Author's Notes: I forgot to mention in previous notes: To Colie88, thank you very much for reading, and yes, they are in sixth-year.

Again, I'm really sorry I haven't updated recently. I've been really busy. I would absolutely love it if you could review.

Pain. That was all James could feel. His head felt as if someone was pounding it with a sledgehammer, his right arm felt like thousands of tiny needles were stabbing him, and he felt like he might vomit at any moment. Moaning, he rolled over and nearly fell off the tiny bed.

There were sharp inhalations of breath from around him and he could hear someone rushing forward.

"Hey, Prongs."

The voice was familiar. For a second, James fought to remember who it was.

"Are you awake?"

Sirius.

Right. James blearily forced his eyes open and squinted at the blurred shape beside him. He groped on the small table beside him for his glasses. A clumsy hand reached past him and grabbed them, then ungracefully shoved them on his face. James let out a croak of thanks, then struggled to sit up. The grinning faces of three boys swam into view. James stared at them, head pounding so badly he could barely even think. They looked very familiar...

"Madam Pomfrey!" a different voice called. This one was slightly higher and sounded rather worried. James' forehead wrinkled as he waded through his sluggish memories and struggled to remember the owner of the voice. A rather plump face floated to the surface of his memories. Paul? No…

"Yes, Mister Pettigrew?"

Peter. James gazed blearily around. A slightly plump woman with a heavily lined face was measuring out what looked like Skelegrow. James groaned slightly at the thought.

"Are you okay, Prongs? Does something hurt?"

I just fell off my broomstick, he thought sourly, though his lips couldn't move quite yet. Of course something hurts.

James shook his head as Madam Pomfrey attempted to spoon a bit of the foul tasting liquid into his mouth.

"Mister Potter," she sounded annoyed. "I know it isn't exactly pleasant, but I'm afraid you must take it."

James sighed, the sound seeming to rip painfully at his throat, and allowed her to administer the potion. He nearly retched at the taste and only made it through by making rude faces at Sirius, who made obscene gestures at him behind Madam Pomfrey's back.

"Is J-Potter awake?"

James would know that voice anywhere. He turned his head eagerly to see Lily pushing past Remus and Sirius to gaze down at him, a girl – Mary? - standing unobtrusively a few feet behind her. Lily looked slightly embarrassed; there was a tinge of pink in her cheeks. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and straightened slightly.

"Potter," she said rather formally. She seemed to realise how cold she sounded and flushed slightly. "James. I- er… I just wanted to thank you for saving Marlene," she said, face slowly turning the approximate colour of a tomato. Her face brightened somewhat and she gestured at the bed behind her. "She's alright and I think she's awake. Just… thanks, James."

James could have sung. True, Lily looked awkward and rather embarrassed, but she was calling him James. He smiled weakly and Lily smiled in return.

"Yeah, thank you!" Mary piped up, beaming. She attempted to hug James, was shooed off by Madam Pomfrey, and ran off to sit next to Marlene. Lily managed a smile, though it didn't quite reach her tired eyes. She waved and walked off to sit next to Mary. James watched her go rather wistfully.

"That was really impressive," a mild voice said from the corner. James turned his head to see Remus sitting in a chair, smiling at him. James grinned back, though the movement seemed to hurt his face. His sluggish memories seemed to be returning. "Everyone thinks you're a hero."

"Though I'll have to take points off for breaking your arm," Sirius butted in. He stroked his imaginary goatee thoughtfully. "And for bashing your head on a window sill. Very clumsy heroism, Prongs," Sirius shook his head sadly. James threw a pillow at him in return. Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat as Sirius raised the pillow threateningly.

"I'm afraid you'll have to leave your hero for the night," she said, flicking her wand. All the lights dimmed. James had to squint to even see Peter, who hovered next to his bed, absentmindedly straightening the pillows.

Ten minutes of protesting later, James' three friends trooped from the Hospital Wing, looking disheartened. Lily and Mary had left minutes before, Lily shooting one last grateful look at James. James smiled at the thought.

Sirius mimed throwing a cloak over himself and winked. James nodded with a grin as Peter gave him an encouraging nod before leaving, making a show of sighing and looking back sadly. Madam Pomfrey, looking quite satisfied, gave James one last potion and bustled off to her office.

James laid back, head throbbing dully. He could hear Marlene growling bad-temperedly and muttering curses from beside him and didn't envy Madam Pomfrey in the morning. James yawned tiredly. He could hear the faint scratches of a quill from Madam Pomfrey's office. The sound was soothing and quiet.

James closed his eyes, promising himself it would only be for a second.

A minute later, he was fast asleep.

Lily and Mary hurried back to the common room, Mary stifling an occasional yawn. Lily didn't feel the least bit tired – in contrast, her limbs seemed to burn with energy. She half skipped to the safety of her dormitory, Mary panting behind her.

