A/N: I hated the idea of leaving this for a week or so with a cliffhanger chapter, so here's another update. Quickest update I've ever done! Also, the next chapter might take a while longer to write because I have been neglecting my coursework and now have a mountain of it to plough through. But stay patient, it will be up soon.
Thanks once again to the people who reviewed or added the fic to their favourites/alerts - it makes my day when you're all so nice.
Please bear in mind that the last part of this chapter might not make sense now, but it will eventually.

Usual disclaimers apply.

James bit back a howl of anguish just as the door to the office swung open. Expecting Dumbledore to be standing there, possibly with a Ministry of Magic official, James spun away from the window.

But there was no Ministry official bearing down on the boys, determined to expel them and snap their wands in two. It wasn't even Dumbledore who stood in the doorway. It was Professor McGonagall. Her face was white beneath her black pointed hat, her eyes red-rimmed.

"You two boys must come down to the Great Hall at once. Something has happened which is of great concern to everyone in the wizarding world."

Sirius and James looked at each other with wide eyes, concern and fear etched on their faces, before hurrying out of the room and to the Great Hall. They did not speak. James was not sure he would know what to say in this sort of situation, so nothing was said by the three figures rushing through the empty corridors.

James and Sirius had travelled through empty corridors of Hogwarts before, but never like this. There was a tangible sense of fear and hatred in the air tonight, and the castle was much too quiet. The sooner we get to the Great Hall, the sooner we'll understand, James though to himself, determination and nervousness making him walk faster than usual.

When they got there, the entire school was already seated at their house tables, most of them wearing pyjamas or partial uniform. Confusion reigned, and the noise in the Hall had reached a pitch beyond anything James had ever heard. Dumbledore was standing at the staff table, his bright blue eyes flashing with a terrible fury.

When Professor McGonagall, James and Sirius were seated, he called the Hall to order. Silence fell as the Headmaster glanced around the room to make sure everyone was there. This was it, the final showdown. Dumbledore knew the school as a community must unite and stand strong together, and he had to let the students know also. It was only right that they understood, he had reasoned when he found out what was going on.

"Now for those of you who don't already know, there have been some mysterious events happening in the past few years, mainly concerning Muggles and Muggleborns. Ministry officials were certain this was the work of a Dark wizard, but they could not be certain who it was. Until tonight, only those who are faithful followers of this man knew of his existence. But tonight that wizard has moved into the open. He is calling himself Lord Voldemort, and has steadily been gaining power and followers over the last decade or so. The destruction of Hogsmeade village that we witnessed tonight was his doing. But please, I beg of everyone in this room, do not panic. Do not give him cause to think that we are going to lose control of ourselves, and that he can come in to rule over us. Do not expect matters to be resolved overnight. It will take time, but if we unite as one, and work together, we can overcome him and stop his evil from taking root." Dumbledore announced loudly.

"What if we don't want to overcome him? What if he has the right idea?" one of the Slytherins called. The table at the far end of the hall broke into applause and a storm of cheering. James felt sick to his core, and despised the Slytherins more than he thought was possible. Not only had this Lord Voldemort attacked Muggleborns, but he had set fire to Hogsmeade and killed his friend. Remus. James's eyes swum with tears again as he though about his friend, what a caring person he was in spite of his "furry little problem" and how he would have done anything to protect his friends. His mouth twitched into an almost-smile as he thought about the times they had spent together, when Remus spent most of his time telling the others off or pretending not to notice their behaviour but silently disapproving anyway. Yet somehow through it all, they were still the best of friends.

He looked to his left and saw Sirius, his head bowed, black hair falling into his face and almost hiding the trail of tears making their way onto his robes. He scanned the table and realised that he could not see either Lily or Peter. Concern washed over him. He had lost one friend tonight, he could not lose others.

Vaguely, James wondered why Dumbledore had not mentioned Remus in his speech, and then realised that it would be difficult to explain why a student attending Hogwarts would be in the village of Hogsmeade this late at night.

Dumbledore was speaking again, but James could not hear what was being said. His mind was buzzing, throwing various mental pictures of situations that Lily and Peter could be in. He wondered briefly what had happened to Snape. Was the damage permanent? James shook his head to chase the horrible thought away. He hoped he had done enough to save him and that it wouldn't leave Snape in a bad way. As much as he disliked his rival, he would not want that to happen because it would upset Lily and it was just horrible to wish something like that to happen to someone else. He changed his train of thought before his imagination got out of hand.

Had they managed to get him to St. Mungo's before the fire broke out and became the more pressing matter? James hoped so, and for a moment, he imagined that that was were Lily had also gone. In his mind he saw Lily sitting at Snape's bedside, talking to him about God knows what. But Peter - where was Peter?

