Running. That was all her mind was focused on. Something was chasing her. She wasn't sure what it was or how it had found her, all she knew was that it was after her and the only way to survive was to run.

It was probably the adrenaline, although no one has ever been able to ever work out what happened, but as she ran the woods around her began to change. The trees started to grow closer together. The branches became more tangled in one another shielding the moon light from getting through.

The thing was, although there was less space for the moon light to get through the woods didn't become any darker. It seemed as though the moon grew brighter. It was as though the waning crescent moon had grown into a full moon.

There was a howl. Amaryllis stopped. It was behind her. There was nothing behind her. Nothing was following her. She looked around confused. She had no idea where she was. This wasn't the woods out the back of her house. She knew those woods like the back of her hand. The trees didn't look like this and they certainly didn't grow this close together.

Amaryllis stood listening for the sound of anything moving around her. She held her breath wanting to be as silent as possible. Then heard voices. They were feint but there.

Quickly and quietly she made her way in the direction of the voices. She had to find these people. She had to find out where she was.

As she reached the edge of the woods she looked out and saw three boys run out from a hole in the bottom of a tree. The moment the boys were out from under it the tree began to move. Amaryllis gasped. What the hell was going on?

She ran out from the woods after the boys. When she finally caught up to them she placed her hand on the shoulder of the one at the back causing him to yelp and turn around. The yelp he'd let out caused the other two to turn around with him.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" The one in the middle asked. Being in silhouette Amaryllis could only make out the mess of spiky hair on his head.

The British accent in which he spoke was so different from anything she'd ever heard in her town before she just stood there with her mouth open.

"He asked you a question." The tallest of the three told her. His long shaggy curls were so different to that of his friend. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern." Amaryllis responded looking behind them to see where the light causing the boys to be silhouette was coming from. As he eyes trailed to the building behind them she gasped bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. They were standing in front of a giant castle. "Where in all hell am I?"

The three boys all looked at one another. Who was this girl? Where had she come from? And why did she not know where they were?

"Come on." The first one spoke again. "Come back to our dorm and you can tell us what's going on."

"Are you trying to proposition me?" Amaryllis asked crossing her arms over her chest. "Because there's three of you and one of me. And I don't know you and am not in any way okay with that."

"She's a feisty one." The second boy said to his friend.

The two boys started laughing and elbowing one another.

"No, of course not." The first boy said to her.

"Prongs only has eyes for Evans." The third boy said.

Amaryllis knew a confused look was spreading across her face. She had no idea what these boys were talking about.

"Fine." She said to them after a moment. "You'll need to show me where we're going."

The boys nodded and began to lead her up into the castle. The boy who Amaryllis assumed was the leader pulled two things out of his pocket. One seemed like some strange folded paper and the other was a strange, beautifully carved, stick.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The boy said holding the stick against the strange paper.

Upon saying these words ink began to appear across it. In beautiful writing across the front of the paper it said; 'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present
The Marauder's Map.'

"What is going on?" Amaryllis muttered to herself as she watched the leader open the paper to reveal a map of what appeared to be the castle they were in. The strangest part of the map was that there were small footprint all over it, with names labelling each of them. What made the footprint even stranger was that they were moving.

"So it's Amaryllis then." The shaggy haired boy said turning away from the map to look at her.

"How did you know?" Amaryllis said. These boys were starting to freak her out.

"Right here." The smallest boy said to her pointing to a spot on the map.

In the spot where the boy was pointing Amaryllis could see four sets of the footprints. As she looked over them she noticed what each of them said. James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. The thing that shocked her the most was the one next to it. Amaryllis Merrin. How did this map know her name?

"Quick, Filch is heading this way." The first boy said.

The three boys moved to head off but Amaryllis, still in shock, found herself unable to move. The shaggy haired boy grabbed a hold of her arm and dragged her off in the direction they were heading.

Quickly they moved through the castle, up flights of stairs, through strange corridors, even through a small dark passage until eventually they reach a giant painting of a rather large woman. This had to be by far the strangest thing she had seen. The painting was moving.

One of the boys said something to the painting, she couldn't remember who said it or what was said but at the word the portrait swung open to reveal a large hole. Amaryllis was almost in a trance at point. She was completely in shock that she had no clue what was going on.