She spoke the password to the portrait and pushed inside, bouncing slightly.

"I am going to sleep," Mary announced with dignity, scowling as Lily ran around the common room and walking up the steps that led to the girls' dormitory. Lily sighed and half-heartedly followed her, dragging her feet with each step. Every few seconds, she glanced longingly at the portrait hole.

The moment she entered the room, she knew something was wrong. Muffled sobs were issuing from behind Clarice's bed. Lily instinctually drew her wand and crept forward.

"Clarice," she called. "Are you okay?"

There was a pause in the sniffling. Clarice blew her nose loudly but remained silent. Lily stood frozen, debating whether or not to yank aside the curtains and ask what was wrong or to just ignore it and go to bed. Friendship – or at least as close as it got with Clarice - won out.

Gripping her wand firmly in case Clarice attacked, Lily pushed the bed curtains out of the way. Clarice paused in her sobbing to glare at Lily with red rimmed eyes. She was curled up and hugging her pillow, an ever growing pile of handkerchiefs littering her bed.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked tentatively. For a moment, Lily thought Clarice would leap at her and attempt to claw her eyes out. She certainly looked angry enough.

"No!" Clarice howled suddenly. She balled up one of the handkerchiefs and threw it at Lily, but she dodged it easily and sat down next to Clarice. The girl eyed her nastily for a moment before letting out a miserable wail. Mary poked her head out from her bed to peer at them questioningly. Lily just shrugged.

"I hate you, I hate you!" Clarice whined, hugging her pillow more securely. Lily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"And why would that be?" she inquired. Clarice pouted like a child for a minute.

"You stupid – stupid brat!" she said, actually shaking her fist at Lily. "They wouldn't let me in to see James! I'm practically his girlfriend!" she stressed the word, eyeing Lily as though the other might suddenly break down. When she didn't, Clarice continued. "They let you in! You!"

Lily closed her eyes and sighed, wondering what would happen if she strangled Clarice with her own bed curtains. "Clarice, I was only there because Marlene was hurt. You know – my best friend?"

Clarice pouted again, looking sulky. "Well, I still hate you," she said, shoving Lily off her bed. She scowled down at her childishly and yanked her curtains back together. Lily hit the floor with a yelp.

"Well, I don't think I'll try to help you again," Lily muttered, rubbing her back and retreating to her bed. She fluffed her pillows and straightened the blankets obsessively until a thrown book from Mary prompted her to dive into her bed for safety.

She scowled at the blanket covered lump before lying back down. She stared at the ceiling and punched her pillow into shape.

"With friends like you…"

"…Who needs enemies," James muttered, hungrily gazing back in the direction of the kitchen as his friends dragged him along, laughing.

"Come on, Prongs!" Sirius hissed, halting abruptly and looking around the corner for any signs of Mrs. Norris or Filch. Satisfied, he darted forward, dragging the other three with him. "It's the perfect time! With you supposedly in the Hospital Wing, no one will suspect us!"

"Right," came Remus' muffled voice. With difficulty, he extracted his face from the wall. "Of course no one will suspect the blatantly Marauder prank. I mean, everyone in the school frequently pranks Slytherins."

"Are you in this or not?" Sirius hissed, whirling around and sending Peter colliding into the wall. There was a look James didn't quite recognise in his aristocratically handsome face. It was a sharp, fierce look. It was the look he had worn when he had told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow. "This – is – perfect."

"We'll help you," Remus said resignedly, sighing and looking as though he were already mentally calculating how many detentions they would receive. Sirius looked satisfied. He looked around, checking one last time for Filch or Mrs. Norris. Then he hurried forward to the damp stone wall.

"Salazar," he hissed at the wall. The concealed door slid open with a soft whisper. Sirius grinned, and with one last gesture to the rest of the Marauders, they entered the Slytherin common room.

Severus Snape woke up slowly. He yawned and sat up, shivering slightly and wincing when his feet touched the icy stone ground. He hopped the entire way to the bathroom, attempting to avoid contact with the cold and slightly damp stone.

A few minutes later, he exited, hair shining even more greasily than before. He scowled at his snoring housemates, kicked a Firewhiskey bottle from his path, and walked into the common room. A pretty seventh-year girl nodded a greeting at him, concentrating on charming a quill to dance across her palm. A pair of students were playing chess in the corner, and some Gobstone playing second-years shrieked loudly as a jet of murky green liquid narrowly missed them. Snape ignored them all, a small scowl wrinkling his forehead.

He settled in one of the high-backed chairs near the fireplace and pulled his homework towards him. For a few minutes he worked in silence, focusing only on his Potions homework. A hulking figure sat down next to him and he glanced up to see Mulciber grinning at him, though there was no trace of humor in his brutish features.

