A/N - Originally this was going to be a oneshot with just the Prewett twins, and then I sort of decided it'd be a lot more fun with the Marauders and with more chapters. I don't own a thing - it's all JKR's. If it were mine I would at least have a paid account on LJ. Takes place in the spring term of 5th year, Marauders Era, and all errors are indeed my own. I think I covered everything *checks* yes, so here we go.....
Feet pounded on the stone floor, sharp rhythm matching the harsh, panted breaths that belonged to the two teenage boys racing down the corridor. A flare of blue light arched toward the runners, but the taller boy in back deflected the spell into a nearby suit of armor. Shouts and yells echoed up the corridor, but before another spell could strike the boys discovered an open door and an empty classroom. Quickly changing direction, they dashed into the room and slammed the door shut behind them, sealing the lock with a spell for good measure.
Breathless and red-faced, the boys sank to the floor and leaned against the wall, listening as the sound of footsteps grew louder and then faded once more as their pursuers vanished. Hesitantly, both boys cast sideways glances at each other, slow grins spreading across each of their faces. Both boys wore Gryffindor robes, but all other appearances were vastly different. Gideon Prewett rested nearest to the door, his mop of wavy red hair plastered to his head. The deep scarlet color that had spread across his face made the freckles across his nose stand out, and his eyes were squeezed shut. Beside him was Remus Lupin, sandy brown hair sticking up in a messy way that would make James Potter jealous. The chase seemed to have made him look more lively than usual, a flush of color on his usually pale cheeks and his blue eyes bright. And his heart was still absolutely racing. As soon as Remus managed to catch his breath and feel confident in his ability to form words, he wearily turned toward his companion.
"If we get out of this, I think I'm going to kill you Prewett."
Earlier that evening...
Tuesday nights in the Gryffindor common room usually managed to be fairly predictable. There was homework, there was studying, there was much talk of Quidditch, and there was Sirius very determinedly trying to convince someone to entertain him. The first unfortunate victim had been Peter, who had entered the common room with an armload of books. Sirius literally leaped over the back of the chair he had been sitting in, badly startling Peter, who threw his books in panic.
"Hullo Wormtail."
"Hello Sirius," Peter grumbled, casting a sullen look at the dark haired boy before stooping to retrieve his books. "What do you want?"
Sirius shrugged and pushed his hair out of his eyes, finally picking one of the books up off the floor.
"Just looking for something to do. Why do you have Charms for Beginners?"
Scowling and now rather red faced, Peter snatched the book away from Sirius, checking to make sure no one else had seen.
"It's got a spell I've been looking for."
"Oh. Well. Never mind that, I've got a bloody brilliant idea for a prank."
Peter ignored Sirius, moving past him and across the room, ordering a first year away from one of the desks near the stairs. He dropped his books and sank into the chair, fixing Sirius with a very pointed look.
"No. I'm busy tonight. Go ask James."
For a moment, Sirius looked utterly confused. The expression did not last long however, as he soon spotted Remus watching the whole scene amusedly from the safety of an armchair. Of course, as soon as Sirius turned his attention away from Peter, Remus found the whole situation significantly less funny. Sirius had a dangerous look in his eyes that often meant he was feeling reckless. Remus hurriedly returned his attention to his homework, trying to pretend he had seen nothing. The effort was in vain, however, as a hand crept over the back of his chair and seized hold of his Transfiguration book.
"Give it back, Sirius."
"Moony, you're telling me you haven't finished this yet?"
"No, I'm just reading it again for my own personal enjoyment," Remus rolled his eyes.
"Wouldn't you rather go out for the night? Wander the grounds a bit?" Sirius now also sported the grin that had long been a warning sign of imminent trouble.
"I do that more often than I care to think about."
Sirius choked back a barking laugh at this, but still held the book just out of reach. Clearing his throat, Remus locked eyes with his friend and used his most authoritative prefect tone.
"We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us. Give the book back now, Sirius."
Sirius resisted for a minute or so, adopting the pout that usual won him his way with girls and sometimes with James. Remus however was proud to say that the look had no effect on him whatsoever. Finally Sirius dropped the book back into Remus' hand, trying to hide his annoyance and failing badly.
The remaining target happened to be James himself, seated at another table and scribbling rapidly, muttering to himself. Typically anytime James talked to himself, that acted as a sign that he was in Quidditch captain mode and was not to be disturbed. This particular evening, Sirius did not seem to care. Remus watched them over the top of his book, waiting for the explosion.
"My dear Prongs, what are you doing?"
"Working, Padfoot."
Sirius leaned across the table, effectively blocking James' ability to do anything but make eye contact.
"Why is everyone working tonight?"
"Why aren't you?" James pushed Sirius out of the way, keeping his tone impressively level.
"I dislike homework."
"Then go find something else to do. We'll prank another night."
Sirius scowled and then leaned across the table again, clearly unconcerned with his physical well being and not either not understanding or not caring that James was in a foul mood.