All she could remember was being help through the hole by the boys. They led her through what appeared to be a large, cosy sitting room completely covered in red and gold. At the other end of the room there were two sets of stairs. The boys led her up one, although she could never remember if it was the left or the right one, and into a room with four beds.

"You can use Moony's bed." The shaggy haired boy told her directing her to the bed in the neatest area of the room. "He won't be back until the afternoon."

"Okay." She said softly walking over and sitting on the bed, removing her shoes. "Wait. Can someone explain to me where I am and what the bloody hell is going on?"

"Welcome to Hogwarts." The boy who Amaryllis was almost certain now was the leader. "I'm James Potter."

"Sirius Black." The shaggy haired boy said. "And that Peter Pettigrew."

"The bed you're on belongs to Remus Lupin but he's down at the hospital wing tonight." James explained to her.

"Okay." Amaryllis said slowly as she looked around the room and at the boys. "What the hell is Hogwarts?"

The boys all looked at one another confused. They had never had to explain Hogwarts to anyone before.

"It's a school for young witches and wizards to learn magic." Peter told her.

"You're shitting me." Amaryllis said. "That's entirely improbable. If there was something as ridiculous as this near my house I obviously would have discovered it by now. Besides, nothing interesting happens in Bairnsdale."

Once again the boys looked at one another.

"Where's Bairnsdale?" Sirius asked her.

"Kinda coastal, kinda not. Somewhat rural Victoria." Amaryllis said looking for any recognition to come across the boys faces. When their expressions didn't change she sighed and said; "Australia."

At the exact same moment one pair of grey eyes, one pair of hazel eyes and one pair of watery blue eyes widened at her revelation.

"But that's really far away." Peter said.

"Where are now?" Amaryllis asked confused at why these boys were in as much shock as she had been before.

"Scotland." James told her.

That was the final straw. Amaryllis' mind could only take so much. She looked at the boys for any sign that they might be messing with her before she fainted.

Amaryllis woke when she felt someone watching her. It wasn't pleasant for one to be watched while they slept. When she opened her eyes she saw someone standing over her. As everything came into focus she realised that the boy watching her was not someone she knew.

"Who are you?" She asked her voice coming out hoarse as she had just woken up.

"Who am I?" He asked a look of anger appearing on his face. "You're the one in my bed. I should be the one asking who you are."

"Oh, you must be Remus Lupin." Amaryllis said remembering what had happened the previous night.

It was still so bizarre to think about what she had been told. None of it seemed real. It couldn't be. Yet, it seemed as though it was.

"You seem to have your answer." He said to her. "My question still stands. Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?"

"That's two questions." Amaryllis said but noticing the growl coming from the boy in front of her she dared stall any longer. "My name is Amaryllis Merrin. Your friends found me outside last night and said I could stay here as you wouldn't be back until this afternoon."

Amaryllis watched as he looked over her. It was obvious he was trying to decide whether he believed her or not.

"I'm going to kill those two." He muttered to himself before sitting down on the edge of his bed, mindful of her legs.

Amaryllis let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want this boy to be mad at her. She wasn't trying to do anything wrong. She was only listening to what the others had told her.

"They said you were in the hospital wing." Amaryllis said in an attempt to start a conversation. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Remus muttered not too sure how to react to this mysterious girl who was, for some reason, in his bed.

Neither said anything else. What exactly were they supposed to do? They didn't know one another. They had no reason to converse.

Both were more than glad when the door to the dorm opened reveal James, Sirius and Peter.

"Moony, you're back early." Sirius said.

"Yeah, I am." Remus responded bitterly. "Now explain this."

Remus was pointing at Amaryllis who was now sitting up in his bed.

"Oh that's just Liz." Sirius responded. "Found her when we were walking back up to the castle last night."

"Liz?" Amaryllis asked.

"We decided Amaryllis is too long and formal." James said. "We're calling you Liz."

Amaryllis just shook her head at the boys.

"Why would you give her my bed?" Remus asked Sirius. "You've had plenty of other girls in yours."

"You weren't here." Sirius told his friend.

"That doesn't change anything Sirius." Remus protested. "It's still my bed. You can't go giving it to whatever girl you're shagging this week."

"I'm not shagging Liz." Sirius defended.

Amaryllis watched as the two boys continued arguing. She climbed out of the bed and walked over to where James and Peter were standing.

