Author's Note:

sillykitty201: Wow… Sirius's part is really long… wow. And yes, it was done by yours truly! I did both Sirius and McGonagall this time, and how I just love the Marauders feels! Yay! I did have an idea to do a time countdown for Sirius, but basketballbr decided that that was kind of weird. So yeah. Enjoy!

basketballbr909: Yes, yes it was. Sirius is not some kind of time maniac person! But I did let her have a little bit of a countdown. Anywhoo.. there is nothing more to say, except that the Sirius part was amazingly long! Props to sillykitty201!

Let's go over this, I wrote this entire chapter and I hope you enjoy it!

Minerva McGonagall

Sirius Black

"What happened, Poppy?" I drawl slowly. Poppy has a knack for making things sound more horrible than they actually are. For instance, she once told me 'Rush here immediately! One of your students has been harmed!'

Yeah. Guess what happened when I got there.

IT WAS JUST A MINOR QUIDDITCH INJURY.

Merlin.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Minerva! Look here, and listen well," Poppy snaps, and I roll my eyes.

Don't get me wrong, Poppy is scary when she wants to be, but so am I.

"Snape came here with a broken nose-"

"Why didn't you call Slughorn?" I interrupt, tapping my foot impatiently, "He's a Slytherin, Poppy. I am busy, you know."

"Oh, shut up and let me finish," Poppy growls, and I purse my lips into a tight line.

"Anyway. Snape came here with a broken nose. Of course, I fixed him up right away, but then I asked him who did that to him. Do you know his reply, Minerva?"

"No, Poppy, now stop holding me in suspense, and just tell me!" I exclaim, frustrated.

Truth be told, I'm not really paying attention. All I want to know is why I was called here! I'm so engrossed in my own thoughts, the name of any of the Marauders doesn't even cross my mind. Plus, those boys may be 'bullies' but they only bully those who deserve it and they've never punched anyone unless provoked.

Cross that last line out of the record, I never said that.

"James Potter!"

"What!?" I let out a mangled screech, becauseI'm a teacher, so I have to keep my cool (somewhat).

"Yes, Minerva. Why don't you try listening to me without interrupting for once!? If you had, you would have known this fact five minutes ago!"

I pointedly ignore Poppy, and shove past her, out of the infirmary.

Oh, that blasted Potter…

"Potter!" I bark, annoyed. It is now 11:55 pm. I have been sitting in my office for the past four hours, contemplating how I should punish the boy. I have finally come to a decision about what to do.

Ask him his side of the story.

No, I am not playing favorites! And it's not that I think the greasy git deserved it! I mean… it's not that I think Snape deserved it! I mean…

NEVERMIND.

I am asking Potter for his perspective whether you like it or not.

"POTTER! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Potter flies down immediately. I can almost imagine his everlasting smug smirk on his face as he walks towards me in the darkness.

(For some reason, the child has been flying out here, on the quidditch pitch, on his broom, at 11:55 in the night, on a windy day… IN MARCH!)

So color me surprised when Potter walks towards me, his expression all serious.

"James!" I hear a breathless voice call from behind me. I whirl around to face Sirius and the rest of the Marauders running towards us.

"Where the hell have you been!?"

"We've been looking for you forever!"

"You disappeared after 10:30 and didn't come back!"

First Sirius, then Peter, then Remus. Well… guess my harsh scream was louder than I thought…

"Sorry, guys," Potter says, staring right at me. "What was it you wanted, Professor McGonagall?"

His expression shows that he knows exactly what I want. He is staring at me, his eyes devoid of all emotion, and his expression serious.

Potter has this way of staring at people that makes you feel like his eyes are… well, boring into your very soul.

It's a very uncomfortable feeling, especially if you have secrets to hide.

I clear my throat, and stand a little straighter, attempting to appear confident.

"Why did you punch Snape, Potter?" I demand and, I can hear the shocked gapes behind me.

"James..?" Remus asks questioningly, but Potter still doesn't meet his eyes, and continues staring into mine. My eyes, in return, narrow.

"You didn't tell them?" I ask coolly, although inside, I am so confused.

Potter didn't tell his friends!? That's insane! They all hate Snape and if one of them punched Snape, I'm sure it would be a celebratory thing for them! And they tell each other everything!

Potter tilts his head to the side, and says nothing.

