Thanks again for the reviews, here's yet another chapter! Please let me know if there are spelling mistakes I didn't see or if something doesn't make sense so I can rewrite it. Thanks again for reading

Chapter 18

There was a whole page on the disappearance of Alan Nott in the daily prophet next morning and still he had not been found. None of the Gryffindors had slept much the previous night; the shouts from the grounds had undoubtedly awoken the students already asleep. Though the witnesses of the green skull insisted they had heard Dumbledore pronounce Nott dead, the newspapers over the next few days all bore the headlines 'Alan Nott still missing'

Dumbledore had made a short speech similar to one he had made after the disappearance of Dolohov about how Nott showed many of the great characteristics of a Slytherin. Sirius had had a pretend coughing fit at these words and choked, "what is that some kind of compliment?"

Remus had given Sirius a very unpleasant look at this, he was staring straight at Dumbledore as he spoke, listening intently as Dumbledore continued to speak of how at times like this all houses in the school must unite as one.

"Yeah, unite with Snivelly…" James laughed.

Snape had been skulking around the school even more so than he usually did the following week, Sirius often pointed out this had started after their duel but James couldn't help thinking that maybe it had something to do with Alan Nott.

The four of them discussed Nott's strange disappearance that night in the common room as they revised for Transfiguration (their end of year exams began the following week).

"It would be a green serpent in the sky though wouldn't it?" Sirius said. "It's got something to do with Slytherins…"

"Well it was a Slytherin who was taken wasn't it?" Remus pointed out.

"It was a Hufflepuff last time," Sirius argued.

"Well Hufflepuffs are known for their… stupidity aren't they?" James said. "And there wasn't a skull after Dolohov vanished. Maybe that means Dolohov is still alive and being used for something."

"Yeah and maybe Nott refused." Sirius said.

"I'm not sure," Remus said. "I can't think who is doing it though… or more importantly, how?"

They went to bed fairly early that night after more revision from Remus and chatting from the other three. Though there were only a few days now before the exams, few students in the common room apart from the fifth and seventh years were seen to be doing a lot of revision. Most had taken to sitting, heads together, discussing the strange goings on at Hogwarts and few even voiced the opinion that the exams might be cancelled if there was another disappearance in the near future.

"Going to risk it Moony?" Sirius asked Remus after he had overhead some wishful fourth years speaking about this.

"What do you think?" Remus said rolling his eyes. "I doubt there will be another attack so soon after the last one, especially now Dumbledore's planted all sorts of extra security measures around the castle. And even if there is the exams are unlikely to be cancelled because the school will probably only remain open so we can do our exams and…"

"Ok, ok we get it." Sirius said. "What about you two?"

"I'll take the gamble." Peter said. "I'm never going to learn all this by Monday!"

But over the weekend it seemed that no one really believed the exams would be called off and nearly all the Gryffindors were revising either in the common room or out on the grounds on Saturday and Sunday. "We could take our stuff outside?" Sirius suggested every few minutes.

"I've told you Padfