Here you go! Not so bright and early on a Tuesday morning, because I don't have to wake up at six until next Monday. Ah, Spring Break...

Anyway, this is for you guys to enjoy and praise. No flames please. Chapter is dedicated to... powerkitty. I loved you awesomely long review, and would have loved to have both Harry and Hermione as dragon animagi. However, J K Rowling said that Animagi are never magical creatures. So I made Harry a panther. I used ladywatertiger's suggestion of a name, as you will see. Thank you to every one who reviewed and gave me some awesome names. Poll went to a Falcon named Talon. I'm sorry, but the ones I got in reviews were much better than the ones I came up with.

WARNING: The beginning of the chapter is really light and happy. HOWEVER the last part will get a little bit darker and the next chapter will get progressively darker. I blame this on my playlist. My writing reflects three things: my grades, my moods, and my music. If I make a B, my chapter will be depressed and angry. Thankfully, I only make A's in school. (To Mrs. B= I swear, I was ready to strangle you when you told me my bio grade. 99.3 is the worst grade an IB student can get. You couldn't have given me .2 more points? It was your fault Harry and Hermione fought in past chapters.) My moods are more subjective, and if you listened to my playlist for the second half of the chapter I will be willing to bet you'll cry. (Save Him by Justin Nozuka)

Hope you enjoy and can forgive for the rambling AN. Chocolate is a wonderful substance...

Warily, Harry nodded. "Yeah. It is a panther with green eyes, and my scar. Can the blindfold come off now?" He hated not being able to see anything...

The blindfold was taken off, and Harry blinked rapidly as Remus smiled. "Great! Then we don't need to teach you. If we release you from the chair, will you show us quickly?"

Harry nodded again, rubbing his arms to get his circulation back. "Stand back. I'm a bit larger than your average dog." Sirius snorted a laugh, but stepped back. His laugh was cut off when he saw the beast in front of him.

"Bloody hell!" Where the man had been standing was a large black cat. Slinky and graceful, the green eyes with the slitted pupils glowed with intelligence not present in normal animals. In the middle of the cat's forehead, was a lightening shaped scar. The feline'smouth opened wide in a yawn, exposing vicious white fangs.

"Wicked!" James exclaimed. "Go ahead and turn back Harry. Now we need to think of a good name for him."

The four boys made a tight circle. They could each suggest one name.

"Sliteye."

"Scarface."

"Sliverclaw."

"Whiskers."

The last one was from Peter, and the other three boys looked at him in disbelief. "Whiskers? Seriously Wormy?" asked Remus, smacking Sirius at the same time. That boy never knew when jokes about his name got old...

Peter shrugged. "Yeah. He's a cat, he's got whiskers."

James shook his head. "No way. I like Sliverclaw or Sliteye. Then the nickname for his nickname could be Claw or Eye."

Sirius nodded. "Can I add a replacement for Wormtail's choice?"

James agreed, while Peter pouted. "Go ahead Pads."

"Shadowfang," he said, smiling proudly. "You know, because he is pretty much a moving shadow. And when he opens his mouth, the only thing you can see out of the black is his fangs."

Remus mock glared at him. "You couldn't have said that earlier? I mean, 'Scarface' is only marginally better than 'Whiskers.'"

Sirius shrugged with a slight grin. "True genius takes time."

Remus snorted. "I bet you can't even spell 'genius.'"

Sirius smirked. "G. E. N. I. O. U. S. Take that Moony!"

Trying to hold back his laughter, James gasped, "Enough. Which is it, Sliteye, Sliverclaw, or Shadowfang?"

Peter stood up straighter. "The vote of Mr. Wormtail goes to Shadowfang."

Remus was next. "Mr. Moony's vote goes to Sliverclaw."

"The vote of Mr. Padfoot goes to Shadowfang."

James grinned. "Sorry Moony. The vote of Mr. Prongs goes to Shadowfang."

Harry's dissatisfied grumble broke into their circle. "Now what?"

James slung an arm around his 'cousin's' shoulders. "Now my son, you are inducted into the most secret and exclusive club in the world. Welcome, to the hideout of the Marauders. Stand there, in the middle of the circle."