"So where do I fit in these Quidditch plans?"
James glanced up for a moment, glaring at Sirius.
"You don't. I swear Sirius, you're my best mate but I won't have you on the team."
"Come on Prongs, I'm good. And I've got all summer to practice. I'd be a bloody good beater."
"I'm sure you would," James agreed, "But I have an awful feeling you'd be hitting bludgers at various Slytherins in the stands, and I need two beaters, not one."
Feigning offense at this, Sirius stood up straight again, even though he and Remus and everyone else in the room knew James was right. Given the choice between actually playing the game and taking free shots at Severus Snape, Sirius would chose Snape every time.
"You're looking at another one Marauder team then," Sirius said lightly.
"Not since Moony's going to be playing seeker for me," James paused here and fixed Remus with a dazzling smile. "Isn't that right Moony?"
"No."
"You keep saying that, but you'll come round eventually. Go read or something Sirius."
"I do not read for fun. I am not Remus," Sirius really did seem offended by this comment, and Remus debated whether or not he ought to be offended as well.
"I don't care. Go do something," James waved him away and returned to his Quidditch work. Sirius muttered something to himself, scowling and flexing his fingers as though he were about to hit something. Then he grabbed a book that someone had left behind, a battered and worn History of Magic book that likely held no interesting content. Sirius tipped backwards over the arm of chair, book open above his head, and stretched himself out across the seat. Remus watched him for a few minutes to ensure that he was in fact sitting still and being quiet and that this was not some trap, and then returned to his own homework.
Two hours later, Remus had managed to finish his homework for McGonagall and an essay for Potions, occasionally checking over his shoulder to make sure that no one intended to interrupt him again. But further interruptions seemed to be out of the question this evening as James was busily arguing over Quidditch strategy with Thaddeus MacLaggen and Peter had occupied himself in the corner with a pile of books and parchments and still had yet to move. Sirius, leader of any and all interruptions, lay sprawled across the same armchair, book open and laying on his face. Whether he was attempting to learn by absorption or simply asleep, Remus neither knew nor cared. Either way, Remus was glad to prove to himself that absent the usual evening madness, he was perfectly capable of finishing all of his homework. Given the extra time, and with one more cursory check of his surroundings, Remus leaned back in his chair and retrieved a book he had been meaning to read for quite some time. Peace and quiet happened to be a rare commodity, and he intended to take advantage of the moment.
Of course, the book was utterly mad, a detective novel where the hero was a wizard working in the Muggle world. James would have declared the thing rubbish, but Remus had always had a soft spot for rubbish stories with gaping plot holes. Unfortunately, by the third chapter, James' argument with Thaddeus ended in a spectacular shouting match that drew the attention of everyone else in the common room. Both boys were red faced and waving their hands wildly, and finally Thaddeus snatched a piece of parchment off the table and stormed away. Remus watched the younger boy stomp his way up the stairs, then counted to ten before returning his attention to James.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing," James growled, flicking his wand at the remaining parchments, which promptly caught fire. "Bloody prat and his ridiculous Quidditch ideas. Absolute rubbish."
At the mention of rubbish, Remus stuffed his detective novel back into his bag, not really feeling much in the mood to defend his chosen literature. James never noticed, still prodding the smoldering papers with his wand and grumbling to himself.
"I need to go hex someone now."
Remus checked the clock above the fireplace. Curfew arrived in half an hour, not that James put much stock by the fact.
"We haven't got long to be out."
"You going to dock points from me?" James raised an eyebrow, his expression positively daring Remus to start a fight. For a moment, Remus had to admit he was seriously considering enforcing the rule. He had been chewed out plenty of times by Lily Evans for letting his friends slide already. But James looked quite angry, and his wand still out on the table and glowing threateningly, and Remus just sighed and shook his head.
"No, fine, do whatever you want."
James' eyes brightened, a dark smile stretching across his face, and Remus tried very hard to pretend that he felt no guilt whatsoever for unleashing an angry James Potter on an unsuspecting student body. Or for allowing him to break the rules once again. Or for quite possibly being the worst prefect in school history.
"Thanks Moony," James cheered up at once, vanishing the ashy remains of the parchments from the tabletop. "You want to come along?"
"You know, I think I'll pass on this one," Remus smiled weakly.
"Alright, Padfoot, look's like it's you and me then."
The usual response, when James delivered that particular line, tended towards triumphant shouting, vaguely threatening statements, and the occasional toppling of furniture as Sirius eagerly crossed the room. This time, however, there was only silence. James froze halfway to the portrait, frowning over his shoulder, Remus had a sudden growing sense of horror, and even Peter finally turned his attention away from his schoolwork. All three of them realized, at precisely the same time, that the chair Sirius had occupied for most of the evening now appeared quite empty.
"How long has he been gone?" Peter asked slowly, looking vaguely panicked as he rose from his seat.
"He was bothering me before I started arguing with Thaddeus," James stared at the chair as though Sirius might appear at any moment, simply invisible and waiting to jump out and scare them. "He can't have been gone long."
