Monday morning, James was not surprised to see the family owl fluttering down to the breakfast table but he was surprised to see an ordinary letter in her beak and not a Howler. With a sigh, he took the letter, steeling himself for what was to come, and slit the seal with a finger. Sirius and Remus watched covertly as James read the letter, his eyebrows climbing higher and higher with each line. Finally, he finished and tossed the letter down, staring at it with a puzzled expression on his face.

Unable to stand the suspense, Remus asked, "Well, what is it?" James pushed the letter over to Sirius and Remus, it didn't matter to him if they read it and it would be faster than him trying to tell them what it said. The letter, written in his father's flowing script, read...

James,

Your mother and I are both fine, just a little busy with work and all, so please excuse us for not writing sooner. Of course, the owl from Professor McGonagall was the first that we have heard of you since you left for Hogwarts but I remember what my first year was like so that is alright. I also remember the owls the professors used to send home about me, trust me when I say that this one is mild in comparison. Now, your mother is insisting that I add this in, that does NOT give you the right to make trouble, in fact, we would really prefer it if you managed to get by the next six and a half years without even a warning, but we do understand. This ONE time, that is.

Here is the thing, son, and what I am about to tell you is being kept quiet so please don't tell anyone other than Sirius. I know you can trust him. Anyway, things are heating up at work for reasons that I can't get into with you and I might have to go abroad for the Ministry. If I do, I expect you will be on your best behavior while I am gone and not cause your mother any trouble. Hopefully, I won't have to go but, if I do, I might not make it home for a while.

All my love,
Dad

PS. I am not quite sure how to say this so I am going to say it badly. Do nothing to antagonize any of the Slytherins right now. There are some very strange things happening and those of that House seem to be at the forefront...

There were some lines scribbled out at the end of the letter, as if Mr. Potter had changed his mind about letting his son have that information. Remus put the letter down and looked at James, with a puzzled expression on his face, "What, exactly," he said slowly, "do you think he means by this?"

Before James could answer, Sirius burst in angrily with a question of his own, "How come," he demanded, "I get a Howler and you get a gentle telling off?" James stared at his friend, there was not a single power on earth that would get him to answer that loaded question, until Sirius picked up his books and said, "See you later:" Remus and James exchanged worried looks as Sirius stomped out of the hall, too mad now to care what other people thought of him. From out of the corner of his eye, James saw Lily frown at him, she was going to make him go after Sirius this time.

Coming quickly to a decision, James picked up his things and told Remus he would see him in class. Checking his watch to make sure he had enough time to talk to Sirius, James jogged out of the Great Hall, looking for his friend. He found Sirius about half an hour before their History of Magic class, dispiritedly sitting outside under one of the trees by the lake. Dropping his books, James flopped down beside his friend, "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"No."
James rolled his eyes at Sirius' terse comment, "You better."
"Or what."
"I'm going to kick your ass."
Sirius snorted, "You and what army."
"I don't need one."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."

Sirius shrugged, still not meeting James' gaze, "You can try." James merely held his silence, knowing Sirius would speak sooner or later. Sure enough, as Sirius threw a rock at the lake, he said, "Mother sent me another letter last night." He paused, hunting around for another rock to throw. Finding it, he threw it as hard as he could, "Well, you heard the Howler she sent, so you can imagine what this one was like." He let out a bark of harsh laughter and added, "Actually, you probably can't. This was worse, if you can believe it." He scuffed his toes in the dirt and then looked at James, explaining, "S'why she didn't send a Howler; Dumbledore would of never let something like that be screamed aloud in the Great Hall."

James' mouth fell open, he couldn't quite conceive of a letter so bad that it simply could not be sent as a Howler, and, realizing how dumb he probably looked, asked, "What...you don't have to tell me or anything...but what did she say?"

Turning his gaze, Sirius stared hard at the lake, telling himself that his eyes were watering due to the sunlight, "I don't know. I didn't read all of it...I chucked it into the fire when I realized where it was going." A self deprecating smile touched his lips, "Let me put it to you this way, the nicest thing she called me out of what I read was 'shame of my flesh.' Nice thing for a parent to say to their child, isn't it?" Sirius sighed and tore his eyes away from the apparently fascinating cloud formation over the lake to look at his best friend, "I really, I dunno, your parents are so nice all the time and mine, well, mine aren't. It just bugs me."

It was now James' turn to stare off into the lake, not knowing quite what to say to that. Feeling the pressure to say something, he looked down at his shoes, "I'm sorry." James flushed red, he had simply no idea why he had said that, and stammered out an adjunct, "I wish I could make your mom be nicer to you or something."

Sirius shook his head, raking his hands through his, still, blue with pink polka dotted hair, "Don't bother." He said, again a hint too casually, "My mother isn't worth the time of day for someone like you and, to be frank," he turned his penetrating stare onto James once more, "I don't expect you to solve my problems. But, if we are wishing," he trailed off, flushing a little, "if we are wishing, I wish that I had a family like yours."

