A/N: So this is yet another random thought of mine. It'll (hopefully) only last a couple chapters. I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't publish this if I hadn't already written the first couple chapters. Clearly, I have the next update ready and waiting. (It's taken over three months to finish that much as I don't get that much time to really get stuck into it.) All I need is a little interest and I'll upload it straight away. It's my very first Marauder/Harry Potter fic and I have a soft spot for it. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling is the mastermind.

Chapter 1

My Mess Of A Day

I pushed lightly on the door and watched as it swung silently open. I smiled privately to myself at the mysterious aspect of returning Potter's book to a dorm I wasn't supposed to set foot it. Laughing quietly to myself, I stepped inside and scanned the four four-posters. None of then bore names but thankfully, Potter's trunk had his innitials engraved in the leather. My smile grew as I took in the piles of clutter surrounding their respective spaces.

"Boys," I muttered, amused. I cleared a cracked ink bottle and several used quils from his bedside cabinet and replaced them with the course book. With a theatrical flourish, I balanced a small, folded square of parchment on top of it.

I nodded to the moving figures of what must've been his parents and turned to leave. A flash of black and red distracted me and I glanced over at the crumpled covers of the bed farthest from the door. Sitting arranged on the top were several individual photographs. My brow furrowed when I recognised Lilly's firey locks and green eyes. What was a photo of my classmate doing here? My confusion grew as my gaze flickered to the snapshot beside it and I saw myself staring back at me.

"What the..?" I mummbled, picking my way over. I picked them both up and stared at them intensly.

A low growl sent me jumping into the air. I whirled and my hair fanned out around my face like a snowstorm. Standing in the doorway was a huge, looming form. I was dazed for a moment by the sheer monstrous size of the dog until it started forward. Realising my heart was beating double time, I stepped carefully back and to the right. It growled again and it's ears flicked flat against it's skull.

"Easy, easy," I murmered, "How'd you get into the castle, hmm? Dogs aren't allowed." I kept my voice soothing but it seemed to have no effect on the beast as it started slinking after me. I refused to let any panic cloud my thinking but I could distinctly feel the hazy feeling beating on the edges of my mind.

Ever so slowly, I moved again so the corner of James' bed was between it and me yet I still had a clear shot at the door. I counted down in my head.

Three.

Two.

One!

I shot forward and within three paces I was out the dormitory and swinging the wooden door shut as I rounded the corner into the spiral stairs. I could hear the scratching of the dog's claws scrapping against the stone floor as it gave chase.

Because of the sunny weather, everyone was outside so there was no one to help me in the common room. My best hope was to make it out the front doors and across the field to the group of Griffindor students sprawled lazily there. Unfortunately, I had to make it there first. I could've cursed the dog but that thought was instantly banished.

I shoved my way through the portrait of The Fat Lady and sprinted down the corridor, ignoring her shouted insults aimed at my back. I concentrated on not tripping and urged my feet to go faster. I rounded corner after corner. Each time, the scrapping and panting behind me seemed to draw closer. My breath started to burn in my throat and the panic I'd pushed back was fighting for dominance of my mind. I spied a tall pile of stacked chairs sitting outside my charms classroom and without thought flicked my wand at them, causing the whole lot to come tumbling to the ground a second after I passed.

Sunlight spilling across stone swam into view and I nearly cried at the sight. I shot through the front entrace with the force of a bullet and started the last leg of the race to safety. There came a menacing snarl, mere meters from my heels and I whimpered, tears starting to well in the corners of my eyes. By the time I was halfway across the lawn, that moisture overflowed the brims of my eyes and slid down my cheeks.

I scanned the grass for a student I knew would help and spotted Lily and Potter standing along with a few others under the shade of a tree. A sound caught between a laugh of relief and a sob of fear passed out my throat.

Potter spotted me first and his eyes widened when I drew close enough for him to see my distraught expression. He stepped around Lily and Lupin and I nearly knocked him off his feet when I threw myself at him. He barely registered my grabbing his shoulder and spinning myself behind his back. My limbs quaked with full sobs and my exhausted body had to lean heavily on him.

"What is it Mar- Oh," he didn't sound surprised at the sight of the animal, only shocked at the ferocity of it's snarls and black glares, "What happened?" It took me a while to control my terror enough to answer.

"I-I was j-just returni-ing your t-transfiguration book! A-and it appeared a-and started ch-chasing m-me!" I whimpered, my whole body shivering and quaking.

"You hear that?" Potter spoke clearly to the dog, "She was just returning something to me. No need for all the fuss." The dog blew air heavily out it's nose and spun on it's hind legs before setting off at a run toward the Black Forest. I moaned in relief and sagged to the ground, too weary to hold myself up any more.

