Darkening

It was unfortunate for the prefect, or perhaps the reverse, that a shifting staircase had divided him from some lagging Gryffindors at the rear of the group. For him, this chance turning of the staircase was rather auspicious; for those who now found themselves without supervision and with James Potter and Sirius Black behind them, less so.

Crouching behind a statue, James twirled his wand between his fingers and caught his best friend's eye. "Count of three," he told him quietly, really meaning the count of two. "One, two-"

They sprang out as one, wands raised to perform the Leg-Locker curse as they shouted, "L-"

"Expelliarmus!"

Evans turned faster than they could register, arm outstretched. Sirius, having been hit by the same red blast earlier on the train, dove to the ground and reached an arm out wildly to attempt to pull James down with him, only to find his friend already gone.

Hair flying and arms propelling as if he were trying to fly, James had already toppled backwards onto the stone floor. Glasses askew and looking dazed, he let Sirius tug him to his feet.

Peter, with great effort, had hopped and danced about under the wand, catching it before it plummeted past the balcony and down the long empty square between the staircases. He fumbled it as it sparked against his hand, but quickly picked it up again despite the wince to trot over to James with it.

"I thought you were faster than that, Potter," Evans laughed. "You should lay off the Pumpkin Pastries, they're slowing you down."

James, adjusting his glasses, rubbed at his eyes. "I'll eat all the pastries I want," he muttered, befuddled. Sirius, mildly concerned, poked at his friend's head with his wand from his taller height in a search for a bump.

"Lily," the brown-haired McKinnon said from behind her with a note of warning, "don't even suggest getting between him and his pastries. Boys get awful hot blooded when it comes to their food."

Black swiveled on his heel. "And you lot don't?" he inquired impishly. "You haven't seen hot blood unless you've stood between my cousins and Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor." He cringed at the thought.

James paused, tilting his head to the right. "Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa?" he repeated wonderingly. "All attacking each other for ice cream?"

Sirius looked at him sorrowfully. "No, mate. All attacking me for ice cream."

His friend winced on his behalf, but was smirking.

"They couldn't possibly be any worse than my sister going after her tea and biscuits," Evans offered.

Sirius Black gave her an extremely skeptical look. "Oh yes they could," he said fervently. "Oh yes they could."

"You haven't met my sister," Evans said ruefully.

"Does she have magic?"

"Not a bit."

"I win," Sirius said, looking dour.

James seemed finally to have regained his balance, and had silently taken his wand back from Peter. "What did you hit me with and is it going to do any lasting damage?" James demanded to know, hazel eyes meeting the green orbs of the twelve year old girl across the way. None of them paid any notice to the rest of the group, who were catching the latest staircase to arrive at the landing.

She blew a wave of her red hair out of her face casually. "Look it up," Lily Evans said with casual indifference.

James rolled his eyes and turned over his shoulder. "Remus? What'd she use on me?"

"Don't answer that," Lily advised him with a smile.

Hesitantly, Lupin opened his mouth, but Black beat him to the punch.

"Disarming spell, James," said Sirius smoothly. "If you'd like to see it again, I'm sure Miss Evans will be more than happy to demonstrate."

Lily smiled pleasantly. "Yeah, on you, Black," she retorted.

"Aha, but I ate less Pumpkin Pastries. You really want to try me?" He grinned.

"Wait. You ate less than me?" James interjected, turning his friend to face him.

"I reckon so. 'Least by one," the shaggy-haired boy calculated.

"And eating one less is supposed to make you faster than me?" his friend said reproachfully.

"I've always been faster than you," Sirius said with some surprise.

"No, you haven't. We settled this last year," Potter exclaimed.

"No, we didn't."

"Yes, we did."

"No.... oh, wait, we did. And we decided I was faster."

"Lupin?"

Both turned to him impatiently, but he backed away as gracefully as he could manage, hands in surrender. "I must have been at my mother's that night," he said calmly, evading giving answer.

"Well, I'm sure Peter knows," Sirius concluded, forgetting James. "Say, Pete, which of us is faster?"

The boy eyed them, the tall figure with hair lightly swinging in front of his dark eyes and his skinny friend who happened to be their leader, both of whom were idly playing with their wands. "Uhhhhhhh..... I reckoned James was," he answered honestly.

Sirius shrugged. "Ah, maybe so. But he's mildly concussed right now. I bet I could still beat you, Evans..." He trailed off.

"Evans?" said James in confusion.

By now, Evans was gone.

"Remus, where'd she go?" James asked, eyes panicking.

He merely pointed at the redheaded figure and the brown-haired girl trailing after her who were halfway up the staircase now detaching from the landing.

"Jump!" said James, wild-eyed and hurling himself at the departing staircase.

"Here we go again," moaned Remus quietly.

Sirius, with a heave of effort, was dragging a panic-ridden Peter to the ledge and trying to get him to jump the ever-increasing distance. "You should've gone first," he said sullenly, shoving his friend from behind.

Peter, forced to jump with a squeak, landed on the stairs and started crawling up the first two steps in a panic.

Sirius looked at Lupin, with whom he was left. "Shall we?" he inquired, eyes following James, who was already bolting up the stairs.

"Oh, yes, let's," said Remus sarcastically, before following his bounding friend across the small but dangerous divide.

Sirius quickly left his other two friends in the dust as he easily caught up with James, from whom McKinnon and Evans were fleeing. "Told you I'm faster," Sirius said as he tried to pass James.

Hurling himself up the steps two at a time, James huffed, "Not- on- a -broomstick."

