Disclaimer: None of the characters or settings are mine, they belong to JK Rowling, No copyright infringement is intended.
...
The corridor had been empty for some time when four boys appeared in it, all about sixteen and all extremely disoriented— in light of their sudden appearance, it seemed hardly unusual. Three of them steadied themselves on the nearest table— the fourth missed it and ended up on the ground. It took a moment for them to regain their bearings, and in that time span they all looked around, apparently very confused.
"What just happened?" one of them asked the others. He had sandy brown hair and looked distinctly different from the other three— perhaps it was the book in he was holding— it was fairly thick— or the slightly pale and ill look about him. At any rate, he didn't appear to be the one that would take charge of the situation, despite being the one with the prefect's badge.
"From the looks of it, I'd say we were transported into a corridor," one of the other boys announced, raising a black eyebrow fractionally at the sandy-haired boy. He was arguably the most attractive of the boys, the tallest with black hair and a casual grace none of the other three had.
"I realize that, Sirius," the reply came dryly. "I want to know how, exactly, it happened."
Sirius opened his mouth to reply, running distracted fingers through his hair, but he couldn't seem to find one. He glanced quizzically at the third boy, a skinny hazel-eyed boy in glasses, who appeared not to have bothered combing his dark hair in several years.
He shrugged at Sirius. "I dunno, Padfoot."
The sandy-haired boy shook his head. "I didn't think so. You were a bit too busy trying to come up with a decent excuse for being dragged into the headmaster's office to notice a thing. I never pay any attention in there. It . . . might have had something to do with that thing Peter picked up."
All three of them turned to the last boy, mousy-haired and chubby with a long pointed nose and watery eyes, who immediately began to sulk. "Sure, Remus," he grumbled. "Blame it on me."
"But I didn't blame it on you, Peter," Remus said, overly patient and rolling his eyes. "I said you might have picked up something that caused it."
"That's still blaming it on me," Peter said sulkily.
"He does have something of a point," the boy in glasses told Remus. Aside from his comment, he had remained quiet, watching the exchanges as one might a tennis match.
"You could help me, you know James," Remus pointed out, raising an eyebrow fractionally. He sounded more than a little annoyed at the accusation. "I never did say 'It's Peter's fault.' As a matter of fact, I never have and I probably never will. It is so much more often yours or Sirius's, you know, Prongs."
"Well, you see, Moony," James answered with a slight grin, "agreeing with you would result in rather a long argument, and I don't think any of us want that. Should we get back to Dumbledore's office?" he added, as if asking for a negative reply.
Sirius glanced at his watch, although even without the time, everyone knew what he was going to say. "Well, seeing as we've been courting detention for the rest of our natural lives, and seeing as we all know we've got another one, I hardly see the point. Let's get down to the Great Hall and eat."
Peter expressed whole-hearted agreement. Remus and James exchanged contemplative looks, and then James nodded and it seemed to be decided.
The four of them wandered down the corridor, quickly recognized where they were, and proceeded into the Great Hall. The enchanted ceiling's sky looked a little downcast, but the Great Hall was quite cheery and extremely huge. It also seemed . . . different. Not different ion a way one could place a finger on, but certainly not the Great Hall they had long since grown used to. Just . . . odd.
A boy about their age ran past them. "Hullo, Harry— have you seen my toad?" he asked James as he rushed past, not waiting for an answer.
"Have I seen his what?" James asked, puzzled.
"Harry?" Sirius repeated incredulously.
They were staring at each other quizzically, wondering if something stranger than pure transportation hadn't happened, when Peter let out a squeak of fright and dodged behind Sirius, who as the biggest of the four made the best shield, or would have if living people hadn't made terrible things to hide behind.
"What is it know, Wormtail?" Sirius demanded.
Peter squeaked again and pointed to the Griffindor table. "James!" he exclaimed, and tried to edge further behind Sirius, who moved irritably. Peter gave him a look of pure horror and continued to look absolutely terrified. "Oh, c'mon," Sirius growled. "You're not that helpless you know, Peter."
"Don't be stupid, Peter, I'm right here," James added.
Remus, however, was looking over where Peter had pointed, and had gone a few shades paler than usual. "Hell, he's right. I know you're here," he added when James's eyebrows soared above his glasses. "But there's no doubting he could pass as your double."
More humoring than anything else, James and Sirius glanced over at the Griffindor house table. James appeared to loose all powers of speech, a great rarity for him. Like Remus, though much of the color left Sirius's face, he managed to hold some composure. "Looks like we found your better half, James," he whispered.
In another situation, it might have been funny. Now, Remus, James, and Sirius glanced at one another as if looking for explanation, all pale, and Peter cowered somewhere in the background, well out of sight.
Finally, James spoke. "I think we can all handle Dumbledore if he'll give us an explanation for this," he announced, shaking his head slightly.
Remus and Sirius nodded.