There was a loud 'thud' as Sirius dropped another arm-full of firewood to the grass. The school grounds were darkening, as the sun had almost completely dissapeared, and all colors had merged into a blur of twilight-grey.

"This is outrageous- my back will be sore for days!" he complained, as soon as Hagrid's large sillhouette dissapeared into the small hut.

"Oh lighten up Padfoot, this isn't nearly as bad as some of McGonagalls detentions!" Remus offered, dumping his load onto the designated spot as well. "Like remember last week, when she made us scrape all of the gum off the desks, without magic?"

"Or that time, when we had to collect all of the leaves from the Quidditch field!" Added James, after the 'thud' of his logs.

"Or when she forced us to clean out Slughorn's potions closet!" Contributed Peter, though not quite as loudly as his friends.

The four Marauders were currently serving one of eight evening-detentions, their punishment for charming the tables in the Great Hall to stick to the ceiling. It had been an ingenious prank, as Sirius had rightly commented, by as usual it didn't amuse the teachers. Well, perhaps Dumbledore had liked it- he had even offered them his congratulations on "such intricate wand-work."

James Potter, the star of the Quidditch team, the apple of most girls' eyes, picked up a large rock and threw it into the Forbidden Forest. He was standing closer to it than the other Marauders, and had even thought about trying to explore it- but the utter darkness which lay inside had put him off. He wore black jeans and a baggy red T-shirt, as it was after classes. His already messy hair was made more so by the light wind, which howled through the school grounds, disturbing the Whomping Willow; which shivered violently. Sharp, blue eyes could be seen from behind James's round glasses as he cast a long glance over the horizon.

Sirius Black, charming as always, was wearing worn blue jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt which showed his muscles spectacularly. His jet-black, elegant hair few playfully into his eyes, which were a rare silvery grey. He stared angrily at the large pile of fire-wood, as if justlooking at it would move it from one place to another. He kicked a gnarled root with his boot in frustration- this was long, hard, tiring work, and to add to it all their wands had been taken by McGonagall for the night! He sighed, aware of how handsome this made him look- with his strong jaw, high cheek-bones, and general good looks, he was always the center of any girl's attention. With maybe the exception of McGonagall. Or not, who knows?

Remus Lupin, though looking rather pale and worn out, was actually feeling pretty good- the full moon was only a few days away, and with it came heightened senses, strength and agility, speed, and in-human reflexes. Even thought he would never say so, the logs he was carrying seemed weightless, and his muscles felt no strain at all- his friends weren't aware of this, as Remus had refrained from telling them. He didn't know why, but what good would it do anyway? He was wearing black jeans and an over-sized grey sweater, even thought the cold had little effect on him- in fact, he was feeling uncomfortably hot, despite the cold night air and sharp wind. His wispy, sand-colored hair almost completely covered his eyes, which were a strange, deep shade of amber. Scars criss-crossed his face, scars which not many people bothered to look past.

Peter Pettigrew shivered against the biting wind, hugging himself tightly. He wore baggy jeans, an orange jacket, and a scarf bearing Gryffindor colors; this wasn't a very attractive ensemble, but he didn't really mind. All of the girls went for either James or Sirius, and he had learnt to live with it. He shuffled over to the shrinking pile of logs, which had been at least twice as big when the boys had started. It was tedious work, and to do it without magic was incredibly frustrating; Peter sniffed, and began to feel worried- what if he caught a cold out here? His short, dirty-blonde hair whipped furiously around, never quite reaching his face. He had a slightly up-turned nose and a splash of freckles, whose numbers had decreased steadily as he got older. Peter shivered again, and picked up yet another three or four logs.

"At this rate, we'll be done by morning!" Sirius exclaimed with mock-enthusiasm.

Remus rolled his eyes, walking over to the pile yet again.

"We'll be done faster if you'd just stop complaining!" He said, grinning.

"But Moony..." Sirius whined, sounding like a five year old deprived of ice-cream. "I need to-"

"Shhh!" Remus cut him off. The sandy-haired boy looked around, looking like a dog that had just picked up a scent.

"Don't 'shush' me, you-"

"Shush!"

The other boys stopped what they were doing now- Remus was never rude, and that was a fact.

"What is it Rem?" James inquired, walking up to his friend.

"I think I-"

"Well done, cub, I hadn't expected it from you..."

All four Marauders turned quicker than lighting towards the sound of this new voice, which had come from...

No, Sirius thought, it can't be...

A shadowed figure walked out of the Forbidden Forest, heading towards the four startled boys.

Remus's eyes widened- surely this wasn't... no, it wasn't possible. But as the stranger came closer, the werewolf's suspicions were confirmed, and he let out a low, feral growl. His three friends glanced at him sideways, unaware that their pet book-worm was capable of any form of intimidation. And yet, at the sight of Remus they felt slightly uneasy- his shoulders had risen, and his hands balled into fists; he looked genuinely frightening.

"What do you want, Mason?" he growled, his voice dangerously low.

"Alpha wants to see you, cub, tomorrow night. In the forest." The man answered. He was tall and muscular, and many scars covered his smirking face.

Just like Remus... James thought. An idea occured to him- was this... Mason another werewolf?

"I hold no more ties to the pack, he has no right to demand this." Remus spat venomously, still glaring at the older man.

"He said you would say that," Maons smiled, "and to tell you that if you don't come, a little birdie will 'accidentaly' tweet about your... little secret. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Remus went pale, though the fear only showed in his eyes. He remained on guard, looking like he was about to pounce onto the much larger man.

When Remus said nothing, Mason smirked and continued-

"No, I didn't think so. Alpha says you can bring the One-Souls, as long as they aren't armed," he added, almost lazily, gesturing to a confused James and Sirius, and a cowering Peter.

At that, the man bowed his head down, greatly surprising three of the Marauders. Remus, however, returned the gesture, and both werewolves stood like this for a few seconds; before Mason ran back into the dark forest, faster than James, Sirius, or Peter had ever seen anybody run.

For a few minutes the four boys stood in silence. Finally, James started-

"Remus, who was tha-" but this was as far as he got, for Remus sprinted off towards the castle faster than Mason had, leaving James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew with their mouthes hanging open.