The two boys sat in silence for a long moment then, in that way males seem to be able to do, sharing silent communication. Eventually sensing that Sirius had exorcised the demon and it was time to let the topic drop, James flashed a tentative grin, "You know, Sirius, I really do think you need to do something about your hair. I've got a counter-curse book in my bag, what say you we go to class and look it up while Remus takes notes?"

Later that afternoon, James ran into Lily as he was coming out of the boy's bathroom and she, apparently, was coming out of the girl's. "Hey, Lily." He said in greeting as he fell in step beside her, both of them on the way to their flying class which was immediately after lunch. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at her; she looked happier and the bruises were gone as far as he could tell.

"Hey James. I saw you guys this morning at breakfast and Sirius looked upset." Lily replied as she readjusted her backpack, looking serious, "Did you go talk to him before class? Is he alright?"

James shrugged, not sure of what to tell her, "We talked, yeah." He paused for a moment and then continued, "I think that he is better now. He just had some...stuff that he needed to get off his chest." Fiddling with his own backpack kept him from having to make conversation for a moment but he spoke once more, voice low and concerned, "The Slytherins haven't given you any more trouble, have they?"

The air seemed to chill between the two of them as James waited patiently for his answer. Finally, Lily stopped and gave him one of her piercing looks, the ones that see right through you, "James, you have to leave the Slytherins alone." She reached out and touched his arm, adding emphasis to her words, "Trust me, they aren't worth the trouble that you could get into and I don't want you to get tossed out on my account."

James shrugged uncomfortably, his thoughts had been wandering down that particular lane a time or two. Well, not the getting expelled part, at least. "You saw what they did to Sirius and Remus and they didn't treat you any better." He reached out and brushed his fingertips over her cheek, the one that the Slytherins had bruised, "But you would still have me turn the other cheek, Lily?"

"For some reason, yes." Lily said tartly, shrugging his hand and his concern off; there was something in his regard for her that scared her, "I would hate to loose my best Transfiguration competition, after all."

James threw back his head and laughed, raising a hand to ruffle his hair self consciously, "Well, there you have it." Pushing his glasses back onto his nose, he smiled at her and the two of them continued their way down the hall. As they walked, James thought some more, his levity dispersing, "Just promise me that you will tell, if not me, then someone if the Slytherins bother you again, Lily."

Once again coming to a halt, Lily stared up at him, wondering where he was going with this. Just as she was opening her mouth to speak, the bell signaling the start of class sounded and Lily widened her eyes in shock, "Oh, no! That was the bell." The two of them turned and ran down the hall as one, hoping against hope that they would not get into trouble for being late.

The next morning after a bad night filled with dreams he couldn't remember, James was watching as Rabastan approached the Gryffindor table from the corner of his eye, not ready to take any garbage off him. When it became apparent that Rabastan was, once again, going to thump James in the head with a book, James whipped out his wand and muttered, "Expelliarmus." He watched in total satisfaction as the book flew out of Rabastan's hand and landed on a plate of of syrupy pancakes. With satisfied smirks, James, Remus, and Sirius rose from the table and headed to the door, pausing long enough for James to smile ever so maliciously at a steaming Rabastan. "Lose control of your book, Lestrange?" James asked pointedly, smiling at the Hufflepuffs who were all too ready to laugh at the very unpopular Rastaban. Before he could respond in kind, James, Remus, and Sirius walked out of the Hall, laughing at the look on his face.

"I bet you thought that was funny, didn't you, Rotter?" Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black stepped out of the shadows of the door to the Great Hall as the three boys passed through. With the tiniest of glances at the door to ascertain that the teachers inside would not see them, Lucius rounded on James, "I bet you don't have the guts to take on a real wizard."

Sirius couldn't let that one pass without challenge, "It's like this, Malfoy," he sneered right back in classic Black tones, "when we find a real wizard that wants to take on James, we'll let you know. You can come watch, if you like. Bring your lapdogs, if you wish." He raised his chin, looking down at his cousin so that she could not begin to mistake whom he meant by that comment.

Narcissa waggled one finger under her cousin's nose and said tauntingly, "Shame, shame, dear cousin. I shall have to write to your mother about your appallingly bad manners to Lucius. You know how she feels about him, being from one of the finest, not to mention oldest, wizarding families in our world. That might even be worth another Howler, you know." As Sirius turned red, Narcissa giggled, a high pitched false sound, "Oh, I just love it when you turn red, darling cousin. Just goes to show how delightfully easy it is to bait you, you know."

Sirius went for his wand, James and Remus went for Sirius, and Lucius and Narcissa laughed in derision before sweeping off into the Great Hall together. "Let...me...go!" Sirius gasped at James who had his arm wrapped around his waist. James remembered his father's warning and tightened his hold on Sirius once more, "I am going to...do something really bad to that girl!" He struggled for a moment longer, saving his breath to fight off his two friends...

"The Trouble Triplets fighting in the halls? And with each other, no less. My, my, Professor McGonagall will be so pleased to hear that."