Knowing his friend spoke the truth, Sirius only grinned and said, "We'll see at Quidditch tryouts, won't we?"

On that note of inspiration, they raced onward towards Gryffindor Tower, Peter and Remus, exchanging glances, purposely dragging behind and not bothering to exert themselves. When the latter two arrived to the seventh floor, Remus discovered his friends, who without him had lost their way, arriving simultaneously from the opposite end of the hall.

They met the sight of a dejected and tired Marlene carelessly slumped against the floor, while Evans, face ablaze, seemed to be arguing with the portrait.

"We're Gryffindors!" Lily exclaimed in annoyance, auburn hair swishing. She pointed to the insignia on her robes. "See? House of the Lion." She noticed the boys. "You know Potter and his friends- how could you forget them? That's not a compliment," she shot dryly in their direction.

"No password, no entrance," the Fat Lady boomed. Her rotund but pleasant face, with its multiple chins, looked rather as pink as her dress, as if she had been ingesting some painted champagne. "Sorry, dears."

Sirius growled slightly. Since being locked outside for a full night for a rude retort, even though he had the password, the boy had a growing enmity for the portrait. As a Black, the woman refused to acknowledge him or accept him fully as a Gryffindor. The preteen, growing up in a house full of the paintings of his ancestors, hated pretentious portraits with an unequaled passion.

James, seeing his friend's expression, fought back a grin while Remus groaned, both knowing full well the scent of trouble brewing.

"You old bat, let us in!" Black ordered angrily.

The Fat Lady sniffed.

He tried another tactic, batting his eyes. "Oh great wise incredibly obese woman decked in an obnoxiously unripened cherry dress, please grant us entrance in to the chamber which your enormously large horrendous body blocks." He took a deep breath and prepared to continue, but James clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Not helping," the other boy scolded, though his face demonstrated his delight.

The Fat Lady's face had turned a bright purple, and she was ignoring Lily's pleas now. Sputtering meaningless words, her throat throbbed up and down with upset. The hopeful future Quidditch player, puffing out his chest, decided to try his luck.

Still holding Sirius' mouth, he pleaded politely, "We're very tired and my thick-headed friend-" Sirius made a muffled wounded sound, "is just a wee bit cranky. Couldn't you break the rules just this once and let us in? Please?"

The Fat Lady calmed down a bit, but huffed indignantly as she spoke. "You'll have to get the password."

James sighed and released Sirius before the taller boy broke free. His friend scowled at James in a good-natured way, who simply straightened his crooked glasses in annoyance at their predicament.

"This is all your fault, Evans!" he said vehemently, running his hands through his jet black hair.

"How?" she demanded, actually curious.

"If you hadn't hexed me so," James began, looking pleased at his little pun.

"Well, then, we would have gotten the password, wouldn't we?" Sirius finished for him.

Lily eyed them with practicality mingled with fury. "And if you hadn't pestered us all through dinner, tried to slip me those jinxed sweets with the oh-so-brilliant antidote of CHEESE, and snuck up behind us with the intent of cursing me, we wouldn't have been delayed in coming up the stairs to begin with, so really, James, it's all your fault."

"Who said we were gonna curse you?" Sirius said, looking insulted at this slight to his innocence.

A faint background noise perked up James' ears; it was Remus, muttering hopeful passwords to the portrait, "Well, try these...erm, starkers, Flutterby Bush, higgledy-piggledy, jabberwocky....am I getting warm or cold?" he asked hopefully.

The Fat Lady, unsure of what he meant, said, "I'm not too sure about the temperature, but those are very nice guesses, dear."

Sirius threw up his hands. "All right, that's it. I'm with McKinnon," he said, gesturing at the girl who was leaning her head back against the wall with an expression of utmost suffering. He jerked his finger at the ground. "Let's sleep here."

James looked about the floor thoughtfully. "Yeah... I'm thinking no."

"Well somebody's bound to open the door eventually," Sirius said explanatorily. "By morning, at least."

Five pairs of eyes stared him in silence.

"I, for one, have no intention of staying out here all night with any bullying, big-headed pricks," Lily said to Marlene calmly.

"Are Remus and I pricks?" Peter wondered quietly.

Marlene shook her head, springing to her feet. "When she says it like that, she means Potter and Black."

"We could," Peter suggested, eager to contribute and heartened by apparently not being considered a prick, "scream and pound on the portrait until someone comes. Sirius screams good." His friend cuffed him. The Fat Lady looked most distraught.

"Brilliant," Evans said flatly.

"What, you have a better plan?" James said defensively.

"Of course not," she said sarcastically. "How could I possibly have a better plan than screaming bloody murder, awakening the whole castle and probably losing Gryffindor points?"

James simply furrowed his eyebrows at her until she spoke up again. "We could, I suppose, try to find Professor Dumbledore or some a teacher, as McGonagall is probably already inside."

"Well, we do know where his office is," Remus began thoughtfully, grey eyes on the frown.

"But not the password," Peter added squeakily.

"And like we have any intention whatsoever of going to ask him for it," Sirius finished with a scoff. "Please. We can do better than that. Say, for instance, get Peeves to wake up the whole House."

There was a collective wince at this.

"I have a better plan," said James with a sly grin. "Too bad my Inv- I mean, all our supplies are inside. Otherwise, this would be quite the opportunity. Still, I think I know how we can get in."

"How?" Lily asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

James folded his hands triumphantly and lowered his voice, beckoning them near. He uttered only one word. "Nick."

"Yes," Sirius breathed.

