Chapter 1
"Come on Prongs!" Sirius called to his best friend.
They were attempting to escape the aftermath of their latest prank. With the help of Remus' intellect, they had managed to turn the Slytherin Common Room pink, with banners hung from the ceiling that read, 'Gryffindor Rules'. Their current predicament took the form of a fiery Professor McGonagall chasing them through the corridors. It was only the second week of the new school year, yet the group of pranksters, known as 'The Marauders' had somehow managed to land themselves in three detentions. Apparently, their professors did not find their pranks as amusing as the teens did.
Reaching the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room, the troublemakers yelled the password at the portrait of the fat lady. With practised speed, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter dashed up the stairs to their dorm and pretended to have been doing their homework. As if the Transfiguration professor wouldn't know who was responsible for the chaos in the Slytherin Common Room.
Just as Peter sat down at his desk with his prepared Charms essay in hand, the door swung open to reveal their enraged Head of House. "What have you done this time, Potter?" she asked, clearly maddening with every second.
"What are you talking about, Professor?" James asked innocently. "We've been here studying the whole time."
Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes and huffed. "A likely story, Potter, I'm sure. If I find any proof that you and your hooligans are responsible, you will have detention from now until Christmas." With that, she turned and swept out of the dorm, leaving the four friends clutching their sides with laughter.
As their snickering petered out, Sirius reached into his robes, pulling an object out, and said, "Hey guys, you'll never guess what I found in the snakes' Common Room."
Spotting the sparkling gold chain in Sirius' hand, Remus asked, "Is that a time turner, Padfoot?"
Smiling wickedly, Sirius replied, "Why yes, Moony, yes it is. I thought we could hop a few days into the future and wreak some havoc. Then we've got a perfect alibi."
"Merlin, Padfoot. Isn't it enough to cause trouble in your own time? You have to go to others as well?" Remus sighed exasperatedly.
"Oh come on, ol' Moony. Loosen up a bit. We're in our prime here", James told him. "We're allowed to have a bit of fun now and then. Plus, since no one will notice we're gone, we can go to Hogsmeade and get some of that Honeydukes chocolate you're addicted to."
Won over by the promise of chocolate and knowing they would go anyway, he agreed. "Alright, but only to keep you knuckleheads in line."
James smiled knowingly. He knew Remus was excited by the idea of time travel as well, even if he wouldn't admit it. All we have to do now is work out how to use it. Then the magic can begin, he thought.
"Alright," Sirius said, "Let's go. Prongs, get the cloak, Wormtail, the map." As they went to get the objects, Sirius began fiddling with the hourglass on the end of the long gold chain.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Remus asked worriedly. He thought they definitely shouldn't touch it until they had at least looked at a book from the library. This could end badly enough as it was without rushing into it.
"It'll be fine, you mother hen. Stop worrying." Sirius placed the chain around the mischief makers and twisted the little knob on the side of the hourglass. "What do you say, 2 days?" At the nods from his friends, he set it to what he assumed was days and twisted it twice. At first, it seemed like nothing had happened. Sirius almost took the chain off, thinking it broken, when all of a sudden, their surroundings mixed together. When the world around them came to a stop, they looked around. At first, they and no idea where they were, but then Sirius realised where they were.
"Why are we at Grimmauld's Place?" he asked. He hadn't been there since he ran away during the summer. He couldn't stand his mother's pureblood antics any longer and had left.
Knowing how hard it was for his friend to be back at his old home which held so many bad memories, James placed a gentle hand on Sirius' arm. Their eyes met, and James gave a reassuring smile.