here!" The redhead smiled, walking over to them. Sirius's right eye opened to catch a glimpse at the cause for the sudden yelling. He grinned even wider and his gaze shifted over to James. James had suddenly jumped to attention, rumpled his hair and started bragging loudly about how good he is on a broomstick.

"Yeah, you know, Wormtail, that last match against Ravenclaw, I whipped them! I flew right around the keeper and scored, must have been, what? 30 shots?"

Peter squealed with excitement. "30? Really, Prongs? Wow, you're really good!"

Sirius laughed and lowered the sunglasses down, peering out the top of them. His sharp blue eyes landed on James. "You might have taken 30 shots, Prongs, but only about 10 of them went in."

"Yeah, well, I was the fastest on out there. They didn't stand a chance!"

Sirius snorted into his sleeve. "Yeah, yeah."

The redhead glared in James's direction with the utter most hatred in her eyes. The blonde girl said something that sounded very much like, 'Superman boxers' and the redhead glared at Sirius.

Sirius saw James look over at Lily and when she caught his eye, he made like he just to saw her then. "Oy, all right, Evans?" She shot him a death glare and turned back to her friends.

"If looks could kill, Potter, you'd be as dead as Nearly Headless Nick!" Sirius grinned and smoothed his hair back again.

"She loves me, she just doesn't know it yet."

"Keep dreaming, Prongs..."

James glowered at Sirius and Sirius stared right back, eyes dancing with defiance. A low rumbling interrupted the stare-down.

"Sorry, guys," Peter blushed a light pink. "I'm hungry, I can't help it."

Sirius laughed and brushed his hair out of his eyes, casually. "Yeah, I'm starved! Haven't eaten breakfast or anything!" He took off his sunglasses and shoved them in his pocket. "I'll be back in a sec. Gotta change. You know how much of an uproar I'd cause wearing this? The girls'll maul me half to death." He let out a long, dramatic sigh. "How it pains to be me."

"Oh, yeah. A total nightmare." Peter sighed. "I wish I had that problem."

Sirius grabbed his broom and raced up stairs. They waited impatiently at the bottom of the steps for him. He came down ten minutes later in Gryffindor robes. "All right. Ready?" He punched James in the arm. "Race you down to the Great Hall, Prongs!"

James dropped the look of impatience and smirked. "Get ready to lose, Padfoot!"

"Not in this universe!"

"Ready?"

"Set..." Sirius took off out of the portrait just as James opened his mouth to say 'Go!'.

"You no good cheater!" James bolted down the corridor after him.

Remus gave Peter an annoyed glance, even though he was grinning. "Let's go, Wormtail. It's always a competition with these two."

Peter laughed, picking up his parchment and putting it on the couch. That was the Marauders' Area. No one dared touch anything there. They know they'd find spiders in their bed or their underwear hanging in the Great Hall if they did. Remus and Peter made their way down the corridors to the Great Hall. Upon entering they found James and Sirius sitting in their usual seats across from one another, bickering.

"I beat you, Padfoot, and you know it!"

"How can I know something that didn't happen? You fell coming down the stairs!"

"Only because you tripped me! Besides, you slammed into that suit of armor!"

"You pushed me into it! He almost cut my head off, too, thanks!"

"Look, Padfoot. You lost, get over it."

"I'm not getting over it since it didn't happen! I whooped your arse!"

"WHAT?! You're living in a dream world! I was miles ahead!"

"How could you have been? I was waiting for you when you got here!"

James groaned and threw an apple at Sirius's head.

"Oy, Padfoot, Prongs! What's going on now?" Remus sat down in his usual spot next to James.

"Sounds like they can't decide who won the race." Peter sat next to Sirius, putting gravy over his turkey.

"We can to! It was me!"

"Wrong again, Padfoot. It was me!"

"You're both wrong," Remus said, biting into a drumstick.

"What?" James and Sirius shouted in unison.

"It was 'I', not 'me'."