"I'm slightly more concerned with where he's gone, not how long," Remus muttered. "He could've gone upstairs."
Peter shook his head slowly, fidgeting nervously with his wand.
"No, no Thaddeus was the only one who's gone upstairs for awhile. I was watching."
"You lot looking for Black?"
The new voice belonged to Mary MacDonald, a blond girl in their year who was possessed with a distinct dislike for anyone who claimed to be part of the Marauders.
"Why yes Mary, we are," James tried his best to sound charming. "Have you seen him?"
"He left ages ago, sort of looked at you three and just slipped out," Mary shrugged and claimed Peter's now vacant seat. At his slight protest, Mary scowled at him and promptly banished all his papers and books into his bag. Peter made no further attempt to argue, a slightly frightened look on his face.
"A-and that's great. Now Sirius is out wandering the castle."
James smiled eagerly again, and Remus barely managed to stop himself from groaning. Or swearing.
"We are not going looking for him Prongs."
"Come on Moony, it'll give me a chance to blow off some steam."
"I was under the impression that's what you used Quidditch for."
"Well yes," James admitted, still moving toward the portrait hole rather determinedly. "But this seems much more exciting just now."
"Of course it does," Remus sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "Fine. Let's go get him before he does something unusually stupid."
James seized hold of the portrait triumphantly and pushed, light from the common room spilling out into the dark corridor beyond.
"Brilliant. Let's get moving then."
Rolling his eyes and already regretting this decision, Remus left his bag on the floor and crossed the room, ignoring the very pointed looks from Mary MacDonald as he exited into the hall. Peter stumbled over the ledge seconds later, slamming the portrait shut behind him and already breathing heavily. Remus could practically smell the panic radiating from the blond boy.
"Mary's going to tell on us you know," Peter mumbled. "We'll get into trouble."
James' eyes flashed dangerously.
"I'd think you'd have stopped whining by now Wormtail. We're sixteen year old wizards."
"I know, I just..." whatever else Peter thought was said too quietly for even Remus to hear. But James' scowl faded abruptly into his usual cocky smile and he wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders. Remus knew precisely what James was trying to do, and he turned away and lit his wand, pretending to be looking out for teachers.
"Come on now Pete, we're Marauders. How often do we get caught?"
"Not...not very often," Peter admitted.
"And how about this, we'll split up to look for Sirius."
Peter was not the only one startled by this statement, as Remus very nearly broke his neck as his head whipped around.
"What?!"
James grinned still, his glasses catching the wand light and shining in the darkness. He revealed a bundle that had apparently been stuffed inside his jacket, a bundle Remus knew from years of experience would unfold into an Invisibility Cloak. Swinging the cloak around his shoulders, all of James save for his head disappeared, and in the dim light he looked rather like a ghost with no body.
"We'll make it a competition. I'll use my cloak, and Wormtail, you can be ah, well, Wormtail."
Peter looked positively delighted at this prospect, all earlier hesitation gone. Remus was unsure whether he was more disappointed in how easily Peter could be swayed or the tactics James resorted to for persuasion.
"And what precisely am I supposed to do?"
"I would not recommend changing into Moony. Wolf powers aside, we are in the middle of a school Remus," James' disembodied voice informed him cheerily, the boy now entirely hidden by his cloak.
"Shame," Remus muttered, "I think I'd be guaranteed to win. Unless of course, I'd lose points for actually eating Sirius."
"Just walk around on your own. Use your investigative skills, like that Muggle detective you like so much."
"I will have you know," Remus frowned, "That I think Sherlock Holmes could very well have been a wizard."
"You and your books Moony," James laughed from somewhere to his left, and Remus resisted an urge to push him down the stairs. Peter had been about to transform when a sudden thought struck him and he froze.
"What happens to the losers?"
The question was entirely valid, and one that had been bothering Remus greatly. When James made up contests, one never wanted to be the loser.
"Oh, we'll think of something later," the words sounded ominous, even without the added effect of whatever James' expression happened to be at the moment. A nervous look passed between Remus and Peter, and then James was laughing again.
"Well let's get moving. First one to find Sirius wins!"
James' voice faded and so did his footsteps as he brushed past Remus, still entirely invisible. Claws skittered on the stone floor, and then Peter scurried away as well, down the stairs and toward the kitchens. Remus now stood alone in the dark hallway, wand hanging at his side. Eventually he would stop letting himself be dragged into this sort of mess. He had been reading, for Merlin's sake.
"I hope you're quite happy."
The comment, although directed at James, was heard only by a few portraits and a passing ghost, all of which gave him very confused stares. Sighing again, Remus did his very best to remind himself that this sort of thing was an abuse of his friendship, a terrible imposition. But somehow he could not seem to fight back the raw excitement that had stirred within him, the sudden alert energy that had him watching the shadows. As he loped off in what he hoped was the opposite direction of James, one hand on the railing and the other holding his wand, Remus could not help but grin.