"Are you alright?" Lily knelt by my side, tucking my wild hair behind my ear so she could see my face. I nodded shakily and closed my eyes for a moment.

"Do you think you need to go to Madame Pomfrey for a calming potion?" I considered Lily's subtle suggestion but declined with a sharp jerk of my head. If I was truly in need of a calming potion, I'd visit her later, when I didn't have an audience.

"Here," I glanced up and found Potter's hand inches from my nose. I took it gratefully and gained my feet.

"T-thanks," I stuttered, eyes securely fixed to the ground.

"Don't mention it," I nodded and started walking up the slight incline to the castle. It was with a dull shock that I realised the entire group had decided to accompany me. I shakily smiled my gratitude at Lily and she seemed to get the message. But my balance was offset and after my third stumble, Lily threaded her arm gently around my waist. Her warmth contrasted starkly with my cold, clammy flesh. At the portrait, I noticed Black's absence from the group and voiced my curiosity.

"Where's Black?" my voice was harsh and trembled and broke repeatitively. Potter exchanged a look with Lily and then with Lupin but didn't answer me.

Lily helped lift me over the rim into the Griffindor common room and led me carefully around the many over-stuffed chairs to a small couch directly in front of the fireplace. The harth was cool and still but I appreciated her intentions.

I dimly heard the portrait creak open again but I was too busy staring at the singed carpet to check who it was. Lily, though, didn't have any problem with looking up. She stiffened beside me and shot to her feet. Her voice amplified to a shout but her actual words were lost to me in my state of shock. Someone said something and her rant was cut off. I felt the couch indent next to me and I was thrown against a wiry, hard shoulder. I said nothing as whoever it was straightened me gently, only stared glassily. Lily shot something in a low voice that I was almost positive held a profanity in the mix before I heard her retreating footsteps.

I couldn't be sure how many minutes slipped by with me sitting and staring but eventually, students started to pour through the portrait hole. Several voices teased and taunted from across the room but I took no notice.

My hair rustled and a warm hand brushed against my neck, "Mary." I jumped at the whisper, head shooting up at the rough timbre that reminded me so much of the dog. Realising it was only Black, I slumped tiredly in my seat.

"Oh, Mary," he sighed. There was a long pause before he asked, "Will you tell me what happened?"

I swallowed, eyes again fixed on a set of three black marks branded into the carpet. If I tilted my head slightly, they lined up to create a pawprint. A violent shiver rocked through me.

"Are you cold?" Black asked carefully. I shook my head. I wasn't cold, just numb. He fell back into silence but after a moment, I broke it.

"There was a dog," I whispered, "Only, he looked more like bear, he was so big."

"How do you know it was a 'he'?" Black prodded gently. I didn't answer him, choosing to continue instead.

"I wanted to pet him," I murmered, voice growing softer and softer, "For a moment I wanted to bury my fingers in his fur," pausing, I tried to calm my jittery nerves when a new train of thought struck me like a bolt of lightning. While he was being semi-civil, I supposed there was no harm in asking.

"Why do you hate me Sirius?" Glancing up at him from under my eyelashes, I caught his look of total shock.

"W-what? Where did that come from?"

I shrugged, "I've always wanted to know. Is it because I'm a mudblood? Lilly told me that your whole family is really into that sort of thing."

"No, it's not because you're a mud- muggleborn," he slid his hand through his hair, pushing the few strands that had fallen into his eyes back.

"It's okay if you do," I said, turning my eyes back to the carpet, "I was just curious." My voice sounded too flat, even to my own ears and I knew that he knew I hated how he had almost slipped and called me a 'mudblood' mere seconds before.

"It's not because you're a muggleborn," he said firmly. I nodded vagely, tuning out again.

"Perhaps one day you'll tell me why," I whispered. He may have responded but I didn't expend the effort to pay attention to his words.

The days excitement and terror had worn on me, dragging me toward exhaustion. I swayed dangerously, leaning toward the floor.

"Whoa there," Black teased as he looped his arms protectively around my waist and shoulders. He got to his feet, dragging me with him. A sudden feeling of weightlessness took over my body and I difted closer to the sea of black, dreamless sleep pressing against my weary mind. Black's parting words were, "That's it Sweetheart, I've got you. Just go to sleep." And I did.

How was that? Now, I know it probably raised a lot of questions but never fear, I fully intend to answer as many questions as I can in the next chapter. If you think of something you'd really like to know, tell me and I'll try to slip the answer in somewhere. As you may have quessed, I'm not a big fan of answering everything in Author's Notes, so bear with me.

Anyway, I hope to return to oodles and oodles of reviews but I'll take what you give me, even critisism. Just as long as it's constructive.

Thanks for reading,

DANCElikeNOBODYisWATCHING