A/N: This is the shortest chapter I've written in YEARS! o_0 But that's okay. I think it's effective at this length. :) If you want more, hey; all you gotta do is ask nicely! :)

I think you'll enjoy this new episode of...

Rise of the Fourth Marauder

Chapter 10 – Balancing on Wandtip

Remus and I then made a floo call to Sirius's bedroom in Godric's Hollow, using the bar's fireplace.

"Hullo!" Sirius's joyful voice exploded through the emerald flames almost immediately. "You have reached the Potter residence. May I take your order, please?"

Remus smiled, but I shushed Sirius. "Quiet, Padfoot – we're in an unsecure location. Would it be alright if Moony and I come over to talk?"

Sirius shrugged. "Well…I just brought over a couple Hispanic girls…" A bit of giggling was audible in the background.

"I'm sure the Potters deeply appreciate that," Remus chuckled. "But, unfortunately, we've got a problem…"

"Is it, er, related to your furry little problem?" he asked.

"It's…more like a furry, furry, furry, furry, furry little problem," I deadpanned.

His eyes widened. "Lots of furries, you mean?"

"Indeed," Remus said, looking more uncomfortable.

"That's…not good. At all. Okay, sure, come on through."

"Thanks! Are the girls…decent?" Remus asked nervously. More giggling from the girls in Sirius's room.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind the company of a couple more Marauders, no matter their state of dress!" he said with a wink. "Hey! Maybe we could get Prongs in here, and we could double…"

"Padfoot."

"Fine, fine, they're dressed," Sirius smirked. The girls giggled again, for no logical reason that I could deduce. "Get your cloaked arses over here, mates!"

"See you in a moment," I said, nodding to Remus to indicate for him to go first.

Once I followed him dizzily through the fireplace and arrived in the rustic, spacious bedroom (which was very decked out in fine crimson linen and lit golden torches), I quickly realized that Sirius had failed to mention that his two female companions for the evening were arrestingly beautiful. The great splendor of Godric's Hallow paled in comparison to their radiant attractiveness. Their eyes, hair, skin…just SHONE!

"H-holy crap!" I gasped. Remus seemed similarly in awe of them. The girls looked a little frightened by me for some reason, and stepped backwards. I looked away, not wanting to dilute the perfection of their beauty with my wandering gaze.

"Hey Wormy! How the hell are you doing, mate?" a shirtless Sirius asked, skipping forward and embracing me in an apparent show of friendship.

"Er…p-pretty good, thanks. But we don't really have time for pleasantries right now, Sirius."

He stood back and tossed his bountiful, wet, silky hair about. "But I feel I need to apologize for doubting you before…and for not contradicting what Prongs said at the party."

"Apology accepted, mate – I was never mad at you, anyway," I said, hoping to cut right to the chase if at all possible.

"Well, feel free to take a seat! Make yourselves at home – I've gotta see these girls out!" Sirius said, beckoning them over. "Hey, Consolata, Lucrecia, my darlings; I'm really, truly sorry that we didn't get a chance to talk more."

"That's alright, Sirius!" the taller one said. "We love just spending time with you! W-would it be okay if-if-if I wrote you?"

"It would be an honour and a privilege, milady," Sirius said, taking a bow. "I am undeserving of your friendship."

"Awww, you're so sweet!" the girl who spoke said, leaping forward and embracing him tightly while Remus, the other girl, and I all looked on with jealousy.

"Er…I'll be thinking of you until we meet again, Sirius." The girl who'd been left out of the hug said anxiously. "I've never felt as valued by a man as I have tonight."

Sirius chuckled and lifted his other arm, inviting the second girl to enter the hug. She did so with a jubilant giggle, while Remus and I gave each other looks of impatience and deep annoyance.

"You're both very precious to me," Sirius said, squeezing them close. "Know that you both will always be welcome in my heart!"

"AWWWW, SIRIUS!" they sang in unison. I looked at my pocketwatch. We only had an hour till the rendezvous.

"Um, Sirius…" I started, softly.

"Just a minute!" he said sharply, squeezing them tight and kissing them both passionately on the lips. "Until we meet again, my angels!"

"Bye…" the first girl breathed, clearly aroused beyond all reason.

