Yay, two chappies in one day!

Second to last chapter! It's a nice long one, and I worked very hard on it. Please let me know if you like it. Also, I'm thinking about doing a sequel. Three sequels, in fact. One for third year, fifth year and seventh year. But I'll only do it if I think enough people would want to read it, so if you want sequels, REVIEW AND TELL ME!

"RRRAAAUUUGH!"

"AAAAAIIIIIII!"

James and Sirius ninja-rolled behind a statue as spells flashed over their shoulders. James fell awkwardly on top of Sirius and knocked the wind out of him.

"Mmmrrrhhh, gerrof!"

Another set of curses hit the stone beside them, making it crack and flake. Sirius stuck his wand out from behind the old lady's hump and yelled 'Impedimentia!'

Severus Snape dodged the hex and instead threw a fallen brick at Sirius's head. Sirius ducked just in time and retaliated with a facial-inflation spell. Snape fell backwards, his nose puffing up like a balloon.

"Where's Remus when you need him?" James grumbled and tried to do a Bat-Bogey hex on Lucius Malfoy.

Malfoy did a complicated wand movement and James felt as though somebody had electrocuted him. He called out and doubled over. Sirius swore and pulled him back behind the rock.

"Damn, James, talk to me..."

Remus and Peter, it turns out, were having troubles of their own. They were being chased by one Bellatrix Lestrange.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" she laughed maniacally, whipping her wand from side to side. Remus blocked spell after spell as Peter ducked behind his back to shelter from the barrage.

"Pettigrew! Help me!" Remus admonished.

"La lalala la laaaaaaaa..." Bellatrix tittered as she danced about.

Peter shivered and pointed his wand at Bellatrix behind Lupin's back.

"Stupefy!" he cried.

The spell missed by a hair, punching a neat hole in Lestrange's robes. Bellatrix looked at the rip in her robes and grinned at Peter like a rabid honey-badger.

"Ooooh, baby Peter's out to play, is he?"

"I'm not a baby!" said Peter, not sounding very brave.

"Then show her, Pete." Remus hissed at him, trying to egg his friend on. It seemed to work. Peter fired off a few more spells and pushed Remus a little closer to Lestrange.

The two opposing teams circled each other in the corridor, spells exploding like fireworks. It was like a dangerous, deadly dance. One wrong step and they were finished. Bellatrix renewed her attack, forcing them into a wall. Remus groaned as a particularly strong blocked spell sent a jolt up his arm. He couldn't hold out much longer.

Out of desperation he and Peter ducked behind a suit of armor. A few curses hit the wall next to them. Remus panted heavily and pressed the back of his head into the wall. He felt a sting on his arm and knew he was hurt. He looked at Peter and saw that he wasn't much better.

He opened his eyes and looked at the suit of armor in front of him.

"Help me!" he called out to it, feeling a little delerious.

He heard Bellatrix laugh. "Getting weak, are we?" she purred, coming into point-blank range. She pointed her wand at Remus's chest.

To Remus's surprise, the suit of armor took a step towards Bellatrix.

Bellatrix looked at it.

It looked at her.

Wham.

Lestrange fell to the ground, having just been hit on the head by the hilt of a sword.

Remus just stared.

Their knight in shining armor motioned for them to run.

Remus was very happy to comply. He took Peter by the wrist and dragged him to the staircases.

"Wait, what about James and Sirius?" Peter asked him as they ran.

"They can take care of themselves." Remus quipped.

It turns out, James and Sirius couldn't take care of themselves.

"James... James... JAMES!"

James, who had apparently been electrocuted by Malfoy, was curled on the floor in a fetal position. Sirius cursed and punched the stone statue next to him. He winced when it hurt.

"Incendio!" He cried, aiming and Lucius. Luck was with him, for though Malfoy doged the spell, his long mane of pristine golden hair caught a few of the sparks. Sirius spared a few seconds to feel satisfied at the way Malfoy was dancing about frantically.

"Aaaugh! My hair, my beautiful hair!"

Having sucessfully Aquamenti'd his hair, Lucius sent a particularly nasty curse right at Sirius. It hit the wall behind him and the bricks exploded, showering him with dust and debris.

Not much time now... Sirius said to himself as Severus Snape tried to hex him and he blocked it, Got to get out of here... But all the exits are blocked... Damn...

"Hnnn..." He groaned, pressing his head into the rock. "I need to get out of here."

He opened his eyes and noticed words carved into the back of the statue, so small he almost missed them.

The message said, Descendio.

Descendio, eh? Worth a shot. Sirius said to himself. He pointed his wand at the old lady's hump and whispered 'Descendio'.

There was a grinding noise and a hole opened up.

Hehe... Ten points to me...

Checking to make sure Snape and Malfoy weren't looking, he dragged James through the hole and it sealed up neatly behind them.

"Stupe-" Snape yelled, stopping in mid-spell when he realized his targets had disappeared.

