It's the multi-chapter story I've been promising for ages! I'd been entertaining this idea for a while, and I finally got around to writing it. It's a lot different to what I'd normally write, so please tell me what you think!

And this will probably contain slash (boyxboy). You have been warned!

Blearily reaching out to get his glasses, James registered dimly that he was the only one awake – the conspicuous lack of noise was unnerving. He slid the glasses onto his nose, raising an eyebrow as he observed the sleeping forms of his fellow marauders. This was very odd – unless there was Quidditch, he generally was the last to rise.

"Is this a trick?" he asked out loud after a while of considering the prone forms of his friends. "Is this a prank and you're all going to jump out on me?" Silence. This was very strange indeed.

James shrugged – he could work this to his advantage. This could be fun; he could think of it as payback for all the undignified ways he had been woken in the past.

A small noise came from Remus's bed as he stirred. James pouted – why did his fun always have to be ruined? It really wasn't fair.

"…You're up?" Remus managed, still half-asleep. It seemed being in that state didn't keep the marauder from being able to register the oddity of James being awake before anyone else.

James grinned. "Shocking, isn't it? Not quite sure why you were so late in getting up."

"Peter's not here," Remus explained, gesturing towards the empty bed. "He went to visit his mum, remember? Pads and I are usually woken up by him tripping over his shoes each morning to go to the toilet. Why he doesn't put them where he won't trip over them, I have no idea."

"So I'm just a really deep sleeper?" James confirmed. "And if Wormtail's not here, this is the order we'd wake?" At Remus's nod, he cried dramatically, "My life is a lie!"

"Why's your life a lie?" Sirius asked, finally awake. Spotting James, his mouth dropped open in shock. "Why – and how – are you up?"

Remus groaned. "We've already been over this." His eyes drifted to the clock on his bedside table. "…And we're late for breakfast. Or at least going to be if we don't hurry up."

Five minutes later, the three of them were hurrying down the corridor outside the Common Room, buttoning up their ropes, tying their ties ands raking their hands through their hair in an effort to try and make it stay flat – in short, they were a mess.

Upon entering the Great Hall, the three rushed towards their table – breakfast (and lunch and dinner) was one of the only occasions they would hate to miss. Missing a class was fine (unless you were Remus, but the others had agreed that he was just odd). Missing a meal was torture – all were agreed on that.

Once they were seated and had eaten three pieces of toast apiece, they changed their eating speed to a slower pace, allowing them to talk – although with the marauders, 'talking' generally meant 'planning pranks that were sure to happen that day'.

"Or we could do something with the salt shakers," Sirius suggested after a while, glancing up and down the table to find a shaker of the stuff to experiment on. Eventually he spied one sitting innocently by James's left elbow. "Pass us that salt, Prongs."

James looked up, glanced at the salt, then turned back to his food. "Get it yourself, Pads."

Sirius rolled his eyes and drew out his wand. "Accio salt shaker by James Potter's left elbow!" It was always good to be specific with that spell – Sirius knew that from personal experience. He didn't want all the salt in the Great Hall to just dump itself on his head. Though that would be a great prank…

Strangely, nothing happened. Sirius tried again. "Accio salt shaker by James Potter's left elbow!" Again, nothing. Why wasn't it working? "Accio Albus Dumbledore!" Not even the slightest tug. Maybe he should try another spell. "Diffindo! Stupefy! Wingardium Leviosa! Lumos! Nox! Engorgio!" Needless to say, none of them worked.

Annoyed, the marauder turned to the other two, who hadn't really been paying attention to him. "Can either of you two do magic?" he asked them in an undertone.

They both gave him odd looks, turned to each other, then seemed to signal with their expressions 'he's finally lost it'. After a while (in Sirius's opinion at least; in truth it was only a few seconds), Remus decided to humour him and drew out his own wand.

Pointing it at Sirius's robes (somehow he'd managed to spill egg on them – Remus wasn't quite sure how, as there wasn't even any egg on the table), he muttered, "Tergeo." His eyed widened when nothing happened, then he said quietly to James, "You have a go."