"I don't want to go!" the second cried, squeezing him tighter, lifting her leg up to semi-straddle him. "I need you, Sirius!"

"I'm sorry, luv, but you must. I have to save the world, you understand."

"O-okay. Just be careful!" she gasped, drying her tears. "I'll be waiting for you."

"I won't keep you," he said with a kind smile. "Farewell!"

The girls gasped more, sighed more, and finally blew him kisses before leaving through the fireplace.

"Okay, so…I've gotta ask…how did you GET those girls?" I said incredulously. "They're the most beautiful beings I've ever SEEN!"

"Mate; I'm Sirius Black," he said, with an egotistical flip of his hair. "I can't NOT get laid with any girl I want."

"I don't doubt that," Remus said. "But now we've urgently got to talk. Here, read this letter," he said, handing it over to Sirius.

Sirius quickly skimmed it before handing it back. "Werewolves being able to transform at any time is…BAD," he told us needlessly.

"You're a sharp one," I commented.

"So, what are we gonna do about it?" he asked, his features forming a wild grin. "We're going to bust their party, aren't we?"

"You're damn right we are." I grinned back. "Our primary target is Fenrir Greyback, however; Remus suspects that, without him, the others will break rank and start fighting in mindless chaos. Naturally, we'll need to get out of there as soon as possible, since, as you know, werewolves are extremely difficult to take on."

"Too right, they are," Sirius said, running his hands through his hair. "We'll need to make a quick list of spells that are effective on werewolves, and make sure we're all capable of executing them." He looked up to Remus. "So we're just going to all port there together?"

"Yes, but the two of you will be Disillusioned," Remus said, starting to look more upbeat about things. "I think we should be ready to attack as soon as we arrive, just in case it's a trap. Ostensibly, the two of you could maneuver beside Greyback and attack him point-blank, at which point I'll join in the battle."

"What do we know about Greyback's fighting style?" I asked. "Do you remember anything about it from his attack on you, back then?"

Remus winced a little. "I…honestly don't like to think about that…it's…a pretty traumatic event for me."

Sirius patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "It's alright, mate." He looked at the clock on the wall. "Fifty minutes…hmm…it seems that, first, we ought to research his past battles. And Peter, can you jot down all spells you know that may be effective?"

"Certainly."

"Alright – also, obviously, we should have James remain here, just in case something happens to the Portkey and we can't return," Sirius said, stroking his chin.

"Nice! Good thinking!" I said. "It's always good to have a backup escape plan." Sirius and James are both really intelligent, despite their often idiotic antics, and both have a great talent for strategy. James is the best of us at Transfiguration, while Sirius excels at offensive spellwork.

He nodded. "He and I each carry a magazine enchanted with the Protean Charm, which notifies us when the other's in trouble. I can activate it if we need him to come pull us out. I'll just go and make sure he has it on his person."

"Is there a Tracking Charm on your copy, so he knows where you are?" Remus asked to make sure.

"Of course," he said with a smirk.

"Alright," I said, folding my arms and nodding. "I also have a similarly charmed brooch from the Prewitt family, so I can call on them as well, if worst comes to worst. This sounds pretty promising, don't you think, Remus?"

"It does…but I'm not leaving that cave until Greyback meets his end," he said, gritting his teeth.

"We'll make it happen," I said, patting him on the arm. My heart was pounding in trepidation, however. The famed mass murderer was on an entirely different level than the Carrow family and Snape. So many brave, adult witches and wizards had already given their lives trying to do him in.

But that's why we must succeed – so no one else comes to harm!

"No shield surrounds the caster entirely," I said. "So attacking him from all angles is our best bet, if we can pull it off."

"He might apparate away, too, so we need to be quick and precise with our casting," Sirius added.

"Of course," Remus said, sitting on the bed and glowering. "Though there's also a good chance that he and the werewolves will be able to pick up your human scents. The scent of a werewolf is much stronger, though, so I'm hoping that there will be enough of them there so that your scents will get lost in the mix."

"Right-o. Wormy, get started with that list of spells. There's parchment on the desk." Sirius instructed. "Moony, come with me and help me dig around in Greyback's past."

"Right," Remus and I said, getting to work.

Excited to be useful and thrilled to be going on a Marauder mission once again, I rushed over to the desk and started scouring my memories for spells that would affect werewolves.

