Remus Lupin glided sedately on his broomstick, talking to a couple of Ravenclaw boys while watching his three best friends on their brooms. As always they were quite entertaining in their different ways. James and Sirius were showing off, as usual; dive bombing each other and zooming through groups of student who, like Remus, weren't quite as comfortable on their brooms. Sirius and James had had their own brooms since they were very young, and all the extra years of practice had paid off.
Peter, on the other hand, was being helped up by Madam Hooch after falling off his broom again from about five feet in the air (he was afraid to go higher). Peter was the clumsiest person Remus had ever met, and seemed even more so when compared to his three best friends. But then, Remus knew how strange most people found it that Peter hung out with the other three Marauders. Peter was short and slightly chubby with thin mousey brown hair and watery eyes so dark they seemed black. He was on the slow side, and let himself be pushed around by just about anyone. Remus and Sirius were among the tallest first years at the school, and James was well above average height. While James was the only one of the four that could really be called skinny, Remus and Sirius had the gangly look of kids who had grown a lot in a short amount of time.
James, Sirius and Remus had the top grades in their year, while Peter struggled to get by on most of his classes, and although Remus didn't consider himself athletic the way James and Sirius were, he had good reflexes and the superhuman strength and speed that came from being a werewolf. Peter, on the other hand, was more likely to allow something to bounce off his nose than catch it.
Despite all these differences Peter was one of the Marauders because, shy as he was around strangers, he could be pretty witty sometimes, he didn't take offense when he was the target of a prank, and he wouldn't turn in his friends if he got caught for something and they didn't.
Remus was broken out of his reverie by a gust of wind close to the back of his head and Sirius's voice in his ear.
"Hey, Moony!"
Remus was so startled that he almost fell off his broom, which sent Sirius into a fit of laughter as he sped away, spinning circles and showing off.
"Sirius! You git!" Remus yelled as he took off after his friend. Sirius laughed like a maniac as he zoomed around the Quidditch pitch, dodging Remus. He circled around the group of Gryffindor girls, winking at Krissy, before heading towards the ground. Remus followed the black-haired boy to the ground, stumbling as he hopped off his broom without waiting for it to come to a full stop, but he quickly regained his balance and took off after Sirius who was still cackling like a lunatic. With his werewolf speed, he easily caught up to his friend and tackled Sirius from the back. They fell to the ground in a blur of arms, legs, and robes and play fighting.
They could hear the other students laughing as they pretended to punch each other, and cried out in imaginary pain at blows that didn't really connect. James was alternately cheering for one or the other, who ever was on top at the moment.
They were pulled apart by Madam Hooch who looked furious.
"What do you think you're doing fighting during my class?" she yelled.
"We were just messing around, Professor." Sirius said innocently.
"Yeah, it was all in good fun, really." Remus confirmed. "Just a joke."
Madam Hooch's face softened slightly. "Well, just don't do it again."
"Yes, ma'am." they chorused, smirking at each other about avoiding yet another detention.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That night James and Sirius's good mood had disappeared by the time they reported to Filch for their detentions. They were given buckets of soapy water and told to clean out all of the animal cages in the Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms. Grumbling loudly about slimy Slytherins and shrewish professors, they set to work. They had barely started on the first cage when the classroom door opened seemingly of its own accord and seconds later, closed itself. The two boys stared at the door, puzzled, when the air in front of them rippled and Remus and Peter appeared from underneath James's Invisibility Cloak.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. "Want to join us in detention?"
Remus snorted. "Hardly. We just saw a bunch of Slytherins with very bad rashes, Bellatrix included, and we felt that since you had spent your holidays in such a productive way, you deserved some help getting out of detention."
"But if you'd rather clean shit out of a grindylow's cage, we can always leave." Peter teased.
James grinned, "Tempting as the second choice is, I think we'll go. What do you say, Sir?"
"Well, I was kind of looking forward to cleaning all night, but I guess I'll come with you." Sirius answered in a mock regretful voice.
The four boys slipped under the cloak and out the door. They were nearly out of earshot when they hear Filch's scream of fury as he discovered that they were gone. Muffling their laughter against their hands, they ran.
"Where to?" James asked as soon as they had put some distance between themselves and the angry caretaker.
"Let's go exploring." Sirius said, his eyes gleaming in a way that told his friends that whatever plan he had come up with had the potential to get them either in the hospital wing for weeks or expelled.
"Where?" Remus asked warily.
"The Forbidden Forest."
"There're werewolves in the Forbidden Forest!" Peter squeaked. The taller boys just rolled their eyes at him.
