"So, what have you guys got planned for tonight" Talitha asked as she reached over for the jug of pumpkin juice.

It was lunch time at Hogwarts and five Gryffindors sat at the far end of the House table, as far away from the staff table as possible. Tonight was full moon and Talitha knew the four marauders would be out exploring.

Talitha looked across the table at Remus who was already starting to look slightly ill. He was absent-mindedly stabbing a sausage with his knife as he was reading a book that was open on the table next to him. To his right sat Peter, a small chubby boy, who at that moment was eating his fourth helping of mashed potato. On the other side of Remus was Talitha's cousin, James. Talitha grinned as she watched him gazing down the table at a certain red-haired girl. His left hand ran through the back of his hair as he pushed peas around his plate with the fork in his other hand. Only Sirius sitting next to her seemed to have heard her question.

"Nothing definite planned yet, have we Prongs?" He replied

"Huh? What?" James answered, being shaken out of his daydream by hearing his nickname.

"Plans for tonight" Sirius prompted

"I got detention remember, in potions, thanks to Snivelly" James grumbled "And tonight of all nights. I won't be able to come"

Sirius shrugged and turned to Remus

"What're we going to do then?" He asked the werewolf

"Don't mind" Remus replied without looking up from his book

"Don't be too enthusiastic Moony" Sirius laughed. Remus looked up and smiled back at him

"Sorry, I'm not with it today. I'm feeling a bit rough"

"Pete, any ideas" Sirius asked the other boy

"mnnn…no…not really" The boy muttered, still eating. He glanced up "Brilliant, pudding."

Sirius and James both laughed and rolled their eyes upwards

James, Sirius and Remus arrived back in the common room following afternoon lessons. Talitha was sitting on one of the sofas reading a defence against the dark arts book.

"Where's Peter?" she asked as the three boys came over to her

"Broken arm" Remus said as he headed up to the dorm

"Fell down that trick step again" Sirius laughed as he slumped on the sofa next to Talitha. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"He's got to stay in the hospital wing tonight" James added

"I'm going down to the library for half an hour before I have to go" Remus told them as he reappeared holding a large book

"Hang on I'll come with you" Talitha said as she stood up "There's a book I want to look at for defence class"

Talitha and Remus were almost at the library when they saw Snape walking towards them down the narrow passage. As the three students met they all came to a halt.

"Move out of the way Snivelly" Talitha said. Snape glared at her and then at Remus.

"You're about due to disappear again soon aren't you?" Snape asked Remus bitterly, ignoring Talitha "You know, I'd love to find out where you go"

"I bet you would" Talitha retorted with a slight grin. Remus remained silent

"I'll work it out one day and then you and your pathetic friends will all be in trouble" Snape spat at Remus.

Talitha had her wand out and pointing at his chest before he had finished speaking.

"You're going to get what's coming to you one day, Snivellus" she said quietly

Snape pulled his wand out quickly and yelled.

"Expelliarmus" Talitha's wand fell out of her hand, as she bent down to pick it up Snape shot another jinx at her. The force of it knocked her to the ground as pain spread throughout her body.

"Impedimenta" Remus yelled pulling out his own wand. Snape blocked the spell with a shield charm and then shot a stunning spell at Remus. Remus crashed to the ground as Talitha was pulling herself back up.

"Let's see what you're made of now you haven't got those idiotic boys to protect you" Snape hissed as he shot yet another jinx at Talitha. She blocked this one and hit Snape with a flash of light, leaving a large gash on his face.

Three sparks flew back hitting her leg. The pain was so intense that she almost keeled over again but managed to put a hand out and steady herself on the wall.

By the time Remus started to come round from the stunner both Talitha and Snape were covered in cuts and gashes. Their robes were torn and Talitha couldn't put any weight on her left leg.

Remus, still on the floor, tried to hex Snape but missed due to his half dazed state. Another flash of light left Remus's arm bleeding, heavily.

"Petrificus Totalis" Talitha shouted and Snape fell stiffly to the floor. Talitha pulled Remus up onto his feet.