"What the heck happened?" asked Malfoy, "They just vanished!"

"What is all this racket?"

Professor McGonagall strode, hawklike, down the corridor to them and surveyed the train wreck that had once been the Charms corridor.

"My office! Now!"

Sirius sat tight in the hidden passage. He waited until the footsteps, and McGonagall's shouting, had faded to silence before he chanced a glance into the disheveled hallway. It was empty. He pulled his invalid friend out of the tunnel and shook him.

"James... Wake up..."

James moaned and twitched a little, not waking up. Sirius cursed again and heaved James onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You owe me for this, pal." He mumbled and began the long process of carrying James to the hospital wing.

Sirius was surpised to find Remus and Peter already there.

"Lestrange get you?" He asked Remus.

"Yeah. Reductor Curse to the wall, some shrapnel hit my arm. How'd you fare?"

"Oh, just dandy. Set fire to Malfoy's hair, gave Snape an even odder shape for a nose and discovered a hidden passage."

"Good day's work?"

"You bet."

James, turns out, wouldn't be awake any time soon. So Sirius, Remus and Peter (who, by the way, had an impressive black eye) went up to the dinner alone.

It was a full moon that night. Remus said he was going to spend the night in the hospital wing, making sure the Slytherins didn't try and kill James in his sleep. Sirius and Peter, who knew Remus's real reason for sneaking out, let him go scot-free.

And so, it was just Sirius and Peter in the Common Room that night.

"I hope Remmy's all right." Peter sighed, curling like a cat in an arm chair.

Sirius hummed distractedly as he stared at the fireplace.

"I wonder what it's like being a werewolf." Peter went on, "Do you think it hurts?"

"I've heard it does." replied Sirius, still not looking at Peter.

"Geez, I feel so sorry for him. Do you think we could help him?"

Sirius snorted. "How? There's no cure for it, you know that."

"I know..." Peter sighed.

Sirius watched the flames dance.

"Is there any way we could be there with him?" Peter asked, "You know, keep him company and stuff."

Sirius didn't answer right away.

"I don't know." he finally said, "I don't think so. But it's something to think about, you know. Maybe there's a spell that'll keep us safe."

"Maybe."

They didn't talk much more. They went to bed that night feeling rather empty with the two vacant beds in the room.

The next morning after breakfast, Sirius and Peter went to visit comatose James. They had a good deal of fun drawing a mustache on his face when Madame Pomfrey wasn't looking. They waited there for a long while, half expecting Remus to show up for his usual post-moon checkup. He didn't arrive on time.

"Remus should've been here an hour ago." Peter remarked.

"I know. I hope he's all right." Sirius lamented as he shuffled the deck of playing cards and redelt for another game of war.

Another two hours passed and Sirius was getting seriously (no pun intended) worried.

"He's never been this late before." he grumbled, shoving the chessboard towards Peter. The pieces on it swayed dangerously and shook their tiny fists at him.

"He'll turn up." Peter tried to reassure him.

"I'm going to find him!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping up and storming out the door. Peter, tittering anxiously, followed him like a well-trained puppy. Madame Pomfrey, who had been trying to get rid of them for an hour, sighed inwardly and set to work scrubbing the mustache off James's face.

"Peter! Go get the invisibility cloak from James's trunk and meet me by the Great Hall." He ordered as he stormed down the corridor.

"Yes, Sirius." replied Peter obediently and he rushed off.

Sirius raced as fast as he could to the Headmaster's tower, praying he would be able to figure out the password. However, luck was with him today. He found the Headmaster sweeping gracefully down the stairs on the third floor.

"Dumbledore!" Sirius practically jumped on him.

"Yes, Mister Black?" asked Dumbledore serenely.

"Remus!" Sirius cried out, "Where's Remus?"

Dumbledore hesitated for the slightest second.

"Mister Lupin has his own business to attend to. He will be back shortly." He replied smoothly and attempted to continue sweeping gracefully down the stairs. Sirius blocked him.

"No!" he stamped his foot childishly. Dumbledore gave him a look. Sirius compsed himself and tried again.

"I mean, where is Remus?" he asked.

Dumbledore looked at him with those strange blue eyes and got the point.

"He has not returned yet?" he asked.

"No. He should've been here two hours ago." Sirius fretted.

Dumbledore sighed.

"Sirius Black, you are full of surprises." he sighed, "Very well. Go to the base of the Whomping Willow. You should find him soon enough."

"Thanks!" Sirius said quickly and started to run off.

"Mister Black." Dumbledore said and Sirius stopped.

"Yes?"

"If you and your friends ever attempt to approach Mister Lupin during his transformations, then I shall be forced to expell you. Is that clear?"

Sirius stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please refrain from using incendiary curses when dueling. Mister Malfoy is beside himself."

Sirius had to stop himself from laughing. "Yes, sir. I will."

At the time, he meant what he said sincerely. However, times change. People change. Situations change. And some things cannot be stopped by mere fear of expulsion.