And Remus. How would Dumbledore explain this to his parents? To his fellow students, should the school open again in September? James doubted very much that the school would open - parents would want to know why Remus had died and then when they found out what he was, they would not want to send their children to Hogwarts for fear that there may be other werewolves and dangerous creatures roaming the school late at night.

James did not realise that the hall was becoming more and more empty until Sirius grabbed his arm. James glanced up and saw that they were the only ones at the Gryffindor table, half of the Hufflepuffs were gone and the Ravenclaws were almost all gone too. The only group left were the Slytherins, who were crowded round the doors calling out threats to sudents as they left.

"What is it?" James asked dully.

"We have to pack. We're going home first thing in the morning. Parents are getting worried and Dumbledore doesn't want to leave the school unprotected, but he doesn't want to let someone else deal with this maniac either." Sirius said quietly, sitting back down beside his friend.

James gazed at the wooden table, feeling completely numb inside. "He set fire to Hogsmeade. He killed Mooney."

Those words triggered something within James. Before he could stop himself, he was on his feet, scrambling across the table towards the Slytherins. "He killed Mooney, and they want him to control us all! They think he has the right idea, they're backing him, Padfoot! I could kill the whole disgusting lot of them."

Sirius jumped after him and grabbed James by the arm. Sirius tugged, trying in vain to hold his friend back, to stop him being cursed half to death. "No, they aren't worth it! Leave it James!"

This continued for a few minutes. The hall was now completely empty and the Slytherins all saw the tussle between the boys. James struggled with all his might to get at the Slytherins who were by now jeering at him, but he could vaguely tell that Sirius wasn't the only person holding him back anymore. James looked over his shoulder and saw that Hagrid had grabbed him and pinned his arms to his sides. Professor Dumbledore had laid his hand on James's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"Come with me, please. We need to talk some things over. I wish I could have spoken to you before I had to address the school, but it was more important to make you all aware of the danger that lies outside these walls," Dumbledore said quietly.

Dumbledore led James and Sirius past the still-jeering Slytherins, across the Entrance Hall and up a few flights of stairs. They stopped outside a stone gargoyle. Dumbledore gave a password, and the gargoyle sprang to life. They stepped onto stone steps which led up to a solid wooden door, Dumbledore still leading.

Dumbledore pushed the door open, and gestured the two boys to enter ahead of him. They did, and stood awkwardly in front of the large antique desk, gazing around the odd circular room. There were sleeping portraits of all the past Headmasters of Hogwarts on the walls, and a cage which contained a beautiful phoenix with deep red and gold plumage. Dumbledore reached into the cage to stroke the phoenix before speaking to the boys.

"Please, take a seat."

James glanced nervously at Sirius, who was glaring with great distaste at a sleeping portrait. Tearing his eyes away from the offending Headmaster, Sirius frowned in confusion at James and shrugged. They both sat on the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. The Headmaster swept behind the desk and settled himself in his chair. He put his fingers together and looked at the boys over the tops of his long fingers, examining them both.

"I would first of all like to inform you that your friend Remus Lupin is not dead. He managed to escape the Shrieking Shack before the fire burnt it down, and he is currently in St Mungo's on an isolated ward being treated for severe burns." Dumbledore's mouth twitched. "I believe he may have been trying to chase after you as a punishment for getting away from the Shack so easily, Mr Potter."

James was stunned by this news. Barely able to believe what the Headmaster had told them, he raised his tear-stained face to Dumbledore's kindly ancient one. "He's not dead? Mooney's alive?"

Dumbledore chuckled in spite the severity of the situation. "What a choice name for the dear boy. And yes, he is alive. Naturally his parents have been informed as to what has happened, and he is in no state to receive visitors, but he is alive. I daresay you will both be his first visitors when he has reverted to his human form though."

They sighed, glad to hear that their friend would be fine.

"I have more issues I wish to discuss with you, also. The first is Severus Snape. I know that there is a certain level of animosity between you all, but why did you see fit to attack and leave him unconscious in the Shrieking Shack, Mr Black? Especially when you had knowledge of that fact that your friend is a werewolf and uses the Shack in which to have his transformations."

Sirius looked at his knees. "I don't know why I did it Professor. I just wasn't thinking straight. I guess he had been annoying me all day, and it just got too much, that's why I attacked him. I don't know why I just left him though. I'm really sorry."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "You do understand the severity of your actions, don't you Sirius?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, sir. Is Snape okay?"