"He's lucky I'm not a tell tale, attacking two prefects" Talitha said as she kicked Snape in the ribs. She winced in pain as she realised she had used the leg that had been hit by Snapes spell. Remus was inspecting the cut on his arm which was now bleeding quite heavily. Talitha tore a piece from her already ruined robes and wrapped it around Remus's arm. They headed back to the common room, Taltiha leaning on Remus for support.

Sirius and James looked up from their game of exploding snap as Talitha limped over to them.

"You better get that seen to" Talitha was saying as she pointed at Remus's arm.

"I'll not bother, I'll have worse than that by tomorrow any way" He replied as he helped her sit down slowly on to the sofa

"What happened" James asked, looking concerned.

"Snape" Remus replied "He was going on about where I disappear to again and when Tali told him to shut up he hexed her."

"Git" Talitha added

"I've got to go" Remus said looking at his watch "Don't bother coming tonight Padfoot, stay with Tali"

"You sure?"

"yeah I'll be fine. See you tomorrow"

"I better get to detention as well" James added as he followed Remus out of the common room. After they had gone Talitha explained the whole incident to Sirius

"Right he's had it this time, he's gone to far" Sirius growled as he jumped to his feet and headed towards the portrait hole"

"Don't do anything stupid" Talitha yelled after him, unable to get to her feet and stop him.

Sirius found Snape in the library, his head buried in a book. Snape jumped as he looked up to find Sirius glaring at him. Sirius pulled over a chair and sat astride it.

"I want a word with you Snivelly"

Snape didn't speak but glared back at Sirius

"You never do anything like that again to Talitha" Sirius warned him "and you keep your nose out of our business"

"I know you and your little friends are up to something Black and as soon as I find out you'll all be in so much trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get expelled. What will your parents think then?"

Sirius let out a small bark of laughter

"You obviously don't know much about my family. They wouldn't care two hoots if I got expelled except for the disgrace it would bring to the family and if Bellatrix hasn't told you, I already am a disgrace to the noble Black family"

"Well the perfect Potters won't be too pleased when their precious son and that half-blood get kicked out" Snape replied.

Sirius snarled as Snape continued to glare at him. The Potter's were more like family to Sirius than his own parents and brother ever would be. Sirius lost his cool and the anger started to rise inside of him.

"Go to the Whomping Willow" Sirius growled at Snape "Press the large knot with a stick. You'll find a tunnel, follow that and all will be revealed" Sirius stood up angrily, knocking the chair over as he did so. With a final glare at Snape he turned and walked coolly and casually out of the library and back up to the common room.

Talitha was still sitting on the sofa when Sirius arrived back. He had calmed down since his argument with Snape.

"You didn't do anything to him did you?" Talitha asked him cautiously "You know he'd love to report you for something"

"I only spoke to him. I warned him off that's all" Sirius replied. Talitha looked him in the eye trying to work out if he was telling the truth.

"Honest" Sirius told her.

"As soon as you say 'honest' that's when I know you've been up to something" Talitha laughed. Sirius grinned.

"no really I only talked to him" he said, still grinning "Anyway enough about Snivelly, we've got the evening to ourselves, no interruptions, seeing as everyone else isn't going to be around. What shall we do?"

"Well, I thought maybe I would sit here with my leg hurting for a bit" Talitha laughed sarcastically "Or maybe I'll go for a run"

"Aww! Poor Tali, is it still hurting?" Sirius grinned in a tone of mock sympathy. Talitha hit him playfully with her book

"So what are we going to do?" Sirius asked

"Wizard chess" Talitha suggested but changed her mind before Sirius answered and shook her head

"Nah, boring" Sirius replied

"Exploding Snap?" Talitha asked. Sirius screwed up his face and shook his head

"How about" he started with a mischievous twinkle in his eye "we go up to my dorm and I'll massage your leg for you"

"Ok you're on" Talitha grinned

James didn't expect anyone to around when he got back to Gryffindor tower, as it was late. He entered through the portrait to see Talitha limping over to a chair.