"And you have your very own werewolf to protect you." Sirius reminded him, throwing an arm around Remus's shoulder as the tawny haired boy shook his head exasperatedly.
"Anyway, it's nowhere near full moon." James added.
"Right-o, Jim, my boy." Sirius flung his other arm around James.
"You know I hate that name." James said flatly.
"Of course he does." Remus chuckled.
Sirius just grinned and the Marauders headed off in toward the Forbidden Forest. They left James's Invisibility Cloak hidden at the edge of the trees; it was dark in the forest anyway and they didn't want the cloak to hamper them if they had to make a quick getaway. They hadn't gotten very far, when Peter started asking if they could go back, but the other three were caught up in the thrill of knowing that they were doing something extremely dangerous.
"Hey, look at this." James said, pointing at the ground. Barely visible in the soft dirt were a set of hoof prints that followed the path for a while before veering of into the trees.
"I've heard that there are centaurs in here." Remus said softly.
"Cool! I want to see a centaur." It was the first time all night that Peter had actually looked excited.
"Shh!" Sirius hissed. "If a centaur heard you talking about them like they were some interesting animal to be put on display, they'd probably kill you."
Peter looked startled. This obviously didn't go well with the Muggle myths he'd heard about centaurs.
Remus nodded in agreement. "Centaurs are very wise, but they also feel that they are superior to humans." He shrugged. "They're probably right. Centaurs live a very long time and they know things that most people would kill for, if there's any species on Earth that actually understands the meaning of life, it's probably them."
"You seem to know a lot about my people." a grave voice spoke behind them. The Marauders whirled around to find themselves face to face with a centaur. He had platinum-blonde hair, a gorgeous palomino body and eyes so blue they made even Sirius's crystal orbs look murky in comparison, and he looked very young. Despite his youth, however, he had a regal air and there was something in his eyes that made him look as though he knew things that no mortal could ever fathom.
Remus blushed slightly. "I meant no disrespect." he stammered
The centaur smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his sad eyes. "I know you did not. On the contrary, I have never met a mortal who seemed to have a higher regard for the centaurs; most humans are convinced that they are the supreme race," He inclined his head slightly to Remus, "but I expect that a werewolf is quite aware of that flaw in human nature."
Two things kept Sirius for making an indignant reply on the behalf of his race; Remus's warning about disagreeing with a centaur, and shock that this stranger could know so much about his friend.
"You will find, however, that not even centaurs are all-knowing." the blue-eyed centaur continued, "I will leave you with a warning; be careful, the Forest is a dangerous place for students. I bid you good-night." With that he disappeared into the trees, leaving four thoroughly mystified Gryffindors standing on the trail.
As they gradually shook off the lingering effects of the centaur's presence and continued deeper into the Forest, they noticed some strange noises. There was something rustling in the bushes some ways off the path and they heard an odd clicking noise. They drew their wands and backed away from the sounds; the noise was getting closer and closer, but it was too dark to see what it was. Remus took out his wand and muttered "Lumos", but the light wasn't strong enough to illuminate the shadows between the trees.
Peter was shaking with fear, James's face was far paler than usual, Sirius was gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles were turning white, and Remus's palms were sweating. Although they couldn't see what was approaching, they all had the distinct impression that it wasn't friendly. Suddenly Peter let out a terrified scream as a huge spider materialized out of the blackness. It was the size of a large dog, jet-black and hairy and it had huge jaws, which were making the clicking noise as it snapped them together.
"Run!" James and Sirius yelled in unison, pushing Peter, who seemed to have frozen in fear in front of them. Remus didn't need telling twice, he took off after his friends as Peter regained his senses and fled. For awhile it seemed like the spider was going to catch them, but their longer legs worked to their advantage and they outran it. They didn't stop running until they had reached the edge of the Forest, where they had left James's cloak. As they bent over, trying to catch their breath, they suddenly started laughing. All their nerves transmitted into a maniacal laughter that left them rolling on the ground, gasping for breath.
"You shoulda seen your face, Pete!" Sirius crowed. "You looked like you were about to faint."
"Yeah, well you weren't looking all too pleased yourself." Peter countered.
By the time they had gotten a hold of themselves and were walking toward the castle, they were talking about how cool the spider had been, completely forgetting their terror. Just before they reached the doors, Sirius turned to the others.
"Do you guys really want to go back to Gryffindor Tower?" he asked.
None of them was eager for this night to come to an end, so they turned back around and walked to the edge of the lake. They threw themselves down at the water's edge and lay there looking up at the stars and talking until the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon. Feeling strangely energized despite the fact they hadn't slept a wink, they slipped the cloak back on and headed toward the castle.