"It's fool-proof," James explained. "Even if he doesn't know the password, he'll be more than willing to walk through the wall and find someone awake to open it for us."

"But it means we have to find him," Lily pointed out. "Do you have any idea how big this castle is?"

James' index finger lifted into the air. "Actually-"

She cut him off with a raised hand. "Rhetorical question, Potter. If we want someone to open the door, we're probably better off with Peter's idea of pounding on it," Evans said somewhat disdainfully, sighing.

Sirius at last was paying attention to what others were saying instead of thinking what he was going to say next. His head jerked up. "But it's soundproof." He was greeted with doubtful looks from Marlene and Lily. "Obviously, I've tried before."

Marlene started walking. "Alright then, let's hurry up and start looking for him. Get a move on, now. You do have a plan to find him, right, Potter?"

James froze for an instant, but recovered quickly. "Err- sure. We can ask the portraits."

"Not her," Sirius declared, venom in his tone, indicating the guardian of Gryffindor tower.

"Yes, we get that you dislike her," Lily said hastily, with a slight roll of her eyes. She despised going along with this plan, but hardly had a choice, and thus began to steer a glaring Black away from the Fat Lady.

"Which direction?" James hissed at his lupine friend.

"Hmmm....where would I go if I were dead?" Remus mused, casting his eyes about.

"Upward?" Sirius suggested cheerily, pointing to the ceiling.

"Already chosen their lot, ghosts have. Not heading up anytime soon," Marlene stated automatically, wincing. "No matter how much you might like 'em too... my brother's got one in his bedroom and the blasted thing ain't getting a move on anytime in the next century, I can tell you that."

"Right then," said Sirius warily, before she could continue to ramble. Turning to Peter, he shook his head in mock despair. "Secretary, please take 'becoming a ghost' off my to do list."

To everyone's surprise, Peter cracked a grin. Raising his voice slightly, he said, "You heading down then, boss?"

Sirius was the only one who cracked up, but Peter still looked pleased with himself.

"Seriously," Lily said in exasperation, then clapped her hand to her mouth.

"Darling, I'm always Sirius," he drawled, unable to resist. That joke had gotten tired before he'd even been sent to the Gryffindor table, but he and James rarely missed an opportunity.

"It's night," Remus mumbled. "Ghosts don't sleep- do they?"

Lily confirmed the negative with a shaking of her head, which sent her wavy hair flying about her face. James, unobserved by the others, stared at her in awe for a split second before he shook himself and snapped out of it. He, James, hated Evans, he reminded himself- at least really, really disliked her- or sort of...

Marlene interrupted James' internal musings with a continuation of Remus' thought. "Well, what do they bloody do, then? I know some of them read, the Ravenclaw ghost reads see-through books. But, er....Nearly Headless Nick doesn't seem the readin' type."

"Stargaze?" Sirius suggested, and everyone turned to look at him. He was offended. "Hey, I am brilliant. Try not to forget that."

"You do so little to remind us," Lily said sweetly. He scowled at her, narrowing his dark brows. She relented slightly. "I suppose it's a possibility," Lily said, wavering between giving credit to Sirius for his good idea and going traipsing somewhere with this bunch, or trying to come up with a better idea. She gave in. "Alright, then, Astronomy Tower?"

With nods of their heads in agreement, they set off, James leading the way as usual which earned aggrieved glances from Lily.

"Lil," said Marlene with displeasure after a few minutes of trailing after the whispering boys making futile inquiries of sleepy portraits. She tugged on her friend's sleeve with a frown.

"Yep?" the redhead answered, breaking her death gaze in Potter's direction.

"We've passed that statue twice."

Lily Evans blinked at it. "You're sure it's not- not two of the same statue or some such?"

"If both are missing their nose, per'aps," the other girl offered in a tone that suggested the possibility was unlikely as she pointed to the rough-hewn spot where the statue of a straight-backed wizard was prominently missing an important facial feature.

"Potter!" Evans called in a dark undertone, catching his attention. He began walking backwards to face her, saved by Sirius from stumbling into a suit of armor. "Have you gotten us lost?"

"Lost? Me? 'Course not," James snorted.

"He just doesn't exactly know quite where we are," Peter offered helpfully, scratching at his mousy brown hair.

"You dolt, that's the definition of lost!" Lily replied quietly, hands settling on her hips. "We take lessons at the Astronomy Tower, you'd have to be thick as day-old molasses to get us lost... I can't believe I'm surprised by that, I must have forgotten who I was speaking to," she finished scathingly.

"I didn't see you or McKinnon taking the lead," Sirius said, jumping to his friend's defense. "We're having a bit of delay, that's all. Do shut up a bit."

"Shut up a bit?" Marlene repeated, brown eyes glowering. Her shortened, tight ringlets of brown hair danced about her face, giving her all the menacing power of a growling poodle but her height, placing her above most of the boys in the year thanks to a summer spurt, made her far less laughable. "Ooh, I don't think so, Sirius. Though it'd serve you right if I kept my mouth right shut and didn't breathe a word 'bout where to head next, I don't fancy listening to this squabbling for a minute more than I have to." She breezed past the boys to past James. "I reckon I got more of a notion than you four where we're going, so as you suggested," she said with a nod at Sirius, "we'll be following me own lead or Lily's for the rest of this lil' venture."