"Yes?" Snape said coldly, raising an eyebrow. He had perfected the look of icy disdain over the years, but Mulciber looked utterly unaffected. He smiled even more widely, exposing teeth that seemed sharper than average.

"Lucius Malfoy is going to be in Hogsmeade next visit," Mulciber said. "If you're still interested-"

"-I am," interrupted Snape. Mulciber continued.

"-it would be in your best interests to come," he said, standing. He continued to smile down at Snape, who did not like the fact that Mulciber was quite a bit taller than him. "Yaxley might be coming as well. He's one of the senior member-"

"Shh!" Snape snarled, looking around. The only person who seemed interested in them was Libera Gravis. Her grey eyes gleamed and she smiled coldly at the two of them in a way that was not at all pleasant. Mulciber began to draw his wand, but Snape stopped him. "You can't hex her in the middle of the common room," he said. "Wait."

Mulciber gave him a nasty look and yanked his wand away from Snape, who eyed him coldly, his hand inches from his own wand. Mulciber gave him one last sneer and backed off, retreating through the door in the wall. Snape returned to his essay.

Seconds later there was a horrendous shriek. Snape was on his feet in seconds, wand gripped firmly in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Gobstones playing second-years starting to turn, eyes wide. Libera crouched near her chair, wand aimed steadily at the door. There was another ear-splitting scream and Mulciber stumbled back through the door, clawing at himself.

For a moment, Snape could do nothing but gape.

There seemed nothing different about him, nothing wrong. But Mulciber continued to howl, ripping at his hair and clothes, stomping the floor. Snape took a step towards him, wand still gripped cautiously. Mulciber toppled, eyes rolling in pure terror.

"GET OFF!" he screamed. Snape frowned and very cautiously knelt next to him. Libera advanced carefully, eyes narrowed. A slender figure descended down the stairs from the boys' dormitory and peered about the common room, grey eyes gleaming with curiosity. Snape had to fight down the instinctive surge of pure hatred at the sight of him, though it was no fault of the boy's. Regulus Black took a step forward, eyeing Mulciber.

"What's happening?" he had to shout to be heard over Mulciber, who ripped at his clothes in a frenzy.

"I don't know!" Snape shouted back. "He went outside and-"

Regulus frowned, then walked forward, wand gripped tightly in his hand. Libera easily fell into step beside him.

"I'm coming," the seven-year said instantly. Regulus scowled, but nodded. The two walked forward carefully. Regulus poked his head around the door, looking around the corridor.

"I don't see-" he began. He never finished the sentence. He reeled backwards, letting out an unearthly scream. He retreated backwards, quivering furiously. "No… NO! No, no, no! Stay away, stay away…" he said piteously, throwing himself to the floor. Beside him, Libera was thrashing around on the ground, howling and swatting at the air around her as though it were filled with flying insects. All three of them clawed wildly at themselves, each other, and the ground, screaming all the while. Snape stood frozen, his head throbbing painfully as the screams echoed around the room. The second-years were huddled in the corner, wailing loudly and adding to the din.

"What's going on here?"

The shout was furious and Snape turned to see McGonagall stride across the room in a swirl of tartan. Her eyes were narrowed and angry, and her lips were the thinnest of lines.

"Professor!" he shouted, forcibly swallowing his pride. "You need to help them – there's something wrong with them!"

The professor's eyes widened, but she hurried to the side of Libera and Regulus. She examined them for a minute, ignoring their screams. After a moment, she pulled her wand from her pocket and tapped Libera once, whispering several words. The girl instantly stilled, laying on her side and gasping for breath, eyes still wide with fear. She repeated the process with Regulus, who was thrashing around so badly she could barely even touch him. She murmured a spell, then hurried to Mulciber.

Snape, against his better judgment, sat next to Regulus, who was lying still on the floor, blood oozing from his mouth. He had bit his tongue. Snape sighed lazily and waved his wand. The blood vanished in a flash of light, but Regulus still showed no signs of wanting to move.

Mulciber was still wailing, but not out of fear anymore. Snape glanced at Professor McGonagall, and for the first time, he could understand why many were terrified of her. Her face could have been carved of stone for all it moved. Every line of her face was taut with fury and she was pale and obviously enraged.

"Potter," he heard her snarl under her breath. Snape's eyes widened, then narrowed angrily. She strode from the room, and for the first and likely the last time in his life, Snape found himself almost feeling sorry for the Marauders.

Almost.

Author's Notes: Again, it's a bit short but I realised how long it had been since I had updated and wrote it in a rush, so I'm sorry if there are any typos. If you see any, please tell me! It would be great if you could review and tell me what you thought of it.

Thanks for reading!