"Hey" he called to her, hurrying over "hang on I'll help you"

"I'll be ok now" Talitha laughed as she fell into the chair

"I'll kill Snape when I see him" James said angrily

"Sirius has already had words with him" Talitha told James "I have this feeling he did something else as well but he won't say. He was ok when he got back from talking to him but he went really quiet later on. He's up in the dorm, maybe he'll tell you"

"I'll go and see" James said with a grin as he ran up the stairs two at a time.

"Padfoot?" James called out as he opened the door to the dorm. Sirius was sitting on his bed, looking thoughtful, most unusual for him.

"What's up, mate?" James asked sitting down next to him.

"Nothin" Sirius replied

"Well, that's obviously a lie" James grinned. Sirius smiled back at him

"Yeah, I suppose it is"

"So, are you going to tell me then?" James asked

"I've done something really stupid Prongs. I didn't even realise till just now how stupid it was…"

"Go on" James prompted

"I told Snape about the Whomping Willow. I told him to go down there tonight. I didn't say anything about Moony though"

"You did what?" James shouted

"I know, I can't believe it either. I was just so mad after what he'd done to Talitha and he was going on about getting us all expelled, I just lost it" Sirius said guiltily. The two boys sat in silence for a few minutes.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to actually go down there would he?" Sirius asked quietly

"I don't know" replied James

"I mean if Snape told you to do something like that would you?"

"No" said James "I wouldn't do it if you told me to and I'm your friend. Yeah he'd have to be pretty thick to do something you suggest to him"

"But he's been wanting to find out for ages" Sirius said

"Maybe but he would think you were just messing about, trying to get your own back. Snivellus is a lot of things but he isn't stupid" James said

"Yeah I guess you're right" replied Sirius "I'm going to get some sleep then"

"Ok, I've got some homework to finish so I'm going back down to the common room"

"James, if Tali's still down there, don't tell her what I've done. She'll only get mad"

"Right" James grinned as he grabbed his bag and headed to the door.

The common room was empty by the time he got back, Talitha must have gone to bed. James settled himself in a chair and got out his charms homework. Rummaging round for a quill, he realised he had the marauders map in his bag. Taking it out, he spread it on the table in front of him.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good" he said quietly and watched as the map appeared. Casually he glanced over it, Talitha was up in the girls dorm, Sirius in the boys and a tiny figure labelled James Potter in the common room. Peter was in the Hospital wing not moving, he must be asleep. No sign of Moony, he hadn't wandered back onto school grounds so all was well there. James picked up his quill and started writing. A few minutes later he looked up and glanced at the map again. He frowned as he saw a small dot moving quickly over the school grounds. It was labelled Severus Snape. James jumped up quickly, not quiet believing that Snape would be so stupid. James raced up to the dorm and grabbed his invisibility cloak. He didn't wake Sirius as there wouldn't be enough time, he had to get to Snape before he reached the shrieking shack.

Throwing the cloak over him he raced through the common room and out into the corridor. He ran through the school, slowing down only momentarily so he could get past the caretaker without being heard. Once outside he picked up speed, running faster than he had ever run before, his heart was pounding. James reached the whomping willow and grabbed a stick which had obviously been used by Snape and prodded the tree. He crawled under the branches and slipped inside the tunnel, pulling the cloak off as he was doing so. Pausing briefly to light his wand so he could see in the dark tunnel, James set off running again. He hoped that Snape wasn't moving as fast as he was so that he would catch up with him. Only now did James realise he had left the marauders map on the table and could only hope that no one would find it. On and on he ran until he had almost given up hope. From experience he knew that in a few minutes he would be at the shrieking shack. Snape must already be there. He turned the final corner and saw a small glimmer of light which meant the door to the shack was open. James slowed down to a more cautious pace as he approached the opening. Peering through, he caught sight of Snape disappearing through the door that lead upstairs

"Snape! NO!" he shouted, but Snape didn't reappear. James climbed into the shack and followed Snape up the stairs. James heard a growl as he reached the top step and quickly looked around. Snape was standing still in one of the doorways, unable to move with fright. Instinctively, James grabbed hold of the back of Snape's robes and pulled him back and down the stairs, not bothering that Snape's head hit the wall in the process. James almost threw Snape back into the tunnel and yelled down after him

"Go! Run! I'll follow you in a minute. Wait at the end of the tunnel"

James heard a noise on the stairs and quickly transformed himself. The stag made towards the noise and came face to face with a savage werewolf. Using his antlers he pushed Moony back up the stairs. Seeing him calm slightly, Prongs returned down the stairs and headed over to the tunnel entrance. Transforming back he climbed in and made his way back along the tunnel, wondering what he was going to say to Snape when he caught up with him.