In a transformed state, the werewolf is resistant to almost all magic, although physical attacks can still scratch or bruise it. In other words – we really don't want to have to fight a transformed Greyback, though there's always a strong chance that he will be already transformed when we arrive. If that's the case, I'll need to let off one of my family spells immediately. Fortunately, animagi forms are typically ignored by werewolves, and are immune to their poison, so Sirius and I can pull that as a backup plan, if needed.

When werewolves are in wizard form, they still retain a bit of their resistances, but are generally vulnerable to anything stronger than an ordinary hex. They also have NO resistance to spells which deal physical damage, which makes such spells and much transfiguration-based offensive spellwork advisable.

So, let's see…

For use against non-transformed werewolves:

Sagittus (Arrow-Shooting Charm)

Foro (Shield Penetration Spell)

Incarcerous

Lacarnum Inflamarae (Flame Burst Charm)

Expulso (Detonation Curse)

Confringo (Blasting Curse)

Diffindo (Severing Charm)

Duro

Auris Siccavita (Ear-shriveling curse)

Verdimillious

Glacius

Petrificus Totalus

Bombarda Maxima

Cutio Infictus (Toxic Infestation Curse)

Deprimo (Gravity Charm)

Any transfiguration spells involving blades or puncturing weaponry

*Pettigrew family spells

There we go. It's kind of disorganized, and of course my handwriting's shite, but I'm certain that each of those spells, when used by a powerful wizard, will damage a werewolf in wizard form. I have no idea how many of these my companions are able to cast, however. I would assume not all of them. At any rate, I'd best go share my report, so we can continue preparing!

I got up eagerly and made for the door, but jumped when it opened unexpectedly, revealing an angry-looking James Potter.

"H-hey, Prongs," I began nervously.

He shut the door behind him and folded his arms. "You're in my home, Peter, but I don't recall inviting you. I'd like to ask you to leave."

My chest tightened. It hurt to see James treating me like this. "Listen, mate, we're going on a mission to…"

"I know about the mission," he growled. "And you don't have the right to call me 'mate.' You're neither my friend nor a Marauder. Now get out."

We stood, staring at one another for a moment before I responded. "No. I need to be here for when they leave."

"Peter, I said I'm aware of it." He said, a threatening tone in his voice. "I'm going to replace you on the mission. I already checked with them. You're the one on rescue duty now." He held out his hand. "Give me the list. They sent me to take it from you before sending you away. No one wants you here."

I turned away, trying to contain my tears. I felt very empty, betrayed, and cold…why am I so weak when it comes to these guys? Why do I care so much that they want to discard me? Am I that untrustworthy?

"I don't believe you," I said hollowly. "They asked me to come with them."

"Everyone knows you're up to something," James said, walking around to speak to my contorted face. "I know you're into Dark magic now; it's obvious that you're hiding all kinds of things from the others." He poked me in the chest, scowling. "You're not even vaguely Peter anymore. I've known Peter Pettigrew for five years…and nothing of him remains in your eyes any longer. How much Dark magic have you delved into for you to change this much?"

"None," I said, chin held high. "I merely decided to better myself, in light of the Dark Lord's coming. We have to be ready for him."

"I said it before, and I'll say it again: you're a weak little shite and a coward. That's all you'll ever be," James growled. "You'd be useless on a mission, and, heh, you've probably even set up this whole thing as a trap. There's no way in hell you're going as part of the attacking force."

"I might be a coward, but I'm not weak," I shouted. "You saw what I did at the Festival! You KNOW I'm the only one of us who stands a chance at bringing down a transformed werewolf. There's no way in hell I'm NOT going, and that's final."

He groaned. "Just give me the god damned list."

"No," I growled, stuffing it in my pocket. "I'll deliver it to them myself. And we'll see if they truly don't want my help, or if you're lying out your arse."

"You're the liar," he said, eyes narrowing. "ARE you even Peter anymore? You're acting like fucking Snivellus these days."

"I don't care what you think," I growled. "But my sole purpose in life now is to defeat the Dark Lord, and I'll do it with or without your help. Whether you want to admit it or not, though, we're on the same side."

"Bullshit!"

