Why We Fight

In the common room, Draco, James, Sirius, and Remus were sizing each other up as Peter's eyes bounced from the Marauders to the new boy. Sirius's arms were crossed over his chest and he stood at his full height. He was a little taller than Draco but much beefier. Draco arched a brow. "Problem, mate?" he asked cheekily. My father would kill me if he knew I wasn't attempting to kill Potter's godfather, he thought. But my father also hit on me earlier so I don't think he'll mind that much. I can always hold that over his head when I get back. Draco let a sadistic smile pass over his lips as he thought of that occurrence:

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter eyed the devious look on the boy's face. They exchanged a look and they each nodded. "So, Aquilus, do you like trouble?" James asked.

Draco was pulled out of his reverie and eyed The Boy That Would Be the Boy Who Lived's Father. "Can't get enough of it," Draco stated.

"You see, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I...we're the Marauders and we could always use another troublemaker to make Filch pull out his hair," James offered. "And since this is our last year, we need someone to pass it on to."

They're Animagi, they could teach me. Ha, see if Granger can do that! Draco thought. He let a wicked grin that would rival his father's pass over his lips. "Sounds like a plan to me," Draco said, pushing out the reaction his father and Professor Snape would have if they ever found out that he was making an alliance with Gryffindors; not just any Gryffindors but the future-father and godfather of his future-nemesis, Harry Potter.

"End of the month's a full moon--" Peter started.

"Peter, that's not a good idea," Remus said with a hard edge in his voice. He turned on Sirius, who seemed to be contemplating the idea. "I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to Snape."

"Don't worry, this one's nothing like Snape," James said. "Snape's a tosser. This one has potential."

"Wh--what about your girlfriend?" Peter stammered.

"My girlfriend?" Draco asked and the four nodded toward the Head Girl's quarters. Draco's eyes widened. They think that that Mudblood is my girlfriend! he thought. It had its quirks...Granger will be absolutely pissed that I told her boyfriend's father that she was indeed my girlfriend. "Oh, Mione? She'll be fine without me...for a while. She's sometimes clingy but she does the most amazing thing..." he trailed off, closing his eyes and pretending to remember something very delightfully naughty.

"Go on..." Peter said.

"Don't mind Peter, he has no sex life," Sirius stated. "But you can go on..."

"She'd kill me...she pretends to be such a goody-goody but when you get her naked...she's anything but," Draco stated, delighting in his torment of the girl.

"Wonder if Lily's like that," James wondered out loud.

"James is smitten with Lily...she doesn't even notice him though," Remus explained and James Potter blushed. He eyed Draco curiously and the platinum-blonde met the boy's gaze with an arch of a brow.

James frowned and gathered the Marauders in a huddle. "I don't trust him," Remus stated.

"Well, you've got the most to lose if he betrays us," Sirius stated. The "if" sounded a lot like a "when."

"We can put him through tests," James stated. "Each of us will come up with a task for him to complete...and if he passes each of them, we'll let him in. Okay, boys?"

Sirius and Remus took the longest to decide. Peter agreed immediately and Remus gnawed his bottom lip as he contemplated. "Okay...but I'll Obliviate his memory if he even thinks of betraying us," the werewolf stated.

Sirius grudgingly agreed to the thought of letting Draco into the Marauders. "Who's first?" he asked, his dark eyes lighting with mischief as he thought of his task.

"Peter," James said.

"Me?" Peter squeaked. "Oh, I know! He could sneak down to the kitchens and bring us something to eat?"

"Is food all you ever think about?" Sirius sighed.

"It works...if he can sneak to the kitchens undetected; I think he'd make a good Marauder," James said. "We need some kind of reward to get him to go though."

"What about letting him use your cloak?" Peter asked. James bit his bottom lip and nodded.

"Now that that's taken care of," James said. The four left the huddle. "We have a mission for you. If you succeed, you'll have three more tasks and then you can be one of us." "Why--" Draco bit off the rest of his response. Me having to stoop to doing tasks for someone! he thought bitterly. But it's worth it to become an Animagus. "Okay...what's in it for me?" he asked.

The four boys led the blonde into the Head Boy's room. Two four-poster beds were in the large room, both bedecked in scarlet and gold. Bloody Gryffindors, Draco thought in distaste. James opened the trunk at the end of his bed and pulled out a cloak. "You get to use this," James said.

Draco frowned. "A cloak?" he said disdainfully.

"I guess it's time for us to let you in on one of our secrets," James chuckled. "This isn't just any cloak." He threw it on over his shoulders and his head became suspended in midair, no body holding it up.

"An Invisibility Cloak," Draco stated. Of course! I didn't imagine Potter's head floating, he was wearing an Invisibility Cloak, he mused.

"Your mission--" James started.

"Should you choose to accept it," Peter interjected. Sirius, Remus, James, and Draco gave the boy looks.

"Is to get some dinner from the kitchens," James continued.

"Okay, where are the kitchens?" Draco asked.

"That's what you have to find out," James said, tossing Draco the cloak.

"Bloody hell," the blonde muttered. The Marauders grinned at him as he slipped on the cloak and disappeared.

The Head Boy's door to the common room opened and closed. "Do you think he'll make it without being caught?" Peter asked.

"Not a chance," Sirius smirked. "Even with the cloak."