Dramatis Personae

"Would you mind not running, I've got a flesh-wound here." Sirius looked sick. The spell on his shoulder didn't seem to work very well, so James slowed down and waited for Sirius to catch up. "You know," James said, "there's probably no way to keep this charade going once Madam Pomfrey locks you up."

Sirius growled. "I know. But there wasn't much sense to it anyway."

"Ah."

"Oh please, don't look at me like this. I really thought it would be fun!" Sirius said defensively.

"And what fun would that be young masters? You're missing out on all the dancing and romantic jittering. I don't think that Slytherin doctrine forbids happy sociable behaviour."

The voice was painfully familiar and both boys froze on the spot. James was completely drained of colour, and burning red spots spread on Sirius' cheeks, making him look even sicker. They turned around slowly.

"Professor Dumbledore?" James stuttered. "Bloody ... what are you - " Sirius stomped on his foot to shut him up. Offending Dumbledore wasn't on their list. But then again - if they could manage to keep up the show for a bit longer, they could make their exit with a bang. A big bang - for Slytherin House! Of course this ruled out going to the infirmary while still being Malfoy. But, to heck with the pain!

"What Severus wanted to say is," Sirius jumped in, "that we perfectly understand your situation, Headmaster."

Dumbledore raised a heavy eyebrow, but smiled nonetheless. "My situation? And what would this be, Master Malfoy?"

"Obviously, you are too old to attend the ball yourself, so you had to do the patrolling." Sirius flashed a conspirational smile at the Headmaster. "My father said you are at least two hundred years old. But we won't tell anyone. We promise!" He wasn't very proud of himself, but sometimes there were such things as priorities.

James wasn't sure he really heard what he'd heard. He looked at Sirius as if he was completely bonkers. Of which, by the way, he was absolutely sure.

Dumbledore wasn't smiling anymore. "I think we should rather be talking about your situation, gentlemen. Is that blood on your robe, Master Malfoy?"

Sirius thrust his chest out. "Yes, but the other boy got his fair share too. I'm a Malfoy! Why don't you tell us how much points we lose, so we can get this over and done with? I want to take a bath and send an owl to my father."

James wished he was dead. This was beyond unbelievable. Albus Dumbledore was the best Headmaster this school had ever had, and bringing his wrath down on him and Sirius, even if Dumbledore thought they were someone else, was worst case scenario. If Dumbledore found out about all this ...

And then to top things up, Severus Snape entered the scene. Sirius froze in mid-Malfoy-pose, James gaped open-mouthed, and Severus just - blinked, repeatedly. He looked as bad as Sirius, nose broken, robe ragged and quite as bloody.

Dumbledore's face, fitting nicely into this display of horror, was a mask of anger and disappointment. He looked at Severus and then back to James and Sirius. "So this is the other boy you talked about, Master Malfoy? I don't think that your father can get you out of this one. All three of you - in my office, NOW!"

***

While trotting behind the Headmaster, Severus took his time to inspect the others. The one being Lucius - Black, most likely - looked pretty much worn out. Good! So Severus wasn't the only one. Potter was in better shape, but didn't look happy either. Severus decided to keep a low profile for now. This was an unforeseen but not unsolvable situation. Dumbledore - of course - didn't even seem to think that Potter could have started this mess, he was always on their side! Perhaps he could do something about it later.

Sirius waited for Snape to make a move, but the other boy just kept staring. This was not good. If Sirius didn't watch it, Snape certainly would take advantage of the situation. But what could Snape do without blowing his own cover? Probably nothing. Well, he'd better watch him anyway.

James didn't wish to be dead anymore, now he wished he'd never been born. Surprisingly, he got the impression that Snape was feeling the same thing. Good! So he wasn't the only one feeling miserable. But then, Snape never looked happy, so it was hard to tell what was really going on in his mind. How he wished he were with Lily now. She wouldn't have gotten herself into something like this. 'I have to talk to her afterwards, I have to - '

"James," Sirius panicked, trying desperately to keep his voice down. "You are changing back!!"

James proceeded the information and then proceeded to panic. "What?? That can't be! You said ... what do we do? Dumbledore will never forgive ... we lied to him, openly ... he'll never trust us again ... we are done for! ... "

"Didn't make your potion properly, Black?" Severus' smirk was all over his face. "I think you'll get expelled, what do you think?"

"... I'm not gonna let this happen ... this is a nightmare ... " James went on with his tantrum. "Let's run away!"