"We are. And that's a fact, POTTER. I don't honestly care if we're friends at all anymore, not if this, how you're acting right now, is who you truly are. Either way, it's in your best interest to stay out of my fucking way and let me fight against the Dark Lord myself."

"You think YOU have a chance of defeating him?! How stupid ARE you?"

"Well, it can't hurt to try."

"What the fuck are you talking about? How can it NOT hurt to try? And if you're sloppy enough, you may end up pointing him to the rest of us from your corpse."

"Oh, so you believe me now, that I want to kill him?"

"I don't believe a single fucking thing you say!"

"Then that's your problem, midget-dick!"

James threw his fist at me, but I quickly ducked and charged into his abdomen, knocking him backwards. Unfortunately, he grabbed me as he fell and hurled me backwards, my face smashing into the window. As I dizzily backed away, he grabbed me by my shoulders and slammed my face repeatedly into the glass, the pain screeching through my head.

I coiled up and thrust backwards, knocking the asshole off me, before whirling about, blood streaming down my face, and rushing forward to tackle him to the floor.

"Get off me, fatass!" he snapped, struggling underneath me, but I clubbed my fist down on his face with all my might, producing a satisfying crunch. He screamed in fury, grabbing me across the waist and trying to throw me off, but I was pressing down as hard as I could, rendering myself quite stationary.

"Oi! What's going on here?" Sirius's voice spoke from the door.

"Hey guys, nothing much," I said casually, standing up off my attacker, wincing from the pain in my shredded face. "We were just having a little private discussion, weren't we, Prongs?"

"Fuck you," he replied, standing up and dusting off his expensive coat.

"Er…James, we were wondering if we could count on you to come rescue us if Sirius summons you," Remus said hesitantly.

Aha! So James WAS lying about talking with them. I knew it! OW! Face…in pain…ugh. He must've been listening in to our conversation somehow. So…maybe the reason he was so angry just now was because…he'd been feeling left out?

"…Whatever," he muttered, thrusting his hands in his pockets. "I see how it is." Yeah, that's what's going on. He obviously felt replaced by me. As well as deeply mistrustful of me, evidently.

Sirius spoke up, "Er, Prongs, it makes sense tactically to…"

"No. No, it doesn't. But, yes, I'll come help if you guys get into trouble," he said bitterly. "But Moony, this course of action is so unlike you that I have to wonder whether you've been spending a little too much around Pettigrew recently…"

Remus looked a little surprised. "James, this was solely my idea. I have to do this; if only so I can sleep on a clean conscience – if there's any way at all to curtail the spread of this awful new potion, then…"

"I agree wholeheartedly with THAT sentiment, mate," James said, folding his arms and looking at him seriously. "But you're making this solely about revenge rather than taking a more measured approach, by, like, turning this over to the Ministry or Dumbledore or something…"

Remus laughed shortly. "James, the Ministry would have my head on a platter if we went to them! Does the phrase 'unregistered werewolf' ring a bell? This is all the proof they'd ever need to throw me in Azkaban, since I've been incognito all this time. And don't talk out your arse – you've never been a proponent of the measured approach, in any situation!"

James tapped his forehead. "I may usually prefer charging in and taking care of business, but you have to admit that this plan is suicidal, at best. Why not just go to Dumbledore and just enjoy the rest of the holidays in safety?"

"I could never sit by and let someone else do the dirty work," Remus growled. "This is my race, my mortal enemy. MY problem. If it was you, you know you'd feel the same."

"You're right," James said with a frown after a moment. "I probably would. But you wouldn't. Are you sure Peter hasn't…"

"Oi, give it a rest, James!" Sirius snapped. "If we can't trust Peter, who the hell CAN we trust? We can't afford to be this paranoid with our closest longtime friends."

I laughed nervously at the irony inherent in THAT statement, given the betrayal I'd dealt them all in the future.

"Speaking of which, Padfoot; we're going to have to have a talk about just who you're allowed to bring into our home while you're staying here," James added, looking at me for a moment before returning his gaze to Sirius. "Those girls you brought in could have been anyone under Polyjuice, you know."

"Oh, I tested 'em," Sirius said with a wink. "And they were DEFINITELY women."

"That's not what I…oh, whatever. I hope you guys know what you're doing," he allowed. He started to walk away before turning to me again and muttering, "Sorry about the window thing. I got a little carried away, I guess."