"Are you correcting our grammar, Moony?" Sirius was pulling different things out and shoving them on his plate, not bothering to look at what they were.

"That's right."

"You read too much...." James complained, forking some of Peter's turkey onto his plate.

"Hey, that's mine, James!"

"Not anymore." James shoved the turkey into his mouth.

Peter crossed his arms, biting off some of the turkey that James hadn't taken.

A sound of giggles and laughing entered the hall. James's head snapped as if it was a rubber band. Lily Evans, the redhead and Head Girl at Hogwarts, and her three friends from the Gryffindor Common Room walked into the hall. They were laughing with a brown-haired boy wearing Ravenclaw robes and a gold prefect badge. Sirius saw James's eyes narrow and his fists clench. His finger tips went straight through the apple he was holding and it squirted all over the table and down his arm. He didn't seem to notice or care. Lily waved to the Ravenclaw prefect and sat down at the table with her friends. She stared at him as he went to his seat. He waved at her from across the hall. She turned a bright pink and looked down. At this point James looked murderous. His eyes were flashing and the apple was just mush and a stem in his hand. Sirius looked to Remus who looked back nervously. Peter looked terrified. He shot them both a look that screamed 'HELP!' at the top of its lungs. Sirius looked back to James and clattered his plate against the table, breaking James's concentration.

"Cool it, mate. You just murdered that apple."

"Oh..." He wiped his hand on his napkin and looked up at Lily again. She was talking with her friends again. His glance fell upon the Ravenclaw Prefect. "What's that bloke's name?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I think it's Orion. Yeah, Orion Harolds." Sirius looked up at James, grinning. He could feel the opportunity for a huge prank.

"Orion Harolds, eh? You up for a bit of pranking?" His eyes danced with malignance.

"You bet!" Sirius swallowed a huge piece of chicken, grinning.

"Right on." Remus looked weary, but seemed to decide to go with it.

"Yeah!" Peter's eyes lit up.

Sirius started to shovel food in his mouth, not looking to see what he was piling in.

"Oy, Sirius! Take a breath!"

"Mmm-mm! I'b 'ungy!"

"We know your hungry!" Remus put a plate up in front of his face. "We're in your splash zone!" Sirius grinned at Remus and kept shoving his food down. The grin looked stretched across his face as his cheeks were so stuffed.

James grinned and sniggered. "Padfoot... You really are an animal."

Sirius grinned and nodded. "Mm-hmm!"

After Sirius had finished his plate, James grabbed his arm and pulled him, kicking and flailing, away from the food.

"But, Potter! I'm starved!"

"There's no way in hell you're still hungry!"

"But I am!" He put his hands on his stomach and looked up at James pleadingly.

"No. Stop eating. We have planning to do!"

Remus laughed and followed them. "Sirius, you can't possibly have room in that stomach of yours for anything else."

"I do too!"

"You're like a bottomless pit."

"Damn straight."

Peter scurried along after them, a look of astonishment written over his face. "How can you eat so much and not gain an ounce?"

Sirius shrugged. "Fast metabolism."

"I want a fast metabolism."

"You could use something, Petey. You are getting a tad porky." He pulled away from James's grasp and poked Peter's stomach.

"Hey! Stop that!" He swatted Sirius's hand away.

Remus laughed, looking from Sirius to Peter. "Padfoot, leave him alone."

"Yes sir, General Remus, sir." Sirius put two fingers to his forehead in a salute, then turned on one foot and started to walk down the corridor. "Hup, Two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four! Pick up the pace, Jamsie! Hup, two, three, four!" James fell into step next to Sirius, shouting the march with him.

"Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!" Sirius and James continued to march. Peter eventually joined them, reciting the chant.

Remus looked at the three of them and sniggered. "A company, halt!" Sirius came to a stop, James bashed into his back and Peter smashed into James's.

"Oy, you dolts! That means stop!" Sirius glared at James.

"Oh, right. Hence the, 'Halt'."