Severus drew his wand. "You are going nowhere - "

"Put that down or I'll forget myself!" Sirius hissed, grabbing both of them by their sleeves. "We can't run anyway, Dumbledore would catch us in a sec." Severus put his wand back in his pocket while James' brain was working overtime. Hopefully it would explode and put him out of his misery. "... the Forbidden Forest ... we'll lose the House Cup ... Wait!" he almost forgot whispering, "we take the potion we snatched from Snape's trunk!"

Now Sirius went all cranky. "Are you crazy! Forget it! I'm not drinking anything Snape brewed up. I'm going to kill myself first! I - "

"But we can make Snape help us. He sure wouldn't want Dumbledore to know about his Prolonging Potion, and that he was going to use it on Remus!"

"I thought we didn't know that for sure?" Sirius said sarcastically. James shrugged in defeat.

"Excuse me! What're you freaks babbling about?" Panic was finally catching up with Severus.

Sirius held the flask under Snape's nose. "He's talking about you helping us not changing back or otherwise - you'll get expelled too!"

"This - is - a - really - big - mistake." Severus snarled through bared teeth. He seemed short of boiling over. "You dare to steal things from me? You're a dead man Black."

"Shut up!" James cut in. "Tell us how to use it. And don't try anything funny. Dumbledore's right in front of us."

Severus bit his lips - he knew he was nicked. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it. Potter was shrinking several inches and Lucius' blond hair showed streaks of Black. His mind rebelled, but they were running out of time. He sighed. "I swear to you Black, this isn't over yet. You may win tonight, but don't turn your back on me in the future or I'll make you regret it. You too, Potter!" He braced himself and his voice assumed a teacher-like quality. "You take only two drops each. This is a very highly concentrated version of the Prolonging Potion. Even in such a small dose the effect will last a full day. That means - you stay Malfoy and me at least till tomorrow evening."

"But where do we sleep tonight? And what about tomorrow?" James was regretting this plan already.

"Do you want to save your butts or not?" Severus snapped. "Of course, if you should try anything funny during the day being me and Lucius - "

"Alright, we've got it." And with that Sirius took the potion. James wanted to protest but they had almost reached the office, and it was now or never. After all, this had been his stupid idea. Surprisingly it tasted quite good, like apples, and he felt a kind of power-boost too. "Wow, did you combine it with Up-All-Night Potion?"

Severus smirked. "Hope your heart can cope with the adrenaline." Both boys stared at him, eyes wide open. "Oh come on, you'll be fine! I'm not bloody Dr. Frankenstein. If I wanted to poison you I wouldn't use Prolonging Potion. Stupid Gryffindors!" Severus was so eager on the subject that he didn't notice Dumbledore had stopped by the stone gargoyle. So he ran into him and stumbled over his feet - again!

This time Dumbledore helped him up. "Did I hear something about poison, Master Potter? I will hope not!"

"No ... we were just talking about ... the potion test next week ... poisons are on the list." Then he got a grip on himself and took the opportunity to make the score even. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, it was all my fault. I'm sorry. I went all mad about Malfoy saying something stupid and ... attacked him. Snape tried to defend him and - "

"We'd better discuss this inside, James. PUMPKIN PIE!"

A few moments later, all three boys found themselves seated on Dumbledore's couch. They sat shoulder to shoulder, each of them trying to pretend at least one of the others wasn't there. The couch felt very comfortable, though.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk with a stern expression and cleared his throat. "I'll make this quick, because I think at least two of you should already be in the hospital wing by now. I can't tolerate this behaviour, not by any means. Violence and bloodshed I will not allow in my school, regardless of which side has started it! Master Potter will lose 150, and you two 100 points each! You will all serve detention tomorrow morning six o'clock, sharp, where we will discuss this matter in detail. And if you try one more stunt like this, you'll be leaving this school with the next train. Now, report to Madam Pomfrey and then go back to your dormitories. I don't want to see any of you out of your houses for the rest of the night, and all further nights! Now that's done with - anybody care for a Bertie Bott's bean?"

They didn't. They left Dumbledore's office without any more attempts on discrediting each other.

***

Once out, Severus found it hard to focus. His arms and legs were heavy as lead. Sirius' shoulder was sending waves of pain through his body, making him dizzy. James wasn't in physical pain, but the prospect of staying Snape for another whole day made him shake all over. Neither Slytherin nor Griffindors had any fighting-spirit left.

"What are we going to do?" James asked. "We cannot serve detention like this."

Sirius shrugged and then winced as the pain doubled. "Let's think about this tomorrow, okay? We can stay the night at the infirmary." The two Marauders started walking. James stopped as he realised that Severus wasn't following. "Keep up, will you? You heard what Dumbledore said. Besides, your nose needs looking after, too."