I slid my hands about my blood-leaking face, removing any glass shards that I could find. "Don't worry about it. But try to think on what I said – we ARE on the same…"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear another word of your lies, Pettigrew," James growled. "You'd better not do anything to bring harm to my friends."

"You have my word that I'd never do something like that."

He stared at me discerningly for a moment before shrugging and turning to go out the door. "What good is the word of a rat?" he said as a parting shot.

After he left, Remus turned to me and gulped. "Sorry for abandoning you up here, Peter – did he start it?"

I nodded. "Naturally." I handed my now-severely-crumpled list of spells to Remus. "Here, check these out. I need to go get my face healed."

"That makes sense. You look horrible."

"I appreciate that."

"No problem. So, do you want to hear the results of our research?"

"In a bit – I'm pretty sure my nose is barely staying on my face at the moment," I said, chuckling as the blood seeped between my lips. "I'll meet you back here as soon as I can."

"You're not going to St. Mungo's, are you? That could take a while," Sirius asked.

"Nah, my mom's a mediwitch, she can help."

With precisely two minutes remaining before Greyback's scheduled rendezvous, I flooed back to Sirius's bedroom with a freshly healed, relatively painless face. I still felt slightly shaken and bitter by my encounter with James, though. Why was he being so stubborn about me? He must have mentally labeled me as an enemy now, so he regards me as something like Snape.

Whatever. No time to think about that now, as distressing as it is. I've got werewolves to slay!

"I'm back!" I announced with a smile. Both were sitting on the bed, looking tense.

"Nice. Just in time," Sirius grinned back to me. "Ready to kick arse?"

"I am indeed. Are the two of you fluent in most of the spells on that list I gave you?"

"Eh, we can use a handful of them, each," Sirius replied, scratching the back of his head.

"We practiced some of them while you were gone, and generally warmed up," Remus explained. "Not strenuously, though. Our magic is blistering at the moment, primed for release." He grinned wickedly, a sight rarely seen on Remus. "They won't know what hit them!"

"Agreed," I said. "Time to use the Disillusionment Charm then, is it?"

"Indeed." Remus said. "Allow me." He murmured the incantation and tapped me on the head with his wand, the familiar runny-egg feeling coating my body.

"Very nicely done!" Sirius complimented as Remus strode over to do the same to him. "He looks well and truly invisible!"

"Speaking of which, did you check with James to see if he'd lend us his Cloak, by any chance?" I wondered.

"Nah, he's still really bitchy," Sirius replied as he slowly disappeared. "He'd most likely refuse just because he's not coming, as a way to get back at us."

"Sounds about right," I muttered. "He really needs to clean up his attitude if he wants Lily to ever fancy him."

"Well, he'd never act like this to her, naturally," Remus said. "But she's not stupid – she knows how much of an arse he is to most everyone else, so you're right, of course – he needs to clean up his behavior a bit." He shook his head. "Why does he even like her, anyway? Sure, she's gorgeous, but she's never shown him anything but utter hatred!"

"I'm fairly certain that's a large part of her appeal. But focus now, boys," Sirius declared. "Let's go over the plan once more, just so we're fully prepared and ready to strike."

"Aye, Captain Padfoot!" Remus and I said, saluting his Disillusioned self.

"At ease. Now; when we use the Portkey, I'll be standing on Moony's left, with Wormy on Moony's right. While Wormy and I attempt to slip away from Moony unnoticed, Moony will proceed to act as though he's attending the meeting as a loyal supporter of Greyback. As soon as we're both in position to get a clean shot, Peter and I will nail Greyback with the most powerful spell in our arsenal – excluding Peter's Family Curses for now, due to the meeting likely taking place in either a cave or a building, for fear of causing a cave-in. Remus will immediately join in, and, with us attacking from three differing angles, the motherfucker should be hit fairly easily."

"Sir!" Remus and I shouted.