"About face!" James and Peter turned to face Remus by turning right. Sirius did a 270-degree turn by spinning left first. "You are disgraceful, Major Black!"

"Sir! I'm sorry, Sir!"

Remus put his hands behind his back and glanced at Peter. His eyes traveled along the line of faces. He turned and walked up and down in front of them. He shook his head. "Lieutenant Potter! Fix your hair. Sticks up at too many different angles."

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" He put his hands on his head, trying to smooth his hair down.

"Sergeant Pettigrew! Fix your tie. It's crooked."

"S-sir! Yes, Sir!" He pulled on the knot of his tie and straightened it.

"About face, right!" They all turned right, staring straight ahead. "Ready, march! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!"

"Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!"

Sirius stopped the chanting of 'Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four!' and started the singing of 'Battle of the Hymn Republic.'

"Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vineyard
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

"Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on."

Remus joined them when the got to the chorus and as they marched down the corridors Peeves bounced next to them, adding in his own profound version of the song, which made Sirius laugh and add a few verses of his own.

They burst into the common room singing the chorus and collapsed into the chairs in their corner of the room. Peter took his essay and brought it up to the dorm. Remus was reading again by the time he got back down. James and Sirius were playing a game of Exploding Snap, so Peter decided to take a nap in the big armchair.

~*~

"Wakey, wakey, Wormtail!"

"Erp... no, Mummy, just five more minutes."

"Wormtail, you moron! It's us! Sirius, James and Remus!"

"Oh..." He sat bolt upright. "OH!" His faced flushed red and he looked to each grinning face of his friends.

"Time to scheme, guys, yeah?" James said, rubbing his hands together and falling back onto the couch. "Got any brilliant plans, Padfoot."

"Of course. I was working on it all day today. It still needs some work, so I'm sure you all would be more than happy to oblige."

They all watched Sirius expectantly. His lip snapped up into a grin and his eyes focused on each of his friends in turn. "All right. Here's the plan."

~*~

Sundays always went fast, especially when you had Double Potions on Monday morning. Sirius had jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, shoving James out of the way.

"I bagsy first shower!"

"Oy, Padfoot! Watch it!"

"Sorry, Prongsy!" Sirius said just before slamming the door to the showers shut.

James crossed his arms over his bare chest. He was just about to get into the showers, but he wasn't going in there now that Sirius jumped ahead. He threw his towel in the corner and sat on the end of Sirius's bed, which was closest to the showers. A grunt from across the room told him that Peter was still sleeping and a small howl next to Peter told him that Remus was also still sleeping. Another noise caught his attention, now. It was coming from the showers. The sound of water pounding the floor was taken over by a deep voice from behind the door. At first he couldn't make out what it was, then he heard a sort of pattern, a melody. Then he laughed, listening to his friend singing in the shower.

"Mama just killed a man,

Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead.

Mama, life had just begun,

But now I've gone and thrown it all away.

Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry,

If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,

Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters"

James didn't realize that the water was still pounding in the background until it was shut off. Sirius was still singing coming out of the showers, towel wrapped around his waist. James would never tell his friend, but he thought Sirius had an excellent singing voice.

"Finally, oh and Padfoot."

"Hmm?"

"What's that song you're singing?"

"Oh, Muggle song. Queen. They're really a brilliant group."

"Oh..." James thought this was just another rebellious move against his pure wizard family. Sirius had run away last year and was now living with him and his family at the Potter Mansion. Sirius never explained why he ran away, but James had a feeling Sirius's family were pretty dark wizard. He knew Sirius wasn't like that. Sirius had been rebelling against his family in everyway possible, from singing Muggle songs in the shower to wearing Muggle clothes on the weekends. He sighed as he made his way into the showers.

"Nothing really matters,

Anyone can see,

Nothing really matters,

Nothing really matters to me."