"The game's not over yet." He really didn't want to, but he still had to tie up some loose ends - like Crabbe and Goyle. But then he was already late for meeting Lucius. Maybe he should find him first and - explain things.

Sirius turned on him, scratching up the last bits of anger he'd left. "Your bird-thingy did a good job on my shoulder. It was going to kill James! Do you really think this is a game?"

Severus managed a glare. "Don't you? You tried to kill me last year, and thought it was all fun, remember? While my magical watcher only protected my belongings."

"Hah."

"Anyway," Severus turned to face Potter, too tired for further witty repartee. "Perhaps we ... call it a night. Jus' - go away."

"Err, perhaps you should watch out for Crabbe and Goyle," James replied carefully.

"Wha'?"

"We sent them to hex you."

"..."

Severus was so beyond words, but then - words weren't enough to express how much he loathed Black and Potter.

"You're late!" Lily complained. She'd waited for Remus for almost an hour, and she wasn't the patient type.

Remus was catching his breath. "Sorry, I was ... let's say I had a strange encounter with Sirius."

"They're already through with the good songs!"

"Errr ... Sorry again. Perhaps we could just sit and watch the others tripping over their feet? I'm not a good dancer anyway."

"But I am!"

"Sure! No offence."

Lily shrugged. She shouldn't bang it out on Remus. "So, what did he say?

"Who?"

"Sirius."

"Nothing ... important," he said evasively, and then tried to distract her. "James was there too!"

"I met him earlier." She sighed. "He broke his glasses again."

"Do you know what they're up to?"

"Something including Malfoy and Snape of course! I mean, they should ... hang out with girls more often ... with special girls ... one girl ... for talking or a picknic ... or on special occasions ... like ... going to Hogsmeade ... or a Dance!"

"I know, they didn't ask me either. Not that I'm a girl, of course!"

"It surely wouldn't have been the romantic kind of date but - anyway! Oh get a grip, Evans." She turned to Remus. "Why don't we have fun on our own now? Let's dance while there's still any music at all."

***

They started dancing, but all Lily could do was think of James. She tried not to, but that only made it worse. She felt bad about not paying enough attention to Remus. Obviously he was in the same left-behind mood as she was, having thoughts of his own which he didn't want to share. She made another halfhearted try to find out what troubled him, but was too occupied with herself to make it work.

Absently she scanned the crowd for unwanted visitors like Snape or Malfoy. Not that she really expected them to show up, not with all the teachers around, and James and Sirius on their tracks. But she was alarmed, slightly concerned, and most of all angry. This Marauders-against-Slytherin thing was getting out of hand. Sirius had gotten more and more obsessed with ... she couldn't say what - rivalry, hate, ecxitement? Who knew.

And James? James was the most goodnatured person she'd ever met. Surely he wouldn't hurt someone on purpose, not even Malfoy. But, just like Sirius, he could get himself into more trouble than was good for him. He wasn't as easily provoked as his friend, but whenever he accepted a challenge, he was quite determined. Well, sometimes he was a bit cheesy, but, she had to admit, she quite liked it.

So, what about her? How did she fit in? Well, truth to be told, she'd enjoyed kicking Slytherin-butts too. She'd liked the competition and the secrecy, to be the one who brought Sirius' insane schemes down to rational and effective planning.

And she strongly disliked Lucius Malfoy. The mere sight of him made her twitch. Not that she hated him. Hate was something she hoped never to feel for anyone. But he was cold, viperous and cruel. He didn't treat people like they were important to him on a personal level. He had servants of course.

Then there was Snape. She couldn't judge him as easily as she could Malfoy, he was - more complex. Of course he was annoying, unpleasant, and didn't care for anything but potions, and he was always bad-tempered. She'd only talked to Snape once and was insulted by his You're-Just-a-Stupid-Gryffindor-Girl attitude and the lack of any sign of kindness. He'd looked down on her as he did on anyone, and in a way he was cold too, but not like Malfoy. And then he had the most unnerving eyes she'd ever seen. Black, like dark tunnels, sparkling with intelligence and - something irrational, but she couldn't grasp it. Looking into this eyes was fascinating - in a disturbing way. She liked to believe that there could be more than met the eye. She always wondered where he'd got this obsessive interest in the Marauders' activities from in the first place. For all she knew he'd started spying on them, following Sirius and Lupin with God knows which intentions. Well, Sirius had already picked on Snape even before he made friends with Malfoy and Co. But - why did she bother about him anyway? Thinking about his eyes, of all things?