"Now wait one bleeding minute," James said crossly as they followed McKinnon down a left turn. "I'm the leader here. Now, if you look at this itty bitty detour from a different angle, you'll see it's a perfectly valid excuse to explore-"

"Oh no," interrupted a stronger voice. Lily's heart-shaped face was red. "No explorations, Potter, or I swear by St. Mungo, I'll kill you myself," she said angrily. "You are not dragging us- especially me- along on one of your escapades-"

A sleepy voice emerged from one of the portraits on the wall, causing all of them to startle and turn. "What ho, fair maiden! Killing, bleeding, escapades! Call upon the great and mighty Sir Cadogan to come to your aid!"

"Shh," Marlene shushed. "Quiet it down a notch, won't you," she said, rubbing her tired head.

Bewildered glances turned to eye the painting of a short, squat knight, bedecked in clanking armor and standing next to a snoring pony. Apparently just awoken up, the figure in the portait practically leaped up and down with excitement, his armor clanking all the while.

In a whisper which was, if anything, louder, the knight said, "Anything you wish, maid from Erin's green isle, if maid you be with oddest adornment of short hair-"

Lily, fighting a twitch in her lip that threatened to become a smile, grabbed her friend's hand to keep it from drawing her wand.

Sirius Black's dark eyes were twinkling merrily as he chuckled. He raised his eyebrows at James, eyes wild. At last, he thought cheerily, a portrait I can agree with.

To the confusion of all, he launched into a strange form of speech. "Good and mighty Sir Cadogan, your deeds have traveled far and wide to my humble ears! I am but a mere squire at your service, my liege," he doffed an imaginary hat and bowed perfectly. "I am know far and wide as Sirius, one day to be Sir Sirius, and am on a quest with these, my good fellows, ladies, and trusted servant," he said, indicating James, Remus, the girls, and Peter respectively. Had Peter understood, he would have been hurt, but currently, he, like Remus, was being forced into a bow. James had bowed on his own so deeply his head nearly hit the floor. Lily swatted Sirius away before he could attempt to make her curtsy, and he didn't dare go near the incensed Irish girl.

Shrugging and continuing, he added, "We, noble lads and lasses all, search for the noble and mighty Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Popington-"

"Porpington," James corrected under his breath.

Sirius' hands weaved through the air as he began to wildly gesture. "Yes, Porpington! A knight killed in a great and glorious battle with an ax, no less great nor greater than thy esteemed self, mighty sir. We have been traversing long and far seeking thy aid in this perilous quest. Would you, good sir, grace us with your presence and lead us to the wayfaring knight. We fellows, sir, humbly beg it of thee."

"You were right, Lil," Marlene murmured, voice approaching awe. "They're bally mad, mental, the whole blooming lot of them." Evans failed to reply, she was breathing deeply in order to restrain her giggles.

Sir Cadogan's shiny apple-like cheeks let up with pleasure that his services were required, leaped onto the back of his fat pony with excitement. "Bless you, good sir! A quest truly is a noble and perilous challenge! The good knight Sir Nicholas indeed did pass this way, noble soon-to-be-Sir Serious! Come, away! We must find the mighty wandering knight so that he may aid ye, good ladies and noble sirs!"

He galloped off on the pony, heading out of one painting and crossing in front of a group of dozing dancing ladies, who awoke with screams.

Sirius, grinning madly, galloped off after him as if he were riding a hobbyhorse. James and the others raced after him, Lily hesitating only long enough to crack up out of Potter's sight.

As quietly as they could manage with Black actually moving at a trot, they whirled round corridors and up and down staircases, zipping unnoticed by a dallying Ravenclaw prefect and avoiding a classroom outside of which sat a bucket of murky water and a mop. It was a struggle to keep up with Sir Cadogan, who rattled through a portrait of a peaceful looking little girl with the same vigor and demand for instructions he put to a portrait of three hags circling a cauldron emitting smoke in the shape of skulls.

Before Cadogan, huffing and puffing, reached the point of collapse, the ragtag group finally stumbled straight into Nick, who was emerging from the staircase from the Astronomy Tower and explaining something about a Nearly Headless Hunt to a bored looking Grey Lady. Sirius galloped right through him before pausing and rejoining the others. Nick frowned at them as they approached. James cast a grin at him that went unreturned, as he and Sirius had the previous year discovered how to prank a ghost...a theory they still had not managed to sufficiently explain to anyone else since they usually failed to mention the aid of the poltergeist Peeves.

Sirius, taking a deep breath, rattled off, "Thank you, noble Sir Cadogan! If ever I have need of your stout heart-"

"Or noble sinew," Cadogan suggested, "or mighty muscles, or brawny brain-"

"Right, all of those," Sirius said gleefully. "I would then, good sir, call upon you again in crisis to aid me and my fellowship, oh great one. Though art as a role model and father to me-"

"Oh, do shove it already," said Marlene in disbelief. To her surprise, he did. Saluting the preening Sir Cadogan, he watched him slowly gallop away with a misty look in his eyes.

"Ah, that reminded me of my talks with my Uncle Alphie before he went off his tree," he said, the pearly silver gleam of the ghosts catching in his dark eyes and illuminating his aristocratically high cheekbones. He turned when he realized James was laughing too hard to speak.

Remus, grinning and shaking his head, noted to himself that sooner or later, they rather badly needed to acquire or worse, make a map.

"Now, dear Sir Nicholas," Black began, steepling his hands together thoughtfully.

"Enough, Mr. Black," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking disappointed as the Grey Lady drifted away. "What do you want from me? Why aren't you in bed? It's getting late," he reprimanded.

Peter, noticing the disapproving fall of Nick's eyes, tugged Sirius' hands out of their placating position resting against his face.