I sigh and rub my temples tiredly.

"My office, Potter."

Potter nods, still staring at me.

(STILL STARING AT ME!)

"So, Potter. Why?" I ask, once seated in my office. Potter is now gazing towards me with a thoughtful look. It isn't as uncomfortable as his stare… but it's still freaky…

"He called them privileged," Potter finally whispers.

"...What?" I ask, after a few seconds of trying to figure out who he means.

"My friends, I mean. Peter, Sirius and Remus."

"Oh."

There's more silence.

"That's not… that's not a reason to punch someone, James."

Yes. Yes I just called him by his first name because he and I both know that none of his friends are privileged.

"He deserved it. A hex just wouldn't do it."

I am quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"Remus is not privileged. You and I both know that well. Very well. He's a freaking werewolf."

I don't correct his sharp tone.

"Peter has problems. Self-esteem problems, and his family is poor as hell. Peter, Peter is not privileged."

I clasp my hands together on the table.

"Sirius has a fucked up life. His family is a bunch of bastards, you and I know that. They abuse him, mentally and physically, and Sirius keeps it all inside because he is so strong. He's stronger than the rest of us. He has a traitorous brother and murderous cousins, and it's all he can do to not collapse and scream until his voice is hoarse."

I don't tell him off for his curses.

Because Potter is mad. Potter is fuming. Potter is so mad, he looks like he could blow any second. I am silent, anticipating the explosion, but it never comes. He simply clenches his fists and glares at the wall behind me with such a ruthless glare that I've never seen him take on before.

"I don't care if he calls me privileged. Because I am. I am privileged but my friends? They are not privileged. And I don't know who Snape thinks he is, to call them things like that."

"James…" I start, but I have no idea how to continue the sentence.

Privileged is supposed to be a good word. A kind word. It should mean that people are special, and they have an advantage over everybody else. It should mean that they earn respect, and that they should be honored.

But Severus Snape has turned this word around to fit his own life and now Potter is sitting in front of me with blazing eyes and a fearsome growl etched onto his face.

After a few minutes of silence, Potter calms down. The color returns to his face, and his eyes flicker before turning expressionless. His fists unclench, and he drapes his arms across the arms of the chair. His eyes are blankly staring at the wall before they look towards me, and seem to readjust to their surroundings.

"So, what'll it be? Detention, Professor Minnie?"

He's looking at me silently and quietly, lost in his own thoughts, but alert enough to hear what I have to say.

"Detention, Potter."

It's Valentine's day! The day where all the girls, (and I mean ALL OF THEM) will be falling all over me and James! We're going to get tons of Valentines. (*wink*)

Of course, Prongs won't accept any. He has his heart set on Lily.

It's never going to happen, but I can't help Prongs's heart, can I now?

"Siriusssss!" Peter calls from behind me.

"Good morning, Petey! It's Valentine's day! Aren't you excited?!"

Peter huffs and rolls his eyes. I see Remus groan and flop over on his stomach, covering his face with a pillow out of the corner of my eye.

"No, I really don't care about Valentine's day. I just want food!"

"Shut up," grumbles Remus from under the covers.

"Well, Wormtail, James is in the shower, and I'm already showered. Have you showered?" I ask Peter, pointedly ignoring Remus.

"Nope."

"Okay, you can shower later. Right now…"

Peter and I share a grin, and creep over to Remus's bed silently.

"3, 2, 1, GO!" I mouth to Peter. We both grab a pillow and hit Remus with it, simultaneously screaming, "MORNING!"

Remus lets out a hysteric shriek then flies out of his bed, and onto the floor next to me.

I snicker, and kneel down to his level.

"Morning, Moony!" I exclaim. "How are you, this fine day? Ready to go eat?"

"Hey, you woke up Remus without me?! That's usually the highlight of my day!" James complains, walking out of the bathroom.

Remus slowly removes his hands from his eyes and opens them to glare at me. Peter is on the bed, watching us amusedly. James comes forward and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Fuck you all."

And we all burst into hysterics as Remus continues glaring at us.

"Don't you have a girlfriend, Sirius?" Remus asks me, as James is lost in his thoughts of a certain red haired witch with emerald green eyes.

"Yeah, so?"