*Time Skip*

Sirius and Peter trudged through the three feet of snow under the invisibilty cloak, wiping their tracks as they went. They stopped at the Whomping Willow and stared at it. Remus was nowhere in sight.

"Stupid Dumbly old coot." Sirius mumbled bitterly, "He's not here!"

Peter sat down in the snow and took out a jam jar. He pointed his wand into the top and conjured a gentle flame. He closed the top and set it beside him.

"Come on, Sirius. Let's wait."

Sirius crossed his arms and continued griping about wrinkly old men with beards who lied.

Deep in the hole, Remus was having a rough time of it.

It had been a violent transformation. He wasn't hurt too deeply, but somehow he was covered in blood that wasn't his own, and the wolf had ripped all his robes to shreds. Remus had spent several hours frantically searching through the Shack for what he had killed, feeling sick to his stomach. He was relieved when he found a few freshly dead rats stored neatly underneath the bed.

That was too close. For a minute he had thought...

No. He didn't think that. He didn't ever want to think that.

Wearing only a pair of scuffed boxers and shivering uncontrollably, he shuffled down the tunnel feeling like a miserable monster which, in a way, he was.

Hours late, he peered out of the Whomping Willow's roots and saw nobody. He pressed the knot and walked out of the tree, hoping to God that nobody was watching.

"REMUS!"

Sirius burst out from under the invisibility cloak and rugby-tackled Remus into the snow.

"Wha... What the..."

Peter had the cloak wrapped around his shoulders for warmth. This, unfortunately, gave the appearance of his head floating in mid-air. Remus coughed a little.

"Geez, do you always look like this after a full moon?" Sirius pulled Remus up and dusted the snow off him, "You look ghastly. Aren't you cold? Here, take my cloak."

Remus gulped and sputtered like a fish out of water and just stood there as Sirius took off his outer robes and draped them over Remus's shoulders. Peter set to work wiping the blood off Remus's front with a wet hankercheif.

Sirius sighed. "You're pale as death." He took Remus's hands and started rubbing them briskly, trying to warm him up.

Remus stopped even trying to talk. He just stood there and accepted their help. He couldn't bring himself to believe this was happening. They had figured out he was a werewolf? Why hadn't they pushed him off the Astronomy Tower already?

Peter took the cloak and flung it over the three of them.

"Wait, Peter, you run up to the Hospital Wing and alert Madame Pomfrey. I'll come along with Remus."

Peter nodded and squeezed carefully from under the cloak and bounced through the snow to the castle.

Sirius had taken Peter's hankercheif and was wiping the blood off Remus's face. Remus stared up at him with a look that could only be described as wonder. Sirius smiled sadly at him and rubbed a bit of grime off his cheek.

"Good Lord, aren't you cold? You're cold, right?" Sirius asked, taking Remus by the shoulders.

Remus felt himself nod.

Sirius pulled his friend up next to him and hugged him close. Remus shivered heavily, then sighed, still watching Sirius. Sirius looked at him back and felt something weird shift in his stomach. He felt as though there was an invisible force, pulling his face closer to Remus's, until...

It took Sirius a moment to realize what he had just done. His eyes widened and started to stutter.

"I... Ah... Uhhh..."

Remus's head was buzzing. He reached up and lightly touched his fingers to his mouth, where Sirius had kissed him. He looked back at Sirius, trying to read the expression on his face. Sirius took a shaky breath and spoke.

"You know I care about you, right?"

Remus didn't know what to think, say or do. So, he just stayed where he was, and realized he was comforted by the whole affair. He nodded his response, snuggled closer to Sirius and shivered again.

Maybe they were both too young to truly realize the magnitude of what had just happened. But it had happened, and it had felt right, so neither of them did anything about it. In the end, they never really talked about that moment, there wasn't really a need to. So, they walked back up to the castle with nobody the wiser.

James, it turns out, was wide awake when they arrived.

"Where the hell were you?" James grumbled, his arms crossed. "I woke up here alone, then Peter came in and hardly payed any attention to me at all. You'd better have a good excuse!"

Sirius ignored him and pushed Remus onto a bed.

"Stay!" he ordered. Remus didn't try to move.

"Hey! You're not paying attention to me!" James whined as Sirius strode right past him.

"Shut up, you great prat." Sirius snapped, "I've got things to do."

James looked very affronted, crossed his arms again and harrumphed.

"They're here!" Peter appeared with Madame Pomfrey. She was carrying various potions and bandages in her arms. Peter was stumbling along, holding a slew of blankets.

"Oh, so Remus comes in here all bloody and flustered and everybody pays attention to him while I sit here alone and ignored. I mean come on people, I'm a freakin' medical marvel after what that Malfoy did to me. People should be bowing to me in the streets." James mumbled quietly. Nobody cared.

Yup. Things were back to normal.

Okay, so that was my first kissing scene... well, ever. Constructive criticism welcome, but please be supportive!