Sirius sang as he pulled up his black cotton pants. He looked over at Peter and grinned just before he pulled his white T-shirt over his head. He reached over into his open trunk and pulled out a box of 'Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.' He pulled on his robes and threw a few beans at Peter's head. Peter waved his hand over his face once or twice. His mouth was wide open in a huge snore and Sirius threw a spinach-flavored bean into Peter's mouth. "Scorage!" He whispered to the darkness of the room. Peter must have swallowed it because he sat bolt upright, spitting and sputtering.

"Ugh! Ick! Eww! Sirius! What are you doing?"

Sirius put the box behind his back. "Nothing, Wormy. Something wrong?" His face was full with so much innocence; it made Peter raise his eyebrows in suspicion.

"What's behind your back?"

"Nothing!"

Peter threw the sheets and blankets off to the side and jumped out of bed. He was wearing blue striped flannel pajamas as he made his way over to Sirius. "What is that?"

"Nothing, I said! I- Oops." He tripped over his chest and the beans flew all over the floor.

"Aha! That's what you were doing! Putting nasty flavors in my mouth!"

"No, Petey, actually, I was throwing them at you and you were snoring and one got in your mouth. Your bed is now covered in beans."

"Oh, great! Thanks Sirius!"

"No problem, mate."

Peter grumbled and started to pick up the beans littering his bed and floor. A groggy voice was heard to the right of Sirius.

"What are you two doing?" Remus reached up and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, nothing, Remmy, don't worry. Maybe you should get ready, though. We have about an hour and a half to get ready and get down to breakfast. I'm starving!"

"You're always starving." Remus put his feet off the side of his bed and made his way over to his chest in his pale orange cotton pajamas.

James came out of the door for the showers, steam floating out behind him. "Just getting up? How lazy can ya get?"

Sirius shook his head in mock-disgust. "I don't understand it, Prongs."

Sirius was hit in the back of the head with a pillow. Peter crossed his arms and glared at him. "You sleep later than everyone, Padfoot! You're the last in the Gryffindor Tower and I bet in a few other towers, too."

"Got up before you today, didn't I?" He grinned and hurled the pillow back at Peter who yelped and fell onto a pile of 'Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.'

"First time for everything, Padfoot," a smooth and muffled voice chimed in from somewhere to the right of Sirius. Remus pulled his head out of his trunk, neatly folded clothes in his hands, and made his way into the showers.

"Wait, Moony! No!" By the time Peter had scrambled to his feet, Remus had already shut the door. "I wanted to get in there first!" He groaned and kicked the beans across the room, scattering them into the corners, under the beds and dressers, and into a hole in the wall.

James pulled the towel off his head and gave Peter a perplexed look. He was currently drying his hair. "Didn't you take one yesterday?"

"Oh, right. Good."

"How do you remember your name, Wormtail?" Sirius laughed, running a hand through his damp hair.

"Shut up, Sirius!"

~*~

They sat on the floor waiting for Remus to get out, talking about Professor Scruple, the Potions Professor.

"That's one wicked lady, I'm telling you. I was sitting there, minding my own business when she comes over and takes 20 points off Gryffindor!"

"Padfoot, we're in the same class and you shot a firework into her hair."

"Look, Prongs. It wasn't my fault she got in the way, was it?"

"You shouldn't be shooting fireworks into Avery's cauldron, anyway."

"He called me a git before class!"

"You called him a wanker."

"Well, he is."

James shook his head. "And you wonder why you have so many enemies."

"You have the same amount as me!"

"Boys, boys. Please. Keep the bickering to a minimum." Remus stepped out of the showers, fully dressed.

"Can we go now?" Peter stood up, brushing off his robes. He had gotten changed after Remus left but before James and Sirius started fighting. "I'm hungry."

"Me too! I'm starved!"

"Padfoot, we know."

"Shut up, Prongs."

Remus shook his head and followed them down the stairs into the common room and through the corridors to the Great Hall, listening to them bicker all the way.

~*~

"Padfoot, when is this brilliant plan of yours going into effect?"

