Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! And I too am glad this finally has something resembling a plot. This chapter is kind of short, but the next one will be longer! Enjoy!
"It's well after midnight. Where could he possibly be?"
James had gotten back from his date with Lily Evans around ten. As un-innocent and indifferent to rules as he was, even he didn't want to push curfew too far. He had just served detention the previous Wednesday for the exact same offense, and he had had less luck than Peter—his had been served with Argus Filch, cleaning the Charms corridor about five times over.
"No idea," Sirius replied. "If it was Filch he was with I wouldn't be so worried, but Hagrid would never lengthen a jail sentence like that."
"Yeah. Hagrid's willing to exact punishment, but it's not cruel or unusual. D'you think we should go to McGonagall?"
"I will," said a somnolent voice from the corner of the dormitory.
"Yoni! You're awake?"
"More or less. I woke up a bit more when you started talking about Peter being missing. I wouldn't want anything to happen to that kid." He scrambled out of bed and slipped into his socks. "I'll go get her."
"Thanks loads," James said. "We can go on being lazy gits."
After Yoni had gone, Remus asked, "You don't suppose something has happened to him? He was with... our Slytherin friend, after all."
"That's right, he was!" Sirius said. "Oooh, if he's done something to poor Wormtail his life's not gonna be worth a Knut! I'll show Snivellus he can't mess with the Marauders!"
"Admirable sentiments, I'm sure, Mr. Black, but wholly unnecessary." Professor McGonagall was standing in the doorway, her matriarchal wrinkled face contorted with worry. "Please, all three of you accompany me. The headmaster wishes to speak with you."
"Dumbledore?" The boys stared round at each other. If Dumbledore was involved, it had to be serious. Without a word, Remus, James, and Sirius followed Professor McGonagall out of the dormitory and down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. The journey to the headmaster's office was a hell of incomparable proportions, all three of them exchanging doomed glances the whole way. Somehow, though, they made it to the spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office.
The headmaster was waiting for them seated behind his desk in a dark blue dressing gown riddled with golden stars and astronomical symbols. His wrinkled face was unreadable. "Good evening, boys," he began.
"Where's Peter?" Sirius demanded angrily.
"Mr. Black, I can assure you we have no more idea than you."
"What a comfort," James muttered.
"However, we feel you should be adequately informed on the situation. Hagrid did indeed take Peter and Severus into the Forbidden Forest to investigate the disappearance of several of his thestral herd. He had gotten some of the thestrals into a clearing when a suspicious noise drew him into the forest... when he returned, Severus and Peter were gone, as were the thestrals."
"Th-that's all you know?" Remus asked, a sinking feeling hitting him somewhere below his ribcage. "But... they could be anywhere!"
"Yeah! I don't care about Severus, but—"
"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, I realize this is a worrying situation, but we are doing our best to discover what has happened... we believe someone has kidnapped them."
"Kidnapped? But what in the world would anybody want with either of them?"
"We're not sure. It's possible they were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the kidnappers were only after the thestrals... we've sent out search parties, but as we know next to nothing it's all we can do at the moment."
"All right, boys," said Professor McGonagall. "Back to bed. I trust you can find your way back to Gryffindor tower without my assistance?"
"Yes, Professor," Remus intoned. The others nodded, then trooped out of the room and down the spiral staircase.
"OK. Here's the plan, men: sneak up to the dormitory, snag the Invisibility Cloak, and then... we're going in," Sirius whispered as soon as they were halfway to their destination. James and Remus both nodded agreement to this plan.
Sirius stared at the werewolf. "Remus! You're a prefect! Aren't you going to try and stop us?"
Remus shook his head vehemently. "The time for following rules is past. We can't abandon Peter to kidnappers and Severus Snape!"
"Well spoken," James said, grinning. "For a prefect."
"Cut it out, we're there."
Sirius gave the Fat Lady the password ("dittany"), but not before rousing her out of a deep slumber. She was not pleased.
"Where have you three been tonight, eh?" she asked, squinting suspiciously at them. "And where's your pal?"
"No idea. Now do you mind? Dittany!" Sirius replied impatiently.
"All right, all right, no need to get touchy..." But she finally swung forward to admit them.
"Finally," James muttered, clambering in behind Remus and Sirius. "I thought she'd never let us in. Let's hurry, who knows what they're doing to Peter as we speak."
This thought put wings on their feet. In just a few minutes, they were back in the common room, laden with the additional burden of James's Invisibility Cloak. "Okay, listen: in an emergency, we transform," James said, "and Remus gets the cloak. Agreed?"
"Agreed!"
As they swung the Fat Lady back into place, she was heard to say, "Those boys! Don't they know crime never pays? They won't get away with it for long... Dumbledore always knows."
None of them felt it was a very good omen to start out an already dangerous journey.