"We got locked out, Nick, and we wanted to know if you could help us," Lily asked, green eyes pleading.

The ghost adjusted his ruff, looking at the young Gryffindors. "I don't know the password," he started, "it's not as if I need the information..."

"It would mean a lot if you could only get somebody to open the door. Please, Sir Nicholas?" Lily beseeched. The ghost hesitated, then smiled. He patted her on the head, careful not to let his hand pass through her. She tried not to wince as an ice cold sensation raced through her.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised, then dropped through the floor towards Gryffindor Tower.

As fast as their feet could carry them, they marched quickly down the stairs, dodging the sight of older students still meandering through the halls. James and Sirius were kept from racing only by Lupin casually grabbing the back of their robes and engaging them in a hasty conversation about the Quidditch League Cup.

When they reached the portrait hole, the Fat Lady had already been swung open, protesting and bleary though she was. "Drunk," Sirius muttered loudly, waving cheekily at her.

Frank Longbottom, a fourth year with a nice smile, stood there waiting for them and greeted them with a polite nod. "Oy, Potter, Black. Lucky my friends and I were up playing Gobstones." He paused, having finished saying as much as he ever did at one time, when he caught sight of the girls. "Evans and McKinnon, isn't it?" he asked, frowning slightly. They looked up, surprised the older boy knew their names. "Your dormmates have been worried about you. Alice Jones kept coming over to ask if I'd seen you. Tell her you're all right for me, will you?" He swallowed slightly, remembering he had something further to add. "And Nick says you owe him one." Nodding curtly but politely, he turned back in.

"Thanks, Frank," said Lily with a disarming smile as she passed him. "C'mon, Marlene." The two headed up to their dorm, Lily casting somewhat nasty glances over her shoulder at James.

"Can we get in on that Gobstones game?" James asked loudly, tailing on Frank's heels as they stepped inside. Peter eagerly leapt after him.

Sirius paused to immaturely stick his tongue out at the Fat Lady, scampering through before she could close on him.

His friend, exasperated, barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "C'mon, Sirius. We're twelve, that's nearly an adult," Remus said as they raced after James.

The other boy only laughed in response.

Quite a long while later, the foursome headed up the stairs to the second year Gryffindor boy's dormitory. Although on the first night of school curfew was pretty much nonexistent, once he realized they were well-past any structured bedtime, Longbottom quickly ended the game. He was something of a stickler for rules.

They were less concerned with the thought their mumblings could wake other Gryffindors.

"I had Jenkins, I had him!" Sirius lamented. "One more move- just one more move-"

James, unapologetically, was helping Peter wipe the mucky goo shot by a Gobstone into his eyes with the sleeve of the smaller boy's robes. "I wasn't even playing," the latter bemoaned quietly. "Did you really have to duck, James?"

"Instinct," his friend shrugged. "Don't flinch, Peter, it's right near your eye-"

He flinched. "Gahh! It burns!"

"Oh it doesn't," Sirius scorned, rubbing the same bile-like substance spat from the Gobstones out of his eyes. "Wait... yes it does. A bit. Just-"

A cough from the quiet member of their party drew the others' attention. "Can we just go to sleep now?" Remus asked, exhausted as he swung open the door of the second year boys' dormitory. Their individual trunks, and Sirius' burgeoning suitcase, awaited them at the foot of each bed. "I was up last night- improving those Dungbombs, reading the new Transfiguration book- " Hesitating, Remus clicked the door shut, adding quietly, "plus, you know-"

James looked crestfallen. "Don't any of you want to use the Invisibility Cloak tonight? Please? I'm not tired," James pleaded.

"Me neither!" Sirius said happily, as the other two firmly chorused, "No."

"First night," said Peter, yawning and rubbing at his mousy hair, which seemed rather miraculously to be no longer patchy- one of the fortunate effects of being magically inclined.

"New caretaker," Remus reminded him.

"'M not hungry," Sirius determined, surprising even to himself, from the stunned look on his features, "so not the kitchens. But I'm game, as always."

"We can find a way to Hogsmeade," James argued as they stepped inside.

"Whomping Willow," Peter pointed out.

"Behind the mirror on the fourth floor," Remus yawned.

"Fifth brick to the left on the floor in the clocktower," Sirius answered in turn, but adding with a broad grin, "but if you reckon there's more-"

"There has to be! We need more!" James insisted. "Think about it, this Filth bloke might turn up some of our spots..."

"Please, Pringle never found any, what makes you think this fellow will?" Sirius scoffed.

"We can explore any other night," Remus assured him.

"We're tired," Peter explained.

James' face, even in the dark, appeared somewhat purple before he grabbed his pajamas and threw himself amidst the drapes surrounding his bed. "But we need a mission!" he called, voice muffled

"No, we don't," Peter said worriedly, knowing full well what James had in mind when he said 'mission'.

"What sort of mission?" Remus muttered.

"Hmmmm...." mused Sirius, realizing, to his dismay, that James had no true intention of going anywhere tonight despite his claims to the contrary. Potter was flung spread eagle on his bed, Peter snugly curling up in his, and Remus very tidily folding up his robe and turning back his sheets. Sirius, on the other hand, had his flannel pajama top stuck on his head. It was too small, and he was trying to yank it over with great difficulty.

"That has buttons," Remus pointed out, looking up in blatant disbelief.

Sirius attempted to pull it off his head, failed, and began to fumble for the little plastic circles, trying to unbutton it without being able to see.

Remus sighed. "Diffindo," he muttered, raising his wand. Sirius' shirt split in two pieces, falling from his head.