Looking around him, Harry found he was right about them being in an old abandoned tower. It was spacious, and the view was great. The edges of the room were filled with bookcases, and there was a small table that was obviously used for eating, and, very occasionally, homework. The cleared wooden floor was bare of any rugs or carpets, and was marked in white chalk in the shape of a circle.

The Marauders took their places at smaller circles chalked over the larger one.

James was at the Northern point of the circle. Considering this, Harry found it made perfect sense. James was the subtle leader of the group. The other boys looked up to him, hell, Peter nearly wet his pants very time James smiled at him. He had a personality that was crisp and bright, like the North wind. His love of flying made the element of wind particularly apt, and the 'windswept' hairstyle was just a coincidence.

Sirius was the South. He had a fiery temper, and was the heat and passion to James' calmness and cool. He was always in motion, eyes snapping. He was the dog who loved to curl up next to the fire, who was the happy second in command. He was possiblythe strongest of the four boys, defying his family to do what was right, instead of what was easy. He was languid and warm one moment, and passionate and burning the next.

Peter was the West. His element was water, and it fit the small boy almost exactly. Flighty and willing to 'go with the flow,' Peter was a human stream. Forgetfulness and fear made his opposition element fire, which was creepily echoed in 'real life,' as Sirius was the only one of the boys who really only put up with Peter, getting annoyed with the boy quickly. Peter was predictable, following the path of others laid before him, moving around instead of confronting the obstacles in his path.

Remus was East. The exotic nature of the East was reflected into his eyes, the mysterious secret that drove girls wild. His direction brought gentle breezes with the faint smell of honeysuckle and wild lavender, the earthy smell of wet dirt. The element, earth, was Remus. He was the one that guided Peter, accepted Sirius, and was moved by James. He was the solid, firm ground, the support, the voice of reason that would stop them from going to far.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the flash of light, reflected of the large knife James was holding.

"I am the North. I am the Wind. I call you, North, and you, Wind, into our sacred circle. I ask you to bring calmness and alertness, into our circle," James chanted, cutting the air with the knife, symbolic motions allowing the Northern Wind to enter the circle. Harry felt the wind ruffling his hair, and when he took a deep breath he thought he could smell clean, cold, mountain air. He took another breath, savoring the scent of snow and icicles. James passed the knife to Peter, who took a deep breath to steady himself.

"I am the West. I am the Water. I call you, West, and you, Water, into our sacred circle. I ask you to bring healing and friendship into our circle." Peter did not falter in his movements, allowing the Western Water to enter the circle. Harry could feel the cool water all over his body, feel the small, slippery fish as they touched his skin. Peter gave a sigh of relief, and passed the knife to Sirius.

"I am the South. I am the Fire. I call you, South, and you, Fire, into our sacred circle. I ask you to bring passion and love into our circle." Sirius' cocky knife thrusts were correct, if overconfident. The Southern Fire entered the circle, and Harry could hear the flames crackling, could feel the heat drying out the skin on his face. Sirius passed the knife to Remus.

"I am the East. I am the Earth. I call you, East, and you, Earth, into our sacred circle. I ask you to bring strength and understanding into our circle." Remus' clear, calm, voice washed over Harry, reassuring him. He took a deep breath and smile as the comforting smells of wild lavender and damp earth filled his nose as his back of his neck tingled with a warm, gentle, breeze. The knife made it's way back to James, who took it from Remus with a smile.

"Harry James Potter. Are you willing to become my brother?" James asked, eyes sincere.

Harry nodded, the ceremonial words coming to him. "I accept James Harry Potter as my brother."

James grinned. "I accept Harry James Potter as my brother." Harry stepped forward, offering his palm. James took the knife, and in a swift movement cut both his hand and Harry's, pressing them together. "With this blood, I do bind you to me and me to you. With this blood, you become my brother, in flesh, spirit, and heart."

Harry repeated the words, feeling the magic course through him. "With this blood, I do bind you to me and me to you. With this blood, you become my brother, in flesh, spirit, and heart."

James grinned again, and Harry knew he had an identical grin on his own face.

"So mote it be," they intoned together.

Peter was next, then Sirius, and Remus. Each time Harry felt the swell of love and acceptance as his magic and the magic of the others mingled and joined.