"Our analysis of Greyback's past conquests indicates that he relies on brute strength over magic quite often, so it's very likely that we'll have little trouble bringing him down with powerful curses. At this point, chaos will ensue, and we'll likely be prime targets for attack. If this is indeed the case, Peter and I will enter our Animagi forms, while Remus casts primarily defensive spells and escapes from the mob as well as he can. We will not activate the Portkey until all three of us are reunited, no matter what. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Now," Sirius said, "Be aware that there are a number of variables at play here. In order to make the most of this attack, we must be ready to alter our strategy as the situation demands. Greyback may already be in his werewolf form, at which point Peter will use his one of his Family Spells to subdue him. Greyback may not even be present at first, or ever! Remember that we can always rely on Moony's natural defenses, as well as Peter's sheer power and my aerial mobility. I'm bringing my trusty Nimbus 1001 shrunken in my pocket, you see."

"No, we don't see, you're Disillusioned, Sir!"

"Yes, well…Lads, we must be as the Borneon Sky Serpent and be one with the wind, shifting with the tides of the air as needed, constantly at alert and ready to subdue all who challenge us."

"Sir!"

"Are you ready, Marauders?!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"Then let's do this!" Sirius screamed.

"MARAUDERS, HO!" we roared in unison.

The three of us stood together, thoroughly pumped. Using a gloved hand, Remus produced the Portkey from his robe: a bronze-dipped oak leaf.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Sirius said decisively.

This was it – once I said yes, there was no backing out. But I owe it to Remus, and I must deal out justice…sorry, Molly. I have no choice. I have to muster my anger and do this.

"Yes. I'm ready." I said, raising my hand near the leaf.

Remus looked around with a steely gaze. "Then…three…two…one…GO!"

We all clutched the leaf as one, the familiarly navel-sucking sensation carrying us somewhere distant…

After an unusually long time in transit, the three of us landed somewhere quite dark. The floor was certainly made of stone, though.

"You came after all," a slow, unrecognizable male voice issued nearby – was it Greyback, perhaps? Regardless, his words didn't sound too promising for our continued survival.

My eyes adjusted enough for me to realize that we were in a large, domed room, lit only by a weak blue light…one that continually shimmered, as though the source of the light was in some body of water. Was this an underwater structure of some sort? The building looked quite ancient and rustic, whatever it was. The architecture seemed somewhat Grecian to my eyes, though I'm certainly no expert.

"I did, indeed," Remus continued. "I'm here to reunite with my kin."

Surprisingly, his words were met with snickers from all around us. I only then realized that everyone other than us was draped in cloaks of black, their faces hidden. Could it be?

I peered at the speaker, finally spotting his silver mask. Death Eaters. It's a fucking trap. We are DEAD. No, no, we're not. We can get out of this…somehow.

Mind racing, I leaned in to the others. "Trap. Use the Portkey," I murmured, hopefully just loud enough for Sirius and Remus to hear. Remus paled, visibly panicking. Unfortunately, it turned out that the room had an echo, and even I heard my soft words repeated on end. This brought more laughs, of course.

"Unfortunately for you lot, and, yes, I am well aware that there's more than one of you," the massive Death Eater in front of us said, "I'm afraid you'll find your Portkey quite useless now. I deactivated its return function as soon as you arrived. And don't bother apparating away, as this place has been securely warded by the Dark Lord himself. You are now our…guests. Surrender your wands and no harm will come to you…for now." Yet more hysterical cackles arose.

I felt Sirius pull me in to a huddle in front of Remus. "I'm taking the skies, you take the floor," he whispered in my ear, clearly realizing that our original plan would no longer work.

"Roger."

As I prepared the Pettigrew Earthrending Curse, I saw Sirius's broomstick get unshrunk in midair.

"You are hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded. I'm afraid that engaging us would be laughably unwise. But, then, wisdom was never a Gryffindor's strong point, was it?" A familiar male voice said from beside us, but I couldn't place his identity. "Very well, then -"

"CRUCIO!" a mighty chorus of Death Eaters screamed, and at least 35 beams of bright red surged towards us from all corners of the room, illuminating the chamber in demonic light. Sirius's broom ascended immediately, an Expulso at the ready.

"Terra Erumpant!" I bellowed, releasing all my pent up magic and aiming the behemoth spines of earth to rip all throughout the broad circle.

Remus attempted to lay down some shields, but they succumbed to the flood of Cruciatus Curses fairly easily. We both screamed in unhinged, incomprehensible pain, but I forced myself and my friend up, just in time to see some blood finish raining down from my Earthrending Curse. I had apparently nailed a few of them!