James immerged from the Hogwarts end of the tunnel to find Professor McGonagal walking over to the whomping willow with a worried expression on her face. This disappeared as soon as she saw James with all his arms and legs intact. She grabbed hold of him by the back of his robes and pushed him back up towards the castle, as she started shouting at him. James didn't understand most of what she was saying because he was desperately trying to come up with some excuse for what had happened.

"Worried sick…If she hadn't told…what do you think you were doing…" He heard Professor McGonagal rambling as she all but dragged him through the school to Dumbledore's office

"Professor…Is Snape…" James tried to interrupt

"Yeas, Potter, He is fine" Professor McGonagol snapped "Scared out of his life but otherwise…"

They had reached Dumbledore's office by now and after professor McGonagol had said the password, she sent James inside.

Cautiously, James walked inside the office that had become quite familiar to him over the past years, trying to decide exactly how he was going to kill Sirius if he didn't get expelled first.

"Ah…James" he heard Dumbledore say "Take a seat"

James sat down, somewhat nervously. He was used to being in trouble, even with the Headmaster but he didn't think anything beat this.

"So…" Dumbledore began "Are you going to tell me what all this is about?" James could tell that although he had asked this question, the headmaster knew exactly what had happened.

"I knew that Snape knew about the whomping willow and I saw him going over there" James said quickly hoping to avoid the question about how Snape knew. However mad James was with Sirius for being such an idiot, he wasn't going to tell on him. If necessary, James would have to take the blame himself.

"And I will assume you as well know about the whomping willow and Mr Lupins condition"

James nodded.

"Very well, only as I expected" Dumbledore said "Severus has been told of the situation and has been sworn to secrecy. He will not tell anyone"

James was relieved when the Headmaster told him this.

"Now, I shall assume you aren't going to tell me how exactly Severus found out about this"

James stared down at his feet and remained silent

"As I thought, the James, you must take responsibility for what happened and serve the punishment. You will receive detention for a week, maybe that will serve to remind you, and your friends, to be careful who this is mentioned to"

James nodded and looked up

"Professor, how did you find out?" He asked

"Your cousin went and found Professor McGonagol when she realised that you had gone"

"Oh, right" James said

"That will be all James"

James stood up and walked out into the corridor. He headed up to Gryffindor Tower expecting the common room to be silent as it was now the early hours of the morning. Instead he could hear shouting.

"What, in Merlin's name where you playing at?" He could hear Talitha shouting

"I don't know" Sirius yelled back "I wasn't thinking. I never expected him to go down there did I?"

"Well you're lucky everything turned out alright" Talitha continued "Not only did you put Snapes life in danger but James's as well."

"Yeah I know" Sirius said, sounding guilty

"And how do you think Moony's going to feel when he finds out? Can you even start to imagine how he would have felt if he'd bitten one of them? And what do you think would have happened to him if he did. No way would he have been able to stay at school"

James walked through into the common room. Talitha stopped shouting at Sirius and turned towards him.

"James are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah fine" James replied "Detention for a week no thanks to you two but otherwise"

"Look, James, I'm sorry, I had to go and tell someone when I found the map out here on the table and saw you in the tunnel. I was worried you'd get hurt" Talitha said

Sirius stared at the floor uncomfortably

"James, I'm sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen. You should have got me up and I would have gone after him. I'll go and tell McGonagol it was me if you want"

"Nah, then we'll just both be in trouble" James said with small smile "Just promise me that you'll think before opening your mouth next time"