"Is this normal?" Amaryllis asked the two boys who weren't currently screaming at one another.

"Pretty much." James shrugged.

"Should I stop them?" She asked.

"Why would you?" James questioned. "It's amusing seeing Moony so angry."

"It's me they're arguing about." Amaryllis said. "I don't want to wreck your friendship."

"Trust me, you won't." James told her. "You can stop it if you want though."

Amaryllis nodded at James before turning back to the shouting match.

"Oi, stop it." She yelled at the two. "Remus, I'm sorry for sleeping in your bed. I didn't realise you were so defensive about it. Also I should have thought about it before I fell asleep, although I think I fainted from shock rather than falling asleep like a normal person."

Remus just stared in shock at the small girl who was in front of him.

"On the other hand." Amaryllis said as she turned to Sirius. "I think it's absolutely atrocious that you sleep with so many girls that your friend thinks any girl who is here is your latest conquest. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

With that Amaryllis turned and pushed passed James and Peter were both staring open mouthed at her. She stepped out of the room and stood outside the door letting out a deep breath while leaning against the wall waiting for the boys to realise how stupid they actually were.

It didn't take long for Sirius to burst through the door. She knew he was ready to run down the stairs in order to search for her. When he noticed her sitting outside he calmed down and smiled at her.

"Sorry about all that." Sirius said.

"It's alright, really." Amaryllis said. "I sounded like my mother yelling at the two of you."

The two of them smiled at one another before they both went back into the dorm to see the other boys.

"Sorry for yelling at you." Amaryllis said to Remus and Sirius. "I may have lost my temper."

The five of them sat down on the floor.

"So what's there to know about you guys?" Amaryllis asked looking around at the boys.

"Not much really." Remus told her. "Those two are purebloods, we're halfbloods."

"Moony, she doesn't care about blood status." Sirius said.

"What does he mean?" Amaryllis asked.

Remus looked confused at the girl not knowing that she didn't know anything about the magical world.

"Purebloods are witches or wizards without any non-magical blood in their ancestry." James explained to her.

"It's really just a way for people to make themselves more superior than others." Sirius explained. "No one but the Slytherins actually care about it."

"Slytherins?" Amaryllis asked.

"There are four houses at Hogwarts." James explained to her. "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. At the beginning of first year each student is sorted into one of these houses."

"Seems rather discriminatory." Amaryllis said.

"I suppose it could be viewed that way." Remus said considering Amaryllis' point of view.

"So what's the deal with these Slytherins?" Amaryllis asked wanting to further understand the school she was currently hiding out in.

"They're evil." Sirius put plainly.

"Exactly what I mean." Amaryllis responded. "Discriminatory. You're putting them all into one box based on their house."

"Sirius' whole family is in Slytherin." Peter told Amaryllis earning himself a glare from Sirius.

Amaryllis let out a sigh. These boys were not listening to her. She knew she couldn't say she was the most accepting person but she attempted to at least give people a chance.

"Your whole family may be in Slytherin but the whole of Slytherin is not your family." Amaryllis said.

Sirius turned his glare on Amaryllis. The other three boy began laughing knowing that Amaryllis was speaking the complete truth.

"On top of that, who's to say I wouldn't be in Slytherin." Amaryllis said.

The boys all stopped laughing and just stared at her.

"You wouldn't." Peter told her. "You're too nice."

"You're not nearly as slimy." Sirius said.

"We actually like you." James protested.

Amaryllis watched them. She now knew exactly how to push their buttons.

"Well then, maybe you should have me sorted." Amaryllis said to them. "Just to see how wrong you actually are."

All four of them looked at her realising she had just played them. She knew what she wanted and she knew how she could get it.

"You wouldn't fit in with those blood purists." Sirius said. "If my mother is anything to go off. The mere acceptance of anyone whose blood is less than pure results in her losing it."

"You don't know a thing about me Sirius." Amaryllis said narrowing her green eyes at him.

Sirius' grey ones met hers. It was a contest to see who would hold the glare the longest. It didn't take long for Sirius to crack under Amaryllis' glare. As he turned away in defeat she gave a small smirk.

These boys thought they knew her. They only knew the side of her she wanted them to know. If only they really knew what was underneath that there was no way they'd still want to be friends with her.