Dumbledore stood, sweeping across the small circular office to look through the window at the smouldering mess that was Hogsmeade. "Yes, he is fine. He is currently being attended by Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, and she was rather concerned over whether he would make a full recovery. However, it seems that he will and will not need to be admitted to St. Mungo's. But, I must impress upon you the seriousness of your actions, Sirius. I have written to your parents to inform them of this incident, and I have decided that you will not be permitted to play Quidditch for the season should the school open again next year."

Sirius looked up, appalled. "You didn't have to tell my parents, sir. They won't care anyway. They never care about me. Only Regulus." He said the last word like it was a disgusting swear word.

James scowled, knowing full well how his friend was regarded by his family, how the Black family could not wait for the day Sirius came of age and they were finally able to throw him out because he was 'a disgrace to the Black name, a shame upon the family'.

"I have done what I believe to be for the best, and I notice that you do not object to my punishment," Dumbledore said, quietly.

Sirius ducked his head. "I deserve it."

"Indeed you do. Now, I have one more thing I would like to discuss with both of you. I am informed that you both, along with your friend Peter Pettigrew, are unregistered Animagi. Is this true?"

Both boys hung their heads, unable to look the wizened old man in the eye.

"I thought as much. Now, would you care to tell me how and why this decision came about?"

"We couldn't let a friend suffer alone, sir. So we decided to help him. It's not been an easy thing, and I'm really sorry we never told anyone, but we thought that it might get you into trouble if three of your students were found out to be Animagi, and if people found out that you had let a werewolf attend Hogwarts," James explained.

Whatever Dumbledore had expected, it was not that. He was astounded. "You worried about me before yourselves? I cannot ask you to do that. Why worry about me? I am an old man, I have made many mistakes in my life and a few more will do no lasting harm. But you are all such young people with bright lives ahead of yourselves, you should not want to ruin that before it has even truly started."

Unable to take it any longer, James told Dumbledore everything - what various animals the three boys became, what adventures they got up to during the full moon, how they went about it undetected throught the use of James's old Invisibility Cloak, his rivalry with Snape and how it had only been heightened this past year and even told the Headmaster that the four Gryffindor boys (or Marauders, as they called themselves) were planning on drawing up a magical map which showed all the secret passageways out of the school.

"And we're really sorry for all of this, Professor. It's juat that we didn't want to let you down and to get you into trouble with the Ministry," James finished lamely.

Dumbledore nodded. "I can see that you boys were only doing what you thought was right, and although I don't agree with what you have done, I do see that you have done everything you possibly can to help out your friends over the years. For that, I must say that you have both shown great courage and strength of character. Now I have one last thing to ask of you both before I let you go off to bed. Do either of you know where Peter Pettigrew is?"

James shook his head, "I last saw him in the Common Room with Sirius."

"He took off just after James did. I thought Peter was going to try and help him rescue Snape, so I didn't get in the way," Sirius stated.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and sank back into his chair. "You can both go now. Don't forget to pack your things, as the Hogwarts Express will be leaving in the morning."

--

The house was very old, older than any of the people currently occupying it. Everyone was gathered in one room, a room that had once been a grand dining hall but was now cold, dark and empty of anything save for the fireplace. The fire was not lit, and the only light in the room was the few narrow beams which were being emitted from wandtips.

The people all wore long black robes, the hoods drawn up and masks covering their faces. They were grouped loosely in a circle surrounding two figures. A tall figure was striding back and forth in the circle. The smaller figure was cowering on the floor. A hiss ran through the crowd. Lesser wizards and Muggles behaved in such a way, never Death Eaters. This small one was not worthy of knowing their secrets, and the loyal supporters had yet to establish why the almighty Dark Lord would allow such filth into their presence. The tall man stopped pacing and stood looking at the boy before him.

"Couldn't we dispose of him, my Lord?" a woman on the left of all tall man asked.

"No, Bellatrix, we cannot dispose of him. He has many vital secrets yet to tell us, I can tell these things. This one will be useful," the man turned to her, drawing his wand from his robe.

"No, Master! Please! Please, my Lord, don't, anything but that!" the boy cried, throwing his hands over his head in a useless attempt to protect himself.

The tall figure spun back to face the person laying on the floor. His face was a sight, straight from a nightmare of the very worst kind. A face whiter than winter snow, with vivid glittering scarlet eyes, shaped like those of a cat. His face was flat, snake-like, and at that moment it's expression was unreadable.

"But you have failed me," the man answered calmly in his high, emotionless voice.

The owner of the voice lazily ran his fingers across his wand before pointing it at the small nervous boy crouched on the floor.

"Crucio!"

Voldemort laughed, his red eyes ablaze, his pale face contorted into an expression of glee.

Peter Pettigrew's screams mingled with Voldemort's laughter. The chilling sound echoed through the cold room.