The boys passed the knife around again, going from Remus to James, in reverse, releasing the directions and elements from the circle. As soon as James was done, he led Harry over to a basin of water.

Lifting a seashell, found in water, rubbed with earth, hardened by fire, cooled by wind, James scooped some of the water up. "Put your head over the basin, Harry," he said quickly.

Harry complied, and James poured the water over his head. "I baptize thee Shadowfang, panther, and brother to Mr. Padfoot, Mr. Prongs, Mr. Wormtail, and Mr. Moony."

Sirius handed Harry a cloth to dry his hair. "Well, Fang, welcome to the club."

Harry grinned. "So now I'm a Marauder?" he asked.

James nodded, clapping Harry on the back. "Yep. You are officially the fifth Marauder."

Harry could not stop smiling, thinking how surreal it was. Here he was, in some random tower, Marauder and brother to four other men. He laughed, and the rest of the boys just stared.

James sighed. "Did Hermione just think something funny?" he asked.

"Huh?" Peter didn't get it, looking at Remus laughing with confused eyes.

"Harry and Hermione have this freaky connection. They say they can't hear what the other is thinking, but we are not so sure. They burst into random laughter, and none of us know why."

"Oh." Peter was a little put out by this information. He had seriously (pun not intended) considered asking Hermione out to the Valentine's Day Hogsmeade, but that hope was dashed. At least he'd get to see her alone at tutoring.

The rest of the time in the Marauder's hideout was spent giving Harry a rundown of the rules (only Marauder names can be used in the secret hideout, no one can know about the secret hideout, every fifth meeting it would be his turn to bring snacks, spread rumors about Moony's sick mother, only refer to Moony's lycanthrophy as his 'furry little problem' in public, ect..)

It was nearing time for dinner to start when the boys left the secret hideout.

Hermione laughed at something Dorcas said, then went pale. The other girls stopped laughing, looking at Hermione with concerned eyes.

"Hermione?" asked Lily. "Hermione, are you okay?"

The smaller girl tried to take a breath to answer the girl's question, then doubled up again, cursing in fluent sailor. She had hoped she could have waited until after dinner to go see Madam Pomfrey. It seemed that she had waited too long now.

"Lily?" Hermione gasped. "I need to get to the Hospital Wing, now!"

Hermione had been wearing a white shirt under her robes, and when she made to move them, one side was stained red.

"Damn," she cursed. "It's worse than I thought." Her wound had been acting up lately, and had been much more painful after the duel with Harry. That and she should have known by now not to wear white. She always bleed on her white clothes... Hermione knew enough about her condition by now to know that she was starting to slip in and out of consciousness.

Lily lifted her want to take Hermione to the Hospital Wing, but Hermione held up her hand. "No! The magic will irritate it. Someone find Harry." Madam Pomfrey had been especially strict with Hermione on the proper care of her wound. Neither of them would forget the day when Madam Pomfrey used magic to move her after it had already started bleeding. Hermione had been in the Hospital Wing for two days...

Lily blushed. "He's busy now. The boys took him so they could make him a Marauder."

Hermione cursed again. "I guess I'll have to walk. I will need some help though."

The girls gathered around her, supporting Hermione as they left the abandoned classroom. The classroom was three floors away from the Hospital Wing. Not even halfway there, Hermione fainted.

"Hermione! Hermione!" Lily sent a spout of water from her wand on to Hermione's face, slapping the girl lightly. None of the other Gryffindor girls would be strong enough to carry Hermione to the Hospital Wing.

"Damn," she muttered. "We need to find a te-"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!" A shout rang out in the thankfully empty hallway where Hermione lay, bleeding on the floor. William Calley was running toward the slight girl lying in a bloody shirt.

"Will-"

Lily was cut off by the dismissive shake of the boy's head and his quick query, "What happened?"

Lily sighed. "She got hurt a while ago. It's been getting bad since her duel with Harry, and now it needs medical attention from Madam Pomfrey."

William nodded, and scooped Hermione up, correctly assuming she could not walk. However, he froze when Hermione let out a keening moan of pain. "How bad is it? Why haven't-"

"We used magic? Because Madam Pomfrey has it classified as a Class 5 - sub 9," answered Dorcas, who was going into mediwizardry. "It's bad right now, not the worst, but bad. If we don't get her to the Hospital Wing now she will get there."