"So," Remus emphasizes, gesturing towards the stack of cards I have received. "Shouldn't you be giving or getting a card from Mallory?"

James looks up, interested, as my eyes widen.

He's right. I should be getting Mallory a card or she should be getting me a card.

"Hiya, Sirius!" I hear Mallory call from behind me, and I freeze.

Uh-oh.

"Sirius?" James whispers from next to me, nudging me on the shoulder. "You okay?"

I don't reply.

"Sirius?" Mallory asks questioningly, and I can hear a trace of hurt in her voice. Oh no!
I quietly turn around and face her.

"Hey, Mallory!" I say with a smile, and she smiles back, but her eyes are still confused. Everybody's eyes are on me now. There is silence.

Luckily, I have a best friend who always has my back.

"Hi, Mallory! How are you today?"

"Oh, hi James! I'm good… and you? Have you gotten over Lily yet?" she asks with a teasing tone.

James rolls his eyes, and answers, "It's Valentine's day. Of course I'm good! And of course I'm not over Lilykins!"

"If she heard you calling her that, she'd hex you to Tartarus!" Remus snorts, and we all shoot him a confusing glance.

He waves a book in the air.

"Muggle thing.. Nevermind."

We all nod but there is still a blanket of tense emotions draped over us.

That's when I decide to do the stupidest thing in my life.

I run.

I run out of the Great Hall, muttering a quick excuse about a textbook or something but it's stupid because it's Saturday and I am so dead.

Oh Merlin.

"Hey, Padfoot! What was that all about?"

I huff as James comes into the room. I am sitting on my bed, cross-legged, and James comes up and sits next to me.

"Nothing, just forget it," I mutter, and James snorts.

"I can forget about it, but there is no way in hell that your girlfriend will. Girls are just like that!"

"Bloody girls…"

James barks out a laugh at that, and I roll my eyes.

"I fucked up, didn't I?" I ask after a beat of silence.

"No shit, mate."

I groan at James's bluntness, and he smirks. Bloody best friends. Bloody girlfriends. Why does anybody need them anyway? They're useless!

Oh, that's right. You need a girlfriend for 'love' and 'happiness', and you need a best friend to save you from girlfriend when said girlfriend gets mad.

Right.

"So, what am I going to do?" I ask James, and he shrugs.

"In my experience-" he starts, but I cut him off by muttering, "As if you have any."

He immediately shuts me up by elbowing me hard in the ribs.

"IN MY EXPERIENCE," he starts again, louder this time, "You should go with a big romantic gesture."

"A big romantic gesture," I repeat disbelievingly, and he nods, not even joking in the slightest bit.

"When has that worked out for you, Prongs?" I ask him, and he shoves me off the bed, rolling his eyes as I guffaw loudly.

"Hey! Mallory!" I call, running after her as she passes through the hall. She turns around, fury evident in her dark brown eyes. They're so pretty…

Okay. Shutting up now.

"Mallory, please! Can we just talk?"

"No. Bye!" she answers, voice dripping with fake sweetness.

Ugh.

I grab her wrist, and pull her backwards. She gives a little yelp, and drops her books. She twirls around, and lands against me.

"What the hell, Sirius?!" she demands angrily, shoving herself off of me.

"PLEASE!" I beg with pleading eyes, not letting go of her wrist.

She stares at me, and I stare at her for a minute, and then she concedes.

"Fine. Ten minutes."

"Perfect. Come on!"

"Where are we going?"

"The Black Lake."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"Yeah. Right. First, you ignored me, and then you refused to meet my eyes when you talked to me. Then, you ran away from me making a stupid, false excuse! And did I mention you've been ignoring me for the past four hours!?"

I sigh and close my eyes, leaning backwards onto the grass.

"Are you cheating on me?"

That question made me spring up and stare at her with wide, horrified eyes.

"No! No! Definitely not… it's just…"

"It's just what, Sirius?" Mallory snaps, getting impatient.

"Mallory… you're my first serious relationship! I'm new to all of this, and I'm a bit jumpy and nervous about what I should do."

"You? Scared? Nervous?" she asks incredulously, staring at me with wide eyes.

I shrug and smile. I may be known as a player, but the people who really know me, like the Marauders, know that I'm just a normal teenager in his first relationship.

Well, partially normal. I tend to act a bit insane sometimes.

Heh.