Her own excitement about this feud had ceased when the pranks on both sides became too serious and personal. And after what had happened last year, the Marauders almost got torn apart. Remus had been shocked beyond anything. He couldn't believe that Sirius had been able to willingly put another person's life at stake, and used him as a pawn in his plan, which would have brought blood on Remus' hands too. Lily hadn't managed to get them talking to each other again - but James had. Perhaps it was during this time that she'd realised she was in love with James Potter. She'd had a crush on him before, but wouldn't have risked their friendship over some petty romance. But the moment she'd realised that her feelings were much stronger than that, she'd known she had to take the risk. And she was also sure that James felt the same about her. He hadn't said anything yet, but it was in the way they got along with each other, the way he looked at her. She'd wanted to tell him tonight - instead they'd had a fight, about his priorities. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She'd sounded like a nagging housewife! She hated it. Her sister always was like this, and Lily couldn't stand it. But she would see James in ... one hour and seven minutes, if nothing went wrong. Maybe this night still could be one to remember. And perhaps she could still enjoy the dance till then.

***

Lily sure was a good dancer, but all Remus could do was think of Sirius. He wasn't in the mood for conversation, and luckily Lily was occupied with her own thoughts as well. He wondered why she was so tense - probably she hoped for James still to show up. No such luck, he guessed. James and Sirius had been extremely busy with some Slytherin-scenario earlier.

But the fact they'd shut him out from their plans wasn't what troubled him. It was Sirius' outright scary behaviour towards him. Sirius seemed to be - no, confused wasn't the word - not quite himself. Like he was playing some role, or - stepping out of one. Remus would have been suspicious about some magic involved, but - it hadn't been the first time his friend was like this. Not in this extreme form but it was somehow fitting. Sirius had been - different for the past weeks. Either this, or Remus was imagining things.

He and Sirius had been close since their first year. In fact, no one was as important to him as Sirius was. Before they'd become friends, Remus had never told anyone about being a werewolf, and he'd decided to keep it that way. When he'd started out at Hogwarts, he'd carefully socialised with other Gryffindor students, but kept his distance. Then, after one of his first full moons at Hogwarts, Sirius Black had found out about him. He'd come over to Remus one day, and had told him that he knew, that he'd seen him change. Remus had been absolutely terrified and embarassed. Only once in his life had he felt like this, after his first transformation. But instead of being mean, Sirius had given him one of his mischievous grins: 'I think I have to find you someplace safe for your tranformations, my friend. Otherwise the whole school will know before they even have learned what a werewolf is'. He'd said that as if he'd grown up with a little werewolf brother or at least was playing chess with one of them once a week - and winning. Sirius didn't pity him, or was scared, or treated him like a freak - he just wanted to help. And so everything had changed.

And now, something was changing again. He wasn't sure what it was, but sometimes he had the feeling that Sirius had - - a crush on him. Oh God, that sounded stupid. Sirius wasn't ... he couldn't ... this was crazy! Surely James was right and Sirius was just experiencing some kind of identity crisis or he'd had too much Up-All-Night Potion.

But - this wasn't all about Sirius' feelings, it was about himself, about his - feelings. Well, he would never bring this up anyway. Perhaps, that was something they would never find out about each other. Perhaps -

***

"You lied to me!" Lily interrupted his inner monologue, bringing him back to the present.

"What?"

"You're quite a good dancer, Remus Lupin!"

He laughed. "Don't look so surprised. If you spend one night in a month on four feet, you have to learn to sort them out. But I'm glad you noticed."

She looked smug. "Of course I did. Last year I had one dance with Peter, that was horrible! We were like circling ... somehow ... like in a wheel, till he finally got sick and - "

Remus hurriedly raised a hand. "I know! James told me all about it. Didn't Peter try to clean up your dress with that new spell he learned from Longbottom?"

"Oh God - YES!" She barely was able to speak through her laughter, and Remus was happy to see her relax. "Instead of removing the dirt, the dress magnetically was drawing all kinds of dirt to it, everything from dust to food-leftovers to - you know, the bathroom-thingies."

"Yeah, everybody smelled it for weeks. Pity Peter didn't let go of the dress! I wonder if that was the true reason he left school."

"Remus! That's not funny." But her smile betrayed her. "Hey look, there's Sirius!" She pointed over to the door. "Wow, he's in a hurry. Shall we - "

"No," Remus cut her. "I'll go."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "That sounds serious. Won't you tell me now - "

"I'll tell you later, okay? Nothing to worry about." He looked at her reassuringly and took off.

Lily looked after him, wondering why all the men tended to walk out on her tonight.