At a brisk run, William set off for the Hospital Wing, shocking the girls.

"I knew he liked her, but... wow," said Alice. "What do you think Harry will say?"

Lily grimaced. "He will freak. Then he will get really calm. And then he will erupt."

Mary gave a humorless grin. "That over protective?"

Lily returned the sarcasm. "Yep. We better head over to the Hospital Wing."

However, by the time the girls arrived at the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had already closed down the back half of the room, and they could hear pained gasps and anguished moans. William was leaning on the side of the door, glaring. He was obviously upset that he had not been allowed into the portioned off area with Hermione.

"How is she?"

William turned his glare to Lily. "She'll be fine. Pomfrey's working on her."

Dorcas put her hands on her hips. "William Arthur Calley. You will speak in a respectful tone when you talk to any lady, or by the Word of the Lord I will tell my mama that you were sneaking around Greenhouse Number Three with Elizabeth Flint."

All the girls looked at Dorcas with thankful grins. Dorcas' mother was a wizarding nanny for the pureblood elite. She had cared for several young pureblood lordlings, and all were terrified of her. Dorcas could look and sound identical to her mother on occasion, and when she used that tone of voice she could get a number of their classmates to obey her without question.

William fought the urge to duck his head with a 'yes ma'am.' Instead he just blushed a bit a scowled. "You wouldn't."

Dorcas grinned, ferally. "Would I?"

William sighed. "I guess you would, Dorcas Meadows. You tell your lovely mother that I send my kindest regards. Hermione is going to be a while. Madam Pomfrey refused to let me behind the curtain."

Alice shook her head. "You might be as stupid as Dorcas' mum makes you out to be. To clean that wound Madam Pomfrey is going to make Hermione take off her shirt. Do you really think Hermione is going to want you in there?"

William blushed again, much deeper this time. "I didn't think of that."

Dorcas just laughed. "Of course you didn't. And I thought you were smart William."

The slightly happy mood that had been developing was brutally murdered by the short and pain filled scream that echoed through the Hospital Wing. Dorcas winced, along with Alice and Mary. Lily started tearing up, wondering exactly how much pain her friend was in. William cursed, looking like he was ready to put his fist up against the stone of the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey stepped out from behind the curtain. "The lass will be alright. She will probably miss classes Monday though. The lot of you can visit after dinner. Off you go!"

With more shooing from Madam Pomfrey, the group set off toward the Great Hall. Splitting when they entered, William headed toward his table while the girls walked to the Gryffindor table, to where the Marauders were sitting.

When they neared, the boys were laughing and joking together, James and Harry sporting identical grins. However, Harry's eyes scanned the girls, face darkening.

"Where's Hermione?" he asked, rising quickly.

Alice glared at him. "In the Hospital Wing, no thanks to you. Where were you?"

Harry didn't stay to answer the question, instead setting off at a run to the Hospital Wing.

When William entered the Hospital Wing after an inhaled dinner, he was surprised at the sight in front of him. Madam Pomfrey and an unknown figure were behind the curtain again, with a candle scone illuminating their stilluettes. Hermione was thrashing in pain, and Madam Pomfrey was shouting directions to the other figure, who William quickly deduced was Harry Potter.

"Potter! Hold the girl down while I cast the spell. As soon as I'm done casting, pour the potion on the wound and hold it together while I cast the other spell!"

The white-blue glow of the cleansing spell spilled out from the edge of the curtain. William could see Hermione attempt to arch up suddenly, only to be gently held down by Harry, who was murmuring to her. William could barely make out some of the words he was saying.

"Love ... 'Mione ... all I need ... Hold on ... Just a ... baby ... I love ... It's okay, 'Mione ..."

William was growing more confused by the second. What the bloody hell was happening?

The soft chanting coming from Madam Pomfrey ceased, and Hermione let out a high pitched scream when Harry poured the potion on her side. Madam Pomfrey started chanting again, and the light returned, green this time. When she stopped, a soft and tired voice came from the bed Hermione was resting on.

"Harry?"

"I'm here, love."

"I love you."

"Love you to 'Mione."