"I know, totally unbelievable, right?" I brag jokingly, and Mallory laughs.

"So… we're all good?" I ask Mallory timidly, and she beams.

"Yeah. Totally."

"Okay, great. James told me I should go with a big romantic gesture, but he took it back before anything happened. He told me a simple apology would go a long way."

Mallory smiles, and leans her head against my shoulder.

"It did."

I let a smile take over my face, and bend down to kiss her on the lips.

(I swear I hear snickering in the distance…)

"JAMES!" we all scream as soon as James walks through the door.

After dinner, James had left the Great Hall, saying he had to talk to McGonagall about something. Personally, I thought it was because of his pledge that he was over Lily Evans, but we didn't talk about it. Remus read and Peter and I played chess in the common room, ignoring James's absence for the most part.

Then, James came back at 8:20, and we all just fooled around and joked with each other. Everything was fine, until at 10:30, James's eyes glazed over a little bit, and he stood up abruptly and left the Common Room. Peter and I called after him, but he didn't turn around.

Exchanging a glance, Remus, Peter, and I all ran after him, still calling his name.

We ran halfway around the school before Peter stopped us and told us that we were forgetting something.

The Marauders Map!

It was 11:35 when we realized we had forgotten it, so we all rushed back to our dorms to grab the map. 11:40, we finally found it in the clutter in our room, (we might want to listen to Remus about cleaning our room more often) and ran out of the common room once more to activate it.

(I'm pretty sure all the Gryffindors thought we were crazy by then.)

Following James's dot on the map, (which was going in circles on the quidditch pitch) we ran down to the quidditch pitch. We couldn't see much in the dark, so Remus quickly whipped out his wand and cast lumos.

It wasn't until we heard McGonagall's scream that we found him.

He was flying outside in the cold weather… for an hour and a half!

And what had shocked us more was the fact that he punched Snape. And he didn't tell us.

"You punched Snape?" asks Peter, and James avoids our eyes.

"Prongs…" Remus starts, but James cuts him off.

"Yeah. Yeah I punched him, okay? What's the big deal!? Back off, alright?"

We all shrink back at James's fiery tone and blazing eyes.

There's only one person who can match James's fury, and that's me. Not even Lily Evans is a match for James Potter when he is mad.

But right now I don't feel like getting mad at James. Of course, I feel slightly betrayed, but I get how it is to want a while to yourself.

It's like me whenever my parents send me a letter. All I want to do is curl up under a rock until everything is better. Of course, it never happens, but it's what you feel like doing anyway.

So, right now, no. I do not want to yell at James. I just want to know what's bothering him.

And I know it's not just Lily Evans.

"Sorry," murmurs James, and I look up from my thoughts once again.

"I'm a bit… off."

Nobody says anything for a while, and James retreats into the bathroom while Remus, Peter and I change into our pajamas.

James finally comes out dressed for bed, and heads onto his bed.

We all do the same, closing our curtains as James does so.

Before I close mine, I shoot a glance at the clock.

12:15

I have forty-five minutes to diffuse this whole situation so that us Marauders can be alright again in the morning.

"James," I whisper from under the covers. He doesn't answer. Neither does anybody else.

But we're all awake.

"James," I whisper again, a little harsher this time. Still no answer.

"Prongs, you open your sorry mouth this instant or so help me, I will come over there and hex you so hard you won't be able to walk for a week!"

I hear a sharp hiss come from Remus's bed, and a snicker from Peter's.

Then, a groan comes from James's bed.

"What. Do. You. WANT!?"

I smirk delightedly.

Mission accomplished.

"I want to know why you punched Snape."

Silence.

"FINE. Then, why didn't you tell us?" Peter asks, opening his curtains a little bit.

More silence.

Remus and I both shove aside our curtains.

"So, I'm guessing the answer for both questions are related," Remus states matter-of-factly.

I hear James grumble something about 'bloody horrible friends' and 'who needs them anyway', and I share a satisfied glance with Peter and Remus.

Remus, Peter, and I sit up in bed and throw our legs off the bed.

Slowly, we walk over to James's bed, and we push open his curtains.

James is sitting up in bed, pillow against the headboard, and another one on the foot board. He rolls his eyes, and gestures towards the foot of the bed.