His friend's dark eyes went wide with dismay. "That's my only-" Sirius protested, cutting off as a balled up Muggle T-shirt hit him in the head. "Thanks, James," he laughed, pulling it on. He fell back on his bed, and Remus turned off the light.

The sound of closing curtains filled the silence of the room, and with exhaustion, Remus Lupin closed his eyes as well. The steady breathing of his friends at their different rates, puffed through the room, and left with only his own thoughts, Remus found it hard to close his eyes. The drum of his own heartbeat pounded in his ears, and he wondered how he had failed to pay it heed throughout the day.

There was a thud, a soft pattering of feet, and then a squeaking painful to his sensitive ears as Sirius Black pushed the windows open.

"Awake, James?" the dark-haired boy hissed hoarsely as he hopped back onto his own bed, the mattress creaking as he bounced slightly.

His friend grunted in polite affirmation and turned over.

"Remus?" Sirius called, then paused and waited for an answer. Louder, he yelled, "Oy, Moony!"

The werewolf sat upright, annoyed. "Stop saying that!" Remus complained through his curtains. "What put that in your head?"

He could practically see Sirius' shrug. "I don't know. You just are, Rem." He paused, waiting for James to say something, but forging on himself when Potter gave no response in kind. "When's the next full moon, anyway? Halloween again?"

Remus sighed. "Sooner. Third week of September."

Peter audibly winced from his own bed. "That's pretty soon."

There was nothing but silence. "Yeah," said Remus quietly.

"What's it like?" James asked cautiously, sounding fully awake and fighting the mixed desires of curiosity and not to intrude onto the boundaries of others. "We saw what it looks like, o'course, but......"

"James," Sirius said swiftly with his familiar note of deference to his friend. "Your bones shift and crack and change shape, you sprout fur, and a wild beast takes over, how do you think it feels, mate?"

Again, an uncomfortable pause. "Someone's been reading up," Remus observed.

"I spent my summer trapped in a house where my only escape is my father's library, filled with books on the Dark Arts," Sirius said testily. "I'd rather read about my friend's condition, yeah." He waited again, fluffing his pillow in the meanwhile. He flopped loudly down again. "You didn't tell us half how bad it is, Rem. Not half."

"It's not something I want you three to know about," Remus said softly. "Not something anyone can do anything about."

For a long moment, each boy, all alone in their own bed, stared at the canopy of their four poster bed, separated by curtains and space.

"It's lonely," Remus said finally, a twelve year old boy with sandy hair and a demon inside. "And the wolf..... he- I- it.... has a lot of rage. It wants to.... well, it wants to do what that bartender chap was doing. It- has a taste for....." His young voice cracked and dropped to an uncomfortable hush, "-for human flesh and.... an urge... to kill. And it can't, so it- attacks- itself- me."

"All your bruises and cuts," Peter said quietly, mournfully.

"Yeah."

A pause stilled the air.

"Sort of a pity we're not all werewolves," said James slowly.

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'bite me'," Remus said threateningly.

Ill at ease, they all chuckled. Again, a pause was filled with only the sound of fresh air swooping through the open window.

"Well... g'night," James murmured sleepily.

There was a sudden jerking, and a thud, as Sirius, leaping up on his bed, hit his head against the bar that held the canopy up. He stuck his head through the curtains. At the noise, his fellows leaned forward and pulled their own curtains aside. "I've got it!" he roared, and laughed, his short, sharp bark of a harsh laugh that should never have belonged to a boy of merely twelve. He jumped down, bare feet sinking into the rug. In the dark, all one could see of him was from the faint moonlight from the window, which glinted on his burning eyes and dark hair. "Animagi," he breathed, the magic word.

"Ani-what?" James and Peter chorused, and Remus looked at him and said restively, "You're mad."

"Well, you don't eat animals, do you? Do you?" Sirius demanded, nearly toppling over in his excitement and the sudden horrible image of Remus eating bunnies.

"No, but-"

"But? There is no but! Don't you see? It's perfect!"

"What language are the two of you speaking?" James exclaimed, rarely befuddled by his best friend. "Ani- what? Ani-what?"

Sirius snorted. "And this is Mr. Transfiguration speaking," he said with affection.

James' eyes widened as he considered the implication of the word and put it together with a faint memory of his father explaining the concept. "Oh.... It's our mission!!" He rolled right off his bed in his excitement. He decided immediately he would have thought of it himself had he not been so tired.

"Explain!" Peter wailed, and from his luggage, yet unpacked, his pet rat squeaked. Quickly, he pulled himself out of bed and hurried over to let him out, cradling the rat, dubbed Wormtail, in his hands.

Sirius, eyes fevered, pointed at the rat. "There's your explanation."

Peter looked at his rat. "Still not following, Sirius."

"Human into animal and back again," James said, filled with wonder as he fumbled to put his glasses back on. He wanted to remember this moment clearly, not as the blur he saw it as. His hazel eyes gleamed behind the lenses

Remus shook his head, pulling himself out of his bed to join his fellows in the center of the room. "Stop it, you're acting crazy," he told them sharply, trying to shut down the small part of himself filling with hope.

"How would it be if you didn't have to be cooped in the Shrieking Shack every full moon?" James said, filling with glory and speaking with the voice he'd used to convince them of everything they'd ever done. "We could go with you- think of it! Just think! I transform into something- say, a tiger- and Sirius and Peter are whatever they are, the three of us will be able to stop you if you try to hurt anyone. We'll be deep in the forest, anyway- who'll be around?"

