James Potter was sprinting out of the huge oak doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his breath being released in ragged gasps, his limbs burning from exertion. Still, he forced himself to go faster, pushing himself to the limit as a small, dark figure disappeared into the Whomping Willow.

The full moon cast its pure, milky light onto the beads of sweat peppering James' forehead.

Faster. Go. Faster.

He was three quarters of the way now. Surviving the Whomping Willow would be more difficult without Peter - he was currently in Gryffindor Tower, making sure Sirius didn't kill anyone else tonight - but he'd done it before, and he could do it again.

He came to a halt just out of the vicious tree's range, panting violently and analysing the obstacle in front of him; and then, instinctively, with only a hazy plan in his head, James dived.

He successfully dodged incoming tree branches for about four seconds, before a particularly bulgy one came whistling from his right, hitting him under the armpit with a huge amount of force. James lost sight of the hole he had been aiming for, and was flung several metres away, landing on his back.

"Merlin." He hissed, rubbing the area where he'd been whacked. It hurt to move; ignoring the pain, the Marauder got to his feet again, and ran once more. He managed to throw himself into the hole at the Willow's roots, a branch whooshing past mere inches from his feet as they disappeared.

Landing in a heap, James allowed himself a small groan, getting up and straightening his glasses before bolting forwards.

GO FASTER! A voice in his head was screaming at him. At this very moment, Remus could be tearing a student to shreds, or worse, biting him repeatedly…

The Potter shuddered at the thought, before catching sight of a shape before him. The Slytherin boy was creeping along silently and swiftly. James could only see his back, but knew that a smug, conspiratorial smirk was plastered all over his greasy face.

"Snape!" He yelled. The Slytherin turned, and the momentary confusion in his eyes was replaced by malice. James had hoped that Severus would reply, and would therefore buy him more time to catch up, but no. Snape turned on his heel and began to sprint.

James swore.

"You won't get away with it this time, Potter!" Snape shouted, his voice dripping with glee. "Running off every full moon… just wait till everyone hears about this! You are your little posse will get expelled, Potter! Then everyone will know the truth about the great Marauders!"

James dodged a jet of light that flew towards him, upping his speed as he whipped out his own mahogany wand and reciprocated.

"Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Levicorpus!" James swore once more as Snape dodged each spell.

"Snape, don't! You idiot, you'll be killed!"

Snape just laughed.

"Don't try and scare me, Potter! I don't fall for your tricks!"

They were extremely close to the Shrieking Shack now; so close that they could both hear the sounds of a creature snarling and howling. James' heartbeat quickened considerably, actual fear starting to course through his veins at the thought of Snape seeing Remus in this state.

Fortunately for James, his constant Quidditch playing had given him an athletic advantage over the Slytherin - still swapping curses, James found himself mere feet away from Severus. For the second time that night, he threw his body forward, his hands clutching at air until they found the material of Snape's robes. James and Severus both fell, the former cursing under his breath. Snape began to kick as the Gryffindor got to his feet and disarmed his adversary,

"I won't let you win this time, Potter!" He snarled venomously. "I won't let you play the savior, fool the entire school again - oh, Potter, how brave, how heroic!" He was spitting the words with all the contempt he could muster. James momentarily let go of Severus, giving him the opportunity to scramble to his feet, but before he could run again, the Gryffindor had grabbed the boy by the neck of his robes, pointing his wand at Snape's jet black eyes with his free hand.

"I wouldn't have had to run after you if you had just been smart!" James shouted. "What is wrong with you? Do you really lack that many brain cells?" Fuming, he turned and dragged the Slytherin with him, away from the Shrieking Shack. Snape protested, but James was stronger, and kept his hold on him the entire time.

James jerked his head upwards so that his glasses settled into a more comfortable position on his face; Severus' eyes narrowed as he cursed at the Potter under his breath. Reaching the entrance to the tunnel, James threw Snape out into the open; the boy yelped as the tree's branches began to move, but James prodded the knot at the base, and the tree became still. Grabbing Snape again and pulling him swiftly towards the great oak doors of Hogwarts, James' brain was ticking away furiously. He was angry at Snape, angry at Sirius, angry at himself for letting this happen…

Refusing to respond to Snape's verbal insults and physical attacks (like digging his nails deep into James' arm and kicking his leg repeatedly, demanding that he let him go), the Gryffindor reached the entrance to Hogwarts, but he didn't stop there. He began to climb the marble steps just as Professor McGonagall came rushing down, wand in hand, the sternest look James had ever seen etched into her face.

"Potter." She said, stopping in her tracks. "Mr. Pettigrew informed me of your… situation." She glared at Severus, who had become paler than usual. "Snape, you are to go to the Headmaster's office. Immediately." Snape seemed to wither under her harsh gaze, but pretended as if he wasn't affected in the slightest, stepping towards her gingerly. McGonagall turned her stare to James, looking flustered, frightened and fearsome at the same time. She nodded at him in recognition. "You may return to your dormitory, Mr. Potter." James looked down at the floor, feeling awkward and slightly embarassed. As he began to walk hurriedly back to Gryffindor Tower, McGonagall called him again. Turning around, he saw that she was just as stern as she was before, Snape standing in disgrace beside her.

"Fifty points to Gryffindor."

And with that, McGonagall turned and swept away, taking Snape with her. James allowed himself a small smile as rubies in his House's hourglass toppled into the bottom half. He turned and began to walk swiftly again, preparing the huge onslaught of yelling he would inflict upon Sirius when he got to his dormitory.