The Trouble Triplets, as they were now nicknamed, stiffened and turned as one to look at the newcomers, "Snape and Lestrange. What a bloody great day this is turning into." Remus ground out, his temper as sorely tried as James' and Sirius' at this point, especially with the threat of another detention added to it, "Why don't the two of you mind your own business?"

Snape maintained his silence, merely meeting Remus' stare head on while Rabastan flung down his sticky History book at James' feet, "Shut it, Lupin. This, as of yet, doesn't concern you. Rotter, you owe me a new book." Rabastan leaned idly against the wall and continued, hand moving to grasp his wand since the three boys could not see him do it, "Of course, if you can't pay for it, I will be happy to take it out of your hide." Pulling out his wand, he snapped, "Diffendo."

The force of the spell sent James reeling back, a cut opening high on his cheekbone, and he plowed into his two friends. All three of them hit the floor and could only watch, aghast, as Rabastan strutted off, laughing. Snape stared at the bleeding cut on James' face as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened until Sirius, finally, extracted his wand and pointed it at him, "You had better leave, Snape." He said as coldly as he could manage, considering how shaken up he was. Snape looked for all the world like he wanted to say something but, sensing the rampart hostility coming from the Trouble Triplets, decided that discretion was the better part of valor and left.

"That son of a bitch." James muttered quietly, ignoring the shocked looks on both Remus' and Sirius' faces, reaching a shaking hand up to his face. Pulling it away, he grimaced at the sight of the blood, and snarled, "I am going to..." Closing his mouth with an audible click, James picked himself off the floor and stalked off, leaving Remus and Sirius to stare after him.

Furiously, James stomped down the halls of Hogwarts, trying to remember the way to the Nurse. Blood was running down his face now, soaking into his robes, but James was to angry to actually care about the blood he was leaving every where. Nor was he paying attention to where he was going either and he ran smack into another student, "Peter," he said in surprise, lending a hand to help him off the floor, "what on earth are you doing here instead of in class?" Taking a better look at his fellow Gryffindor, James said grimly, "Never mind. I see the Slytherins got to you too."

Peter nodded furiously, hands going back over his mouth to cover his teeth that were five times their normal size and still growing. He tried to speak but couldn't get the words to come out past his teeth so he pointed to James cheek, lifting his eyebrows in an obvious question. James ran a hand through his hair and spat, "Rastaban, of course. With Snape looking on as usual." Peter began nodding vigorously then and James asked, "Rastaban and Snape got you too?" At Peter's final furious nod, James looked even darked than normal, "Somehow, that just doesn't surprise me. Those two certainly get around."

The two of them walked into the Infirmary and were greeted by the Nurse, Madam Pomfrey. She clucked over the pair of them as she set about quickly healing the cut on James' cheek and fixing Peter's teeth, muttering under her breath about uncontrolled students. Just as James was starting to go slightly nuts from listening to her chatter, she dismissed the pair of them with notes for Binns. As they left, Peter would still not meet James' eyes, obviously embarrassed and James, said, in an effort to make him feel more at ease, "Cheer up, Peter. We will get them yet."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Peter stuttered, his eyes twitching up and down the hall as if he expected Slytherins to leap out of the shadows and curse them on the spot, "That is the second time I have been cursed this week and I can't even report them half the time cause I never see them doing it. Plus," he added a bit glumly, "no one believes me."

James punched Peter lightly in the shoulder, grinning a little as he realized he was doing one of Sirius' favorite actions, "We will figure something out. Sirius, Remus, and I already got a plan working. We just need to fine tune it a bit." Ruffling his hair, James added, with a self satisfied smile, "Did you see Lestrange's face this morning when he...ahem...'dropped' his book over at the Hufflepuff table?"

Peter nodded vigorously once again, a smile blossoming on his little piggy face, "That was you?" He asked, eyes going wide with hero worship, "That was a cool spell, James. Can you teach it to me?"

James shrugged and smiled, basking in the approval of his classmate, "Sure." He said easily, wanting to help his Housemate to be able to defend himself, "It's not a hard spell and it's one of the ones we are supposed to learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year anyway. If you are in the common room tonight when Remus, Sirius, and I are, we can teach it to you then. How's that sound?"

"That sounds really great." Peter replied, sounding elated that James was willing to teach him something. The two of them approached Binns' classroom and Peter smiled at James, "I guess I'll talk to you later, then." James nodded and the two of them entered the classroom, ignoring the stares of the Slytherin as they handed their notes to Binns.

Author's response to R&R - Pammapoo, sorry about having to bring Peter in...I don't like him either...but I'm trying to stick with canon and he is rather essential to the rest of the story. I was playing with the idea of having him be in a different year but chucked that when I remembered Remus saying they all became animagus in their 5th year...so Peter would have to be as old as the true Mauraders were. I'm sorry, too, about the wait...I had a calculus test and two programs due this week, tonight was the first night I had free to write. Hope you like this one...I am about to start skipping years, now that the set up is almost complete.