"Glacio! Duro! Confringo!" I heard Sirius cast forcefully, raining a variety of spells down on the enemy. Most were blocked or dodged, but at least he was distracting them.

An influx of violet and crimson spells speared toward Remus and I again from the Death Eaters as we ducked, rolled to the floor, and returned fire with a Deprimo and a Confringo, respectively.

A Death Eater stepped forward and launched a jet of blisteringly hot liquid at us, which I only barely sprang out of the way for – it badly scalded my right arm.

"HOLY FUCK!" I heard Sirius cry, as he ducked and weaved to escape three ghastly green heads that were following his every move, in addition to other spells being casted at him. "Lacarnum Inflamarae!" he cast desperately.

"Know any spells that might help us out?" I grimaced to Remus, stopping shielding for a moment to cast three Verdimillious in a row at distracted Death Eaters, two of which hit. Another torrent of burning water surged towards us, which I hurriedly blocked by raising a wall of stone.

"I just might. Lapis Laterous!" he said, beseeching the stone bricks in the walls of the room to fly about and destroy anyone they could. Roughly fifty blocks began zipping about, catching many of our enemies unawares and cracking them in their skulls or crotches. "We really need to ESCAPE, not fight, though."

"Agreed, let's…" I abruptly stopped talking when two Death Eaters broke rank and sprinted forth, casting spells at an impossible speed. They must have been under a Charm of some kind. At any rate, I could only block so much with my thick shields before they were shattered, leaving me completely open to take an Ear-Shriveling Curse, a Cruciatus, a Chimera Charm, and several others before Remus stepped in with an assault of his own.

I screamed in pain, liquid spewing out from all over my body from the abuse. "DIE! Expulso!" I shrieked, smacking those two with the most powerful Detonation Curse I'd ever unleashed, sending their speed-juiced bodies flying across the room, smacking into the wall.

"Look out!" Sirius screamed, and Remus and I dodged and rolled and instinct before a pulsing beam of seemingly pure magical energy burst from an enormous Death Eater, which was powerful enough to melt whatever stone blocks were still flying throughout the air. Fortunately, Sirius turned him to stone before he could direct it to melt one of us.

There were still countless Death Eaters remaining, and they were PISSED now, casting a multitude of nonverbal Dark spells.

"Okay blokes, we HAVE to leave, now," Sirius said, his broom returning to the floor and redirecting as many spells as he could. "Use another Earthrend, Wormy, then get on board and I'll blast our way-"

One of the ghostly heads still in pursuit nailed Sirius from behind, knocking him forwards to the ground and sending him into twitching shock, his eyes rolling back in his head, foam spewing from his mouth, and his skin immediately turning purple and crusty.

"No! Sirius!" Remus cried in concern as I unleashed my second Earthrending Curse, my body convulsing with damaged exhaustion as blood bubbled from my eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters were much more on their toes this time and leapt forth, countering me immediately with such a surging influx of painful Dark spells that my consciousness soon gave way to the empty blackness of defeat.

A/N: Yay! XD Death! Destruction! Girls! All the best things in life, gathered in one chapter! ;)

Okay, hopefully you were okay with the fact that the Marauders put up something of a fight. If not, I'm sorry, but I just thought it'd be a huge disappointment not to have them at least fight back a little. :) You can chalk it up to the fact that the Death Eaters either expected a quick surrender or an easy kill. And also consider the fact that Sirius is both invisible and a beast on a broom, that Peter's a prodigy, and that Remus has a werewolf's stamina and resistances (coupled with his own excellence in spellwork). I like the way it turned out, anyway. As if that means anything, lol.

Regardless...it just so happens that I would like to hear what you thought of this chapter. Strange, isn't it? What do you think of the Marauders' characterizations? Any questions/input about the way I'm handling Peter?

I do hope you'll continue tuning in! Don't miss next week's episode of Rise of the Fourth Marauder! We're gonna get DARK here for a bit, ladies and gentlemen! No more humor for the next three chapters or so...(evil grin)

P.S. I hope it's updated next week, but I was using that phrase metaphorically. ;) I'll attempt to hold myself to it, nonetheless! Especially if I get some encouraging reviews. :)