Now William was even more confused. The girl let Harry Potter call her 'Mione, but no one else? Less than a week after she arrived, James Potter and Sirius Black went around to every student, warning them that if they called her by that nickname they would deserve the hexing they got from her, and the cursing they would get from the Marauders.

William was fed up with waiting. He pushed aside the curtain, his demand for answers dieing on his tongue.

The girl on the bed was indeed without a shirt, only wearing a cream colored bra. William had to swallow quickly at the bile that rose in his throat, seeing not only the angry red line that was her wound but also her extremely visible ribs. Discolorations that could have been bruises were around her wrist on one side, and her concave stomach and chest were marred by what looked like an old scar.

At the sound the the curtain being pulled back, both Harry's and Madam Pomfrey's heads had snapped to the the intruder. Harry's eyes narrowed as he followed William's gaze, pulling the blanket up to Hermione's chin.

Madam Pomfrey was in no condition to kick William out, exhausted from the spells. Shortly after the Seventh Years had left for dinner, the girl had started twitching and jerking until she had broken into a seizure. It had taken numerous potions and spells to stop the girl from seizing. But nothing could help the wound that had reopened.

Madam Pomfreywas extremely worried about the wound Hermione had received from the cursed knife. It would do fine for a week or so, then deterioratete rapidly. It had taken all her considerable knowledge and skills to keep the wound from festering and rotting the poor girl from the inside out. If it were not for the damned dimensional travel business, then the wound would have been healed weeks ago. But the laws of magic maintained that the body could not change, and so Madam Pomfrey was stuck.

Even if she was stuck, she still noticed that young William Calley had stepped into the blocked off portion of the Hospital Wing. Magical exhaustion aside, she still needed to deal with the rule breaker... but it seemed that Harry Potter had gotten there first.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I brought her here! Where the hell were you?"

"I-"

"And what the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm helping her! Why were you staring at her chest?"

"Why do you care? And why did you say you loved her?"

"I care because she's my girlfriend! And I said I loved her because I do! Why were you the one to bring her?"

"Because I was the only one around! Where were you?"

Harry seemed at a loss for an answer, then a thought came to him. "How did you get her here? You didn't use magic, did you?"

William scoffed. "I'm not stupid. I carried her. What else?"

Harry barely resisted the urge to throw himself at the blond Ravenclaw and rip his throat out. "I have permission to be here. You do not. Get out now."

William glared at Harry. "And what if I don't want to, Potter?"

Harry went very still, and his eyes went cold. "Believe me, Calley. You want to."

With that expression on Potter's face, William privately agreed with Potter. He did not want to spend another minute in the same room with this man who wanted his nuts on a silver platter. How was he supposed to know that Hermione was his girlfriend? She had told him Monday that they were not dating!

William gave Harry a sneer worthy of a Malfoy. "I'll leave now. But I don't believe you are her boyfriend, Potter. She told me that you were just friends."

Harry gave a short laugh. "I know. We planned it. Now get out before I remove your nuts by force and put them on a silver platter for staring at my girl's chest."

William gave a snort. "Sure, Potter. When Hermione tells me to my face I'll believe it." With that, he turned and left the Hospital Wing. He sincerely hoped that Harry and Hermione were not a couple. God! If that were true, he would have just made the biggest mistake in his young life.

What did you think? It was really a pity, as I rather like William. You will have to forgive me for that part with Dorcas. I've been reading Beautiful Creatures and my mind is stuck in Gatlin. I love books about the 'Deep South' since I am a damn Yankee, as my Carolina cousins say. So imagine Dorcas talking with a Southern accent in this chapter. I know they are all from England/Scotland/Ireland but I couldn't help myself.

Next chapter gets depressing. Be warned.

Review! Please help me get to 500! It sometimes drives me nuts to think that over 2000 people read this a day and I only get 20 reviews per chapter.

Poll: not really important to the story, but important to me. I want to know what kind of audience I'm catering to. Remember that I cannot see who votes, or what they vote for. I only see: 26 voters. That is all. If you feel uncomfortable telling me your gender, then don't. I promise I cannot trace who votes and what they vote for. If you don't believe me, set up a poll.

Review, vote, pray for Japan and Hawaii to what ever God/Goddess/Multiple Deities/Cosmic Spirit you pray to.