A/N Ok, here's the second year of the Marauders! For the newcomers to the story, the first year is written under the title of Werewolves Aren't All Bad. So – hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or the other characters, they belong to JK Rowling. Of course.

"Come on, they're probably already there!" Remus exclaimed, pulling his trunk to the fireplace.

"Hold on, you're bleeding again," said Mrs. Lupin, grabbing her son's shoulder.

"No I'm not," Remus insisted, wiping away the trickle of blood from his cheek. "Come on, Mum, I told them I'd meet them there this morning!"

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Mrs. Lupin asked anxiously, feeling overly protective of her son the day after a full moon. He husband put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lucia, I'm sure he'll be fine," he said calmly. "He's been looking forward to this. Just let him go."

Remus gave his father a grateful look. The older man handed him the Floo Powder, and Remus tossed a pinch into the fire and stepped into it with his trunk.

"Diagon Alley!" he shouted, and instantly felt himself start to spin. Remembering the time he had smashed his elbow on somebody's fireplace, he kept his arms close to his body. Just as the spinning started to make him feel sick, he fell out onto the floor in The Leaky Cauldron. Somebody grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Hey, where've you been?" asked Sirius, grinning as he stood beside James.

"Mum was fussing," Remus replied, straightening his glasses. "You know, what with last night and all."

"Well, come on," James said, gesturing to the door. "We've got some nothing to do for a couple hours, then they're having a back-to-school party of sorts. A dance or something. Should be fun."

"A what?" Remus asked, alarmed at the prospect.

"Come on, mate, you know you had the girls on you after you saved little Becky last year," Sirius laughed.

"I say we get to the broom shop as quick as possible," James suggested, already heading towards it. "My parents gave me leave to buy the best of the bunch this year, and I plan to take advantage of that offer."

I could use a new one as well, Remus thought, knowing full well that he couldn't afford one. He thought of his old Flash 130 sitting by his trunk and sighed.

"What?" Sirius asked as they entered Flinch Quidditch Supplies.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Remus answered, turning to examine the Comet series. The three of them admired the brooms for a while before James went to what was unmistakably the best. The Lightning 44, newest broom in stock. Remus couldn't believe that James was being allowed to buy it, especially after he heard the price.

"Are you getting anything, Sirius?" James asked, after taking his broom back from the cashier.

"Not at the moment," Sirius replied, eyeing the Lightning with envy. "You'd better let me have a ride on that broom when we get to Hogwarts, though."

They put the broom in the room they were renting before going anywhere else. James wasn't about to take a chance with it.

"Well, we've still got an hour and a half until the party," James said, checking his watch. "You lot got anything you want to do?"

"Find trouble," Sirius suggested. "It's been a boring summer."

"Good idea," James answered with a grin. "Where do you propose we start?"

"Well, I did have one idea," Sirius told them with a glint in his eye.

"Now, you do realize that if we get caught, our parents will never trust us alone again?" Remus whispered nervously.

"So don't get us caught!" Sirius replied casually as they walked along the streets. "It's not like there's any way our parent could find out about it unless one of us blabs."

"There it is." James pointed to the sign, and Remus read it anxiously: Knockturn Alley.

The three of them walked out of the crowd into the dark and dirty streets without being stopped. "Awesome," Sirius whispered, walking through the street boldly. "I wouldn't've been allowed in here ever, the way things were going before I left. Mum would've been afraid that I'd turn people in."

"Want to see what's in the shops?" James asked, already turning the handle on the door of a run-down building with no sign. Remus entered behind his friends, still a bit fearful, but starting to feel the thrill of going where he wasn't supposed to be. The store seemed to be empty of people, but there was no shortage of interesting items. Remus turned around slowly, taking in the scene. Suddenly, somebody leapt out of the wall towards him, and he jumped backwards.

"What!" Sirius asked when Remus ran into him. Taking a closer look, Remus realized that there was a mirror on the wall, and his face turned hot. The mirror wasn't an ordinary mirror, however; it took his image and gave it a life of its own. Remus watched himself in the mirror, and saw that his reflection was threatening him and making rude gestures. Turning away, the boy looked at some of the other items in the room.

"What's this?" James asked, picking up a harmless-looking silver pen. Then, he yelped and tried to throw it down. "It's biting me!" he exclaimed, struggling to shake it off. The pen seemed to be attached to his finger. "Come on, some help!"

Sirius grabbed James' hand and hit the pen so that it flew across the room and hit the floor, now with something attached to it that Remus discovered to be James' skin. The boy's finger was bleeding some, but he wrapped it up and insisted it was nothing before resuming his exploration.

CRACK!

Remus yelled and ducked as something whizzed past him, taking a piece out of his ear. He grabbed the injured ear and looked around to see Sirius standing with a guilty face next to a long tube. "Sorry," Sirius said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Get out!"

Remus spun around. A short, bony man had emerged from a back room and was now shouting at them at the top of his lungs.

"Out! Out! This is not the place for little boys! Get lost!"

The man pulled out his wand, and the three boys jumped up and ran for the door with spells exploding behind them. Once they were safely outside, Sirius and James resumed a carefree air.

"Is it just me, or does everything here have to do with pain and suffering?" Remus asked as they passed a shop selling books on torture.

"It's Knockturn Alley, what exactly did you expect?" Sirius responded, eyeing a group of people that were watching them from the shadows. "I would suggest that we cross the street just now, though."

They crossed the street, followed by the people that had been watching them. The boys increased their step, and the group behind them did the same.

"I'd say we run about now," James advised.

"Agreed. Diagon Alley is that way." Sirius pointed to a small street ahead and to their right. "Go!"

They ran as fast as possible, with a group of people just behind them. Sirius tripped, rolled, and jumped back up without missing a beat. They burst out into Diagon Alley out of breath and filthy. Looking at each other, the three boys started to laugh.

"Well then," Sirius said.

"Yeah," James replied, looking at his finger. They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron without another word.

A/N And so ends the first chapter of my new story. Hope ya like it! Back-to-school party will be up whenever my internet will let me get back onto fanfiction. Please review!