Smiling, I climb onto the bed next to him while Peter and Remus hop across from us, using the footboard pillows as comfort.

"So. Go on!" Peter squeaks, and we all look toward James expectantly.

James glares back at us.

"Do I have to tell you?"

"No shit, Prongs."

I raise an eyebrow at him, and Remus sighs.

"Come on Prongs! It can't be that bad, can it now?"

Peter looks on, an emotion in his eyes that I can't quite place.

James just shakes his head and stares at the curtains behind Remus.

"Prongs," Peter tries, but to no avail.

There is more silence.

Shit, shit, shit! This is not going well! I mean, I have a lot of time, but James is stubborn as heck! What am I going to do?!

"James…" I start, trying to get a reaction out of him.

And boy, do I get one.

He whips his head around to face me, and stares into my eyes with his deep hazel ones.

No, no, no!

James has always had this way of reading me like I'm a book. He's like a mind-reader.

It's unnerving, frankly.

UNNERVING.

"Yes, Sirius?" James asks, his voice sickly sweet.

And now he's acting sarcastic and sweet. Wow, he really is in a mood.

I tear my gaze away from him and gulp.

James turns back towards Remus, but now Remus looks uncomfortable.

Guess James is really in the mind-reading mood today.

First McGonagall, then me, then Remus…

Oh.

And now Peter.

"Anything else you have to say to me?" James tries again, and all of us squirm in our positions.

James sighs and leans his head back onto the headboard.

He closes his eyes, and to my surprise, to our surprise, he starts speaking.

(This is shocking, surprising, unnerving, weird, scary, 'what the fuck is happening right now' weird.)

"So, obviously I've been in a bit of a funk since this morning. You know. Since I said I was over Lily Evans."

We all nod slowly, not sure where he is going with this.

"I'm trying to get over her. I really am. And so, well.. That's a part of me punching Snape. But only a part.

When I punched Snape, I was already riled up in thinking about Lily. And then… then he said something that ticked me off even more…"

"So you punched him," Remus finishes for James and he nods.

"Why though?" asks Peter and James turns his gaze on him, but he doesn't say anything.

A feeling of dread overcomes me.

"Prongs… he- he-"

I can't talk. I can't. It just- he can't.

I can't be the reason he punched someone… I just... can't.

"What? What is it?" asks Peter, confused.

"It's you," whispers James, and we all freeze.

I knew it… I just didn't want to hear it out loud. This is bad… I just…

"What do you mean Prongs? What- what did he say about us?" asks Remus softly, looking none too happy about this new revelation.

Remus is used to it. The insults. The dirty looks. All because he's a werewolf.

It burns me inside.

"Nothing about your… furry little problem, Moony," James replies, avoiding the real question.

"James."

This time Remus speaks in a harsher tone.

"Privileged," James murmurs finally, so soft that I can barely hear him.

And I'm right next to him.

"What?" I ask.

James sucks in a breath sharply.

"Privileged," he discloses again, louder this time.

There is more silence.

For a long time.

"You didn't have to… you know. Punch him," whispers Remus finally. "You got into trouble, didn't you?"

James's eyes are still closed as he shakes his head.

"No. Just one detention."

"One detention?!" exclaims Peter, shocked, "From McGonagall?"

James nods and I get the feeling he's not telling us exactly what happened in that classroom.

"Still. You didn't have to," I say finally, and James's head snaps up. He turns to look at me, and suddenly I feel like a tiny five-year old boy in front of an angry mother. I squirm a little at his stare.

"I know," he whispers, "But I did it anyway, because I needed to."

Nobody cares to ask what he means and James goes back to leaning on the headboard.

We all sigh.

"Good night," mutters Peter, as he gets up and heads back to his bed.

Remus and I exchange a glance, and then Remus leaves too.

Eyes still closed, James places a firm hand on my shoulder, and then pushes softly.

"Night," I whisper, and James nods.

I head back to my bed and snuggle under the covers.

"Good night," murmurs James, and we hear shuffling from behind his curtains.

That's when it comes to me.

James is always doing so much to take care of us! He's a mother hen, but a loyal mother hen. If he does so much, he deserves so much.

A kind smile takes over my face, and a mischievous glint appears in my eyes. Tomorrow is going to be one heck of a day.

Because James Potter deserves the fucking world, and we are going to give it to him.