"You're still you when you're the wolf, right? Under the instincts, the fury, all that- you're still you?" Sirius insisted.

Remus looked down. "Yes," he said in a whisper. For that, in his mind, was the worst of it.

"We can be animals and be safe," Peter said in awe. "Remus won't be alone."

"All for one and one for all," Remus said rather bitterly, lip twisting.

"We mean it, Moony," Sirius said, eyes dark and deep. "We're your friends." He shrugged. "We've all got our demons. Yours is just a little more pushy than others, that's all." He took a breath, pacing in a circle. "Animagi- I read about them, too. They're still themselves when they change, just in animal form with the animal's abilities. And maybe a tad dumber. It's a free choice- we can change whenever we want, without a wand."

"It's damn near impossible."

"That's what James is for," Sirius said, moving over to toss an arm over James' shoulder. Potter looked slightly alarmed. "And you, Rem, you're great with all the book stuff." He paused, speaking up again almost as an afterthought. "And there's me."

"You are brilliant," James grinned, ruffling his friend's hair.

"It- it takes years," Remus tried to explain. "It's terribly, terribly dangerous- you could end up half man, half something else.... a twisted creature. A freak." He refrained from adding 'like me'. "It takes the best wizards to do it, and you need to go through all kinds of tests and sign all this stuff, register with the Ministry, even to try it. There's only about five folks who've ever done it. And it's highly illegal."

"Since when have we balked at doing something illegal?" said Peter, almost shyly.

"You tell 'im!" Sirius crowed, pumping his fist in the air.

"I- I couldn't let you do that," Remus forced out. "Dumbledore- it'd be betraying him, and he let me in, he trusted me....."

James' grin vanished, and he grew quite serious, pulling away from Sirius' arm and advancing. "You suffer, Rem- we know you do. We saw it all last year, before we even understood. We're more than friends- we're brothers. Aren't we?" he insisted, turning back towards Sirius.

"You bet your ass," his friend replied, giddy at the thought. He was certainly trading up when it came to families.

"You hear that?" James demanded, looking intense and dangerous. "You're our brother, Remus Lupin, even when you're a wolf. Especially when you're the wolf," he amended, "because you need us then. And we can't- we can't just stand by and let that be, because we're us. And we- at least I- won't accept things like that."

"Of course it's we," Peter added, sounding hurt.

James, flashing a grin at him, turned fiercely back to the startled Remus. "So? You're a werewolf. The only issue I have with that is that it hurts you. And I won't let a brother hurt alone. We'll do this- damn the risks, damn the consequences, damn the illegality, and... if it comes down to it... damn Dumbledore." Shocked eyes greeted this pronouncement, but James dismissed it, focusing on Lupin. "C'mon, you think there's anything going on in this school he doesn't know about? The man's over a hundred years old, and he's wiser than the four of us combined will ever, ever be. But he turns a blind eye. He only sees what he wants to see- only sees what he's needed to see. If this is terribly, terribly wrong- he'll stop it. If it isn't- he'll never even know. And not because we're brilliant, or clever, or smarter than he is, but because he'll never even notice. He's got bigger worries. But you, Remus- you and your- your," James fished for the appropriate words, "your furry little problem is our biggest worry. You're our friend, and you're in trouble. And now- maybe, maybe- if this pans out- we got a way to help you. A way we can do something. And you don't even want us to try?"

"But if you say no, Rem- we'll listen," Sirius added, stepping forward next to James. "I mean, you don't want this- then tell us and we'll never mention it again- never happened," he said, waving his hands to indicate he'd just brush the words away. "But if you do- then don't lie. We can't lie." His eyes darkened. "There's enough lies in the world already. We're twelve. We don't need to, 'cept to get out of trouble- and none of us is going to put another in trouble." Sirius seemed to realize this wasn't quite accurate. "Well- you know what I mean. No secrets, Remus- we don't need walls here. Walls," he said firmly, "are dumb." His voice became very, very small. "There's enough walls at home for a lifetime." He recovered it quickly. "So?" he challenged

Remus sighed, very heavily, and looked his friends. James, so assured and determined with his straight back and dead-on gaze, always the leader. Sirius, dark and hopeful, confident and unsure, with his eyes dancing about and not quite meeting anyone's gaze but James'. Peter, scared but excited and willing to do it anyways, his timid eyes glimmering in the shadows. "I'm not the one who'll be risking anything," he said quietly. "You- you all want to do this f-for me?"

"Of course," said Peter simply. He looked suddenly terrified. "You'll all have to help me, though," he said uncertainly. "I-I'm afraid I'll be something of a bother."

"Never," Sirius vehemently declared. "B-but," he froze, then gulped and ducked his head, tossing it to the right and bringing it back in a slow circle. His tongue was poking against the inside of his cheek "Look," he said flatly, "I'll warn you right out, seeing as I'm the one who said no secrets, right? You don't choose what animal you'll become, it's just- well, it's what you are. And- and- if we're not going to lie- then- then I-I didn't get into Gryffindor because I had no ambition and was reckless, like I told you," he said in a rush. Tearing his eyes away from the ground, he looked up, angrily daring them with his eyes. "The hat- it- he - well, the blasted thing told me told me I-I did- that I had a yearning for approval - and that I wanted to better myself- that I was cunning. Like any Black. That I'd do well there," he muttered, the last word practically a snarl. His tone sunk as he began to ramble awkwardly. "And- and I begged- well, ordered it not to put me there. I didn't want that. Anything else, even Hufflepuff. And- then it put me here, and I was so- so- happy and I didn't want to ruin it and-and I understand if you don't want me to do this because I should have been a Slytherin and I could turn into something really awful like a snake or l-"