"Don't worry, Prongs. I have it all figured out. Oh, here comes the little wanker now."

Orion Harolds walked into the Great Hall, Lily Evans and her friends at his elbow. James twisted in his seat to get a look and glared. Lily let out a sweet sort of melodic giggle and Orion grinned, satisfied.

"Perfect timing, that stupid git has," Sirius sad, taking out his wand. He rolled up his sleeves and aimed it at Orion from across the room, one eye closed. "Vituper Ebullio."

The Ravenclaw prefect let out a small burp and a bubble floated from his mouth. Inside the bubble was the face of Orion Harolds, himself. The bubble floated around the Great Hall and hovered right in front of a Third Year Hufflepuff. It popped, but the head remained. It smiled and then started to speak.

"You know how much of a git I am? I really am one huge git. But James Potter, that boy has style, pizzazz, and really is extremely popular."

Sirius snickered. "It gets better."

Orion burped and another bubble floated over to Ravenclaw table, popping somewhere toward the end of the table by a black-haired girl. "Sirius Black is really the epitome of cool. If he was gay, I'd jump that sexy thing in a second."

James barreled over laughing, clutching his stomach. His head smashed into the table. James wasn't the only one laughing. The people who had heard the bubble speaking were twisting in their seats, beside themselves with laughter. Another burp and a pop was heard somewhere at the Slytherin end of the Great Hall.

"Even though I brag endlessly about how I'm the smartest person in the entire school and that I should have been Head Boy, Remus Lupin is a lot smarter than I could ever be. He's not that bad looking either."

Remus laughed even harder than he was before. Tears were sitting in his eyes from the hysterical state he was in.

Another burp and the bubble traveled over somewhere toward the opposite end of the Gryffindor table and disappeared with another pop. "Peter Pettigrew really is a cute sort of boy. Makes me want to just run up and hug him every time I see that little Butterball."

Peter was collapsed onto the table, pounding his fists against the wood, making his water goblet dance on the tabletop. The only people not laughing were Orion Harolds and Lily Evans. Orion looked completely stunned. He stared out into the bevy of laughing peers. Lily stood, stone faced, and hands on her hips. Her eyes were flashing viciously toward James and Sirius.

There was a further burp and a pop so sudden, it didn't seem to have actually left his mouth before it popped. But it had. It was hovering just in front of Lily's face, staring at her. She looked at it curiously for a second before returning to her stony faced mask.

"And Lily Evans has the nicest rack I've seen in a long time."

Lily stood there, staring at the face before it disappeared. Her mouth dropped open, a mortified look spread across her face. She spun around and ran out of the Great Hall, laughter dancing behind her.

~*~

After the excitement in the Hall had died down, a few people walked over to Sirius and James to congratulate them on a prank well done.

"Well," said James for the twelfth time this morning. "It was all Padfoot's idea. He came up with it, invented the spell over night, too. A little help from Moony, Wormtail and I." The admiring Hufflepuff gave them a thumbs-up and walked away. James turned to Sirius. "Why did you put that in about Lily, though, Padfoot?"

"Actually, Potter, that wasn't me. Remember when we put the bit in about rude compliments on his own accord?"

"Hmm," Remus nodded. "He must have said that to one of his friends."

"What a git."

"If I'm not mistaken, Potter," Remus sent James a challenging stare. "You are always talking about other girls' bodies."

"I'm not alone, Moony! Sirius is the one who's always talking about how he di-"

"That's enough, Potter." Remus grinned and bit into a piece of toast.

Sirius smirked and shoved a sunny-side up egg into his mouth whole. A bit of runny yolk dripped down his chin and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

"Oy, Padfoot! That's disgusting!" Peter threw a slice of banana at his head.

He threw his hand up and swatted it away. It landed in the middle of Remus's toast. "Oops, sorry, Rem."

"That's all right. I wasn't going to eat it anyway."

"I'll eat it," Sirius said, grabbing the toast and shoving it in his mouth before Remus could argue.