James – quite worried by now, but determined to prove that he could do simple spells – took out his own wand. "Expelliarmus!" Not even a tug on any of the other's wands.

"We can't so magic," Remus concluded pensively. "Either someone is pulling a very huge trick on us, or our magic has deserted us, and we've basically become Squibs." The other two turned quite pale at the thought.

"Dumbledore needs to know," Sirius decided, climbing to his feet and getting apprehensive looks from the others.

"But the whole of Hogwarts doesn't," Remus hissed, gesturing helplessly around the rest of the Great Hall.

"You worry too much, Moony," Sirius told him. "For all you know, everyone's magic has gone." By now he was standing on the bench and attracting many odd looks. Grinning at his friend's face – which was decidedly not reassured – he yelled at the top of his voice (which was an extremely loud sound), "YOOHOO! PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!"

The esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts smiled back at him serenely. "Yes, Mr Black? Is there something bothering you?"

"OUR MAGIC IS GONE!" Sirius shouted back, despite the silent hall of students listening to their conversation.

"Your magic is gone?" Dumbledore confirmed, a more serious tone in his voice.

"YES!" Sirius shouted back, gesturing erratically.

"There really is no need to shout, Mr Black," Dumbledore told him, then he addressed the silent hall. "However, this is worrying. Could everyone – teachers included – attempt to levitate their glass?"

Everyone tried. Everyone failed.

All of the teachers had distinctly worried expressions on their faces by now, as did many of the students – especially Slytherins, who were probably horrified at the thought of being equal to Squibs and Muggles.

"This is definitely not a prank?" Dumbledore asked the whole Hall the questions, but everyone could tell it was directed towards the marauders.

"We wouldn't know how," Remus replied, mostly to prevent Sirius from shouting again. The rest of the Hall seemed to agree with the statement, showing that they wouldn't have know either. Even the Slytherins seemed sincere.

Dumbledore nodded, his face extremely worried. "Then it seems we are all without magic."

Sirius slipped off the bench and landed on the floor with a bump.

A figure rose from the end of the Gryffindor table, and all heads turned towards it. Remus recognized Marlene McKinnon, and briefly wondered why she had risen. On a closer inspection he realised that her eyes were strangely lifeless and her mouth was oddly slack. She grinned – happily? Hungrily – and her teeth were extremely sharp; like little pointed daggers that glistened and shone in the candlelight.

Lily Evans, sitting next to her, had the sense to move away slowly. On Marlene's other side, Frank Longbottom had not been so perceptive. Marlene lunged – Frank leapt back – her teeth connected with his shoulder – he pushed her off –

Her teeth clamped onto his arm and bit, hard. Small trickles of blood started to run down past Frank's elbow, and there was silence. Everyone was frozen, staring at Frank with apprehension.

His skin turned pale slowly, but his eyes glazed over almost immediately – the colour was bleached out of them, until only the whites and the pupils were left.

The whole Hall seemed to gasp and back away as one. Someone gasped out, "Zombie! There's an Infection!"

Pandemonium broke out.

The two Infected – formerly Marlene and Frank – lunged towards those nearest to them. Sirius was hauled to his feet by someone, he wasn't sure who, and the Gryffindors were fleeing towards the other tables. Those nearest to the doors were scrabbling at them, elbowing each other out the way in determination to escape, and get away from the ever-increasing amount of Infected.

The teachers were in the middle of the Hall, trying to regain order and failing miserably. A shriek caused the marauders to look back from the door – somehow they'd managed to stay together. McGonagall had been bitten, and few seconds later so had Slughorn, and oh god oh god oh god –

So had Dumbledore.

It seemed like this was the last straw. All strength that had been held back was being used, and the doors were flung open.

Everyone was rushing for the doors, Infected and those still human alike. Somehow the marauders had managed to become separated, and none knew where the others were, or if they were even still in their own mind.

But a quick glance around showed that only half of Hogwarts was still human.

Fun fact – this is one of the longest chapters I have ever written. Express your appreciation in a review!

Really, though, a review would be great!

The next chapter will be up in a week.

beeabeeon49 xx