"Sirius!" James interrupted furiously, shaking his friend and looking as if he wanted to slug him. "Please! You? A snake? Oh, yeah, that's loads likely! You idiot," he said warmly, "you're as much a Gryffindor as I am! The hat doesn't put you places you don't want to go- how else do you think I knew I'd be a Gryffindor? I wouldn't have gone anywhere else! Of course we still like you! Judging you on your blood- that's wrong, that would be like hating Evans because she's Muggle-born- I mean, yeah, I hate her, but not because she's Muggle-born and- oh, hell." He sighed deeply. "We-we're telling the truth, right? No secrets?" He sat down heavily. "You can never, ever tell anyone- ever! Just the four of us, all right? And Sirius, don't you dare, dare, dare laugh." He looked around as if expecting to find someone else in the room, then beckoned them closer. He squirmed a little, his hazel eyes miserable. "It's weird. It's, it's about Evans. I mean, I hate her. I hate her- Loathe her- Absolutely truly, truly, TRULY hate her...well, hate may be going a bit too far.... but she is sort of pretty, isn't she?" His expression was desperate.

Sirius blinked. "That's James Potter's deepest, darkest secret? You like Lily Evans? You're kidding, right?"

James buried his face in his hand. "I really, really wish I were. It's just- her hair- it sort of swishes- and it's red and pretty- and her eyes are really, really green- and I don't even like the color green 'cause it's Slytherin's color, but hers aren't the same- they're like emeralds- and she's brave and funny- even if she is terribly annoying and tends to be making fun of me- but she yells at us- even when no one else does, especially when.....and I'm so, so stupid!"

"You're not stupid. Girls are pretty, we like them. Even the annoying ones. Well, all right, them not so much, usually we're supposed to like the ones that like us. Don't sweat it. You'll get over it," Sirius said confidently.

"I think I'll marry her," James said firmly.

Sirius winced, exchanged glances with the other two. "Er...."

"She's the only one I like- like that. I mean, not really, because obviously other girls are pretty and I certainly like loo- But I don't like her- per say- I mean, she makes me mad and I don't like her-" James trailed off, confused.

"You love her but you don't like her," Remus analyzed.

James looked horrified as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "Good Godric, I don't love her! I'm twelve! The only girl I love is my mom- which is why I missed the train, I went back to kiss her good-bye, and she said Sirius should come for Christmas because she doesn't want him to be alone at school again-"

"I love your mom too," said Sirius happily. "Look, James, be calm. You're twelve- don't tell her you fancy her, don't act like you fancy her, and stop staring at her. I thought you were pretending to burn holes through her head, but now..." He shook his head. "Just don't let her know, whatever you do."

"Because she hates me?"

"Well, yeah," Sirius admitted. "Comments like 'girls smell' aren't exactly going to send her to the moon about you."

"Great," James moaned. "None of you like her too, do you?" he asked worriedly.

Sirius looked horrified. "Sweet Salazar, no!" He retreated under his friend's glare, as James mouthed in disbelief 'Sweet Salazar?'

Peter shook his head. "I see what you mean about her hair, but... no. She's nice, but a little bit scary."

"Exactly," said Sirius triumphantly, pointing at Peter. "I grew up with scary women. I know enough to avoid girls that scare me. Lily scares me."

Remus, slowly, murmured. "Actually-" James leaped to his feet in horror and Sirius glanced between the two of them as if they both belonged in St. Mungo's. "No!" Remus exclaimed, waving James down as the boy seemed apt to dive for his wand. "I do like her- but only as a friend. We get along all right, and I don't hate her- but I don't- er, no," Remus said rapidly, trying to express what he meant. He did, rather, like Lily, but most definitely not with the intensity James seemed to.

James Potter relaxed, slackening slightly. "Oh, well that's good then," he said, satisfied.

"Er, James, that doesn't mean there won't be other boys who like her," Remus reminded him.

"Them I can kill or viciously maim," James said cheerfully.

"I'll help!" Sirius offered, waving his hand.

James stood, rubbing his hands together. "No secrets. Good then. Rem's a werewolf, Sirius has mommy and daddy issues-"

"That's putting it delicately," his friend complained. "How 'bout family difficulties or identity crisis, huh?"

James continued on, tossing the nearest pillow at his Black, "Peter's insecure, and I like Evans. Good. We're awful messed up, but we just might be messed up enough to do this!"

"We're not that messed up," Remus protested.

They pondered this briefly.

"Says the werewolf," Sirius pointed out.

Peter's rat had fallen asleep, and he carefully set it down. "We, er, do have classes tomorrow. And, er, dawn isn't all that far away."

Adjusting his shaggy hair, the tallest one looked up. "It can't be that late," he scoffed.

James looked for the clock on the wall, having the slightest bit of difficulty reading the clock from its hands. "Sure it can... feast went late, locked out, played Gobstones, talked for ages- five hours till classes!!"

"Bloody hell," said Sirius. "Five? I need more sleep!"

"Sleep in class," Peter suggested, curling up in his bed.

"You always do," Remus said wryly.

"Lunch in the library tomorrow," James said eagerly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation and remembering, "after we get mail. I forgot a lot of stuff and Mum promised cookies."

The last the thing they heard as they fell asleep was Sirius' cry of, "Cookies!"

This time, they left the curtains about their beds drawn open.