"Uh, sure. Go ahead."

~*~

"I told you to bring your books to breakfast with you, Sirius!"

"No you didn't, Moony!"

"Oh, well I meant to!"

"No good it does us now, does it?"

The Marauders bolted down the steps to the dungeon, panic flashing across their faces. The bell sounded through the hallway, laughing at them, telling them they were late.

"Oh, no! Scruple's gonna kill us!" They all stood in front of a huge wooden door. Black metal spurs cut across the front of the door on the bottom and somewhere near the top. The dull black handle stared up at them, daring them to enter. James took the handle and swung the door open slowly.

"How nice of you four to join us. Are we too good to come to my class on time? Mr. Black?"

"Uh, no, Si-... I mean Ma'am."

She glowered at him. "Take your seats." She hissed at them and they immediately fell into four seats on the Gryffindor side. The Slytherins were shaking with silent laughter. "20 points of Gryffindor. Each.

"Now, as I've been saying for over a week, today we're starting Reviving Potions. As all of you can see, you have a beetle on your desk, apparently dead. Don't crush it, Longbottom, you fool." Frank Longbottom pushed the beetle to the corner of his desk, his face scarlet. "At the end of class we will see who can revive the beetle." She cast a look to a pale, sallow skinned Slytherin with long greasy hair and a crooked nose. "You have N.E.W.T.s at the end of this year. BE PREPARED!" The last line had half the class jump in their seats. James, who was staring at the back of a familiar redhead, snapped his head to attention.

"Some of you bumbling fools will be failing the N.E.W.T.s miserably." Her eyes rested on Frank Longbottom for a moment before gazing back up at the class. She pushed her bifocals to the tip of her nose and peered out over them, giving everyone a stern glare with cold, dark eyes. Her short black hair that fell just short of her ears didn't move an inch as she turned her back to the class, her cloak billowing behind her. She put her wand to the board and flicked it violently downward. White writing appeared on the dingy slate surface of the board. "I don't hear quills. Write this down." Immediately as if the sound had been turned back on, the sound of quills scratching against parchment was heard through every inch of the classroom.

Sirius was one of the first to finish copying down the ingredients to the Reviving Potion. His writing was so wide and disheveled, it was a miracle he could read his own writing. He turned in his seat, shooting a grin at James over his shoulder. "You wet yourself, Jamsie?" His voice was so low it seemed to blend in with the scratching of the quills. "Scruple had you jumping about twenty feet in the air. You're not scared are you, Potter?"

"Of course I wasn't scared! I was surprised, that's all. You did a little spaz motion yourself, Black."

"Oh that wasn't because of Scruple. That girl up there looked at me and I got a little twitch in my-."

"Are you quite finished boys?" Professor Scruple looked down at Sirius and James, a sneer curling on her thin lips.

"Oh, no Ma'am. I wasn't really finished with my sentence yet. I was just telling James about how-."

"Detention, Black. And 10 points from Gryffindor. See me after class." She turned her back at them and strode to the front of the room. "I will pair you into groups of two. These will be your partners until Christmas break and then I will decide if they are orderly and working properly. I may change them I may not. The pairs stand as follows: Avery, Longbottom. Nott, Pettigrew...."

Sirius turned to James again, scowling. "That stupid old frump! I can't believe her! She's given me detention for... for what?"

"For your idiocy, you git."

"Snape, S. Black." Scruple's lips curled into a familiar grin that was saved for and used only when pissing off the Gryffindors, and especially James and Sirius.

"See what I mean," Sirius said through gritted teeth. "She does this on purpose!"

"Lupin, Ramsay."

"Well, at least Remus wasn't slaughtered with the pairings. He got a Gryffindor."

"That's because all the Slytherins are already paired up, you nob."

"Oh, but that means...." His eyes lit up as he scanned the room. His name wasn't called yet and neither was...

"Potter, Evans."

"Oh, good luck, Prongs!"

But James wasn't listening he was staring down the rows into the glaring green eyes of Lily Evans. She was apparently not happy at all. She didn't seem to notice how extremely glad he was, nor he noticed how completely enraged she was.

~*~

"Wormtail, how'd your beetle wind up?" Sirius pushed back a lock of hair from his laughing eyes.

"Oh, horrible. I must have killed it. My potion burnt a hole through it!"

Sirius grinned. "Snape really is a wonderful partner." Two heads spun around to look at him, utter horror on their faces. Sirius sniggered. "He does all the work, I get the grade."

Remus let out a small breath of relief. "Oh, you scared me there for a minute, Padfoot. I thought you were making friends with Snape there."

"Of course not! What are you on?" Sirius looked at James, eyebrow raised. "Hello! Earth to Prongs!"

"Hmm... huh? Oh."

Peter shook his head, asking, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Wormtail. It's just our little Prongs here's in love. That's L- O-V."

"No, Padfoot, you moron. 'Love' has an 'E' on the end."

"Yeah, Prongs, I knew that."

"Uh huh. But that's beside the point. I'm not in love!"

"Sure, and I'm the Queen of Guam."

"Guam has a queen?" Peter asked, scratching his head.

"I'm not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Children. Please. Act your age." Remus shook his head. "It's getting rather tiring...."

"Prongs, admit it," Sirius ranted on, ignoring Remus. "If you're not in 'love' with Evans, why did you get so jealous when she walked in with that prefect that you need to prank him? And why did your eyes light up when you were paired with her in Potions?"

"We're going to be late for Charms." James pushed open the door on the seventh floor corridor leading to the Charms classroom. Sirius grinned, following after him. Remus glanced inquisitively at Peter, shrugged and followed James and Sirius in.

~*~

Sirius stretched across the couch in the common room. The fire danced in front of him, making his face look like a swirl of waving shadows and luminescence. His legs hung over the arm of the chair from his knees to his feet. His arms reached across and hung backwards over the opposite arm of the chair. His hair rested across his face. It looked like it was meant to be there; as if anywhere else it would have seemed out of place. But nothing was out of place on Sirius Black; he had just reminded James of that last Tuesday.

"Tough day, Padfoot?"

"You bet, Moony."

"What on earth did you do that I didn't?"

"You like listening to those long boring talks on the N.E.W.T.s. I've been wanting to fall asleep since Flitwick's class this morning."

"I do not like them. They're important. I don't want to fail the N.E.W.T.s."

"You'd think they'd change the name. Who on earth could possibly get emotionally prepared for a 'Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test'?"

Suddenly the portrait door flew open and James stalked through, spots of flashing colors blotched his face like overgrown freckles. Peter scrambled in after him, a look of terror on his face. James's teeth were clenched, fists balled, and eyes flashing with anger as he stormed up to the Boys' Dorm. The door flung open and then slammed shut. Lily and her two friends watched him come in and fly up to his dormitory. Lily giggled at the sight of him along with the golden-haired girl and blonde girl. The brunette, however, watched him with growing pity in her eyes as he made his was up to the dorm.

Sirius's eyes went from the steps of the Boys' Dorm to Peter. "What in the bloody hell happened to him?"

"Snape hexed him in the hallway and then disappeared into a wall!"

"What do you mean?"

"After he hexed James he started running down to the dungeons. He turned a corner and then he was gone. He must have disappeared into a wall!"

"Peter don't be... a wall?"

"Yes! A wall!"

"In the dungeons?"

"Yes! Weren't you listening to me at all?"

"5th corridor on the right?"

"Yes! Wait, how did you know?"

"WORMTAIL, YOU DOLT!"

"What?!"

"That's the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room!"

"Is it?"

"Is it?" Sirius sighed. "Yes! Remember back in 2nd Year when we found it?"

"Oh..." Peter turned a light pink.

"But that gives me an idea. Moony, come on. We're going to avenge Jamsie!"

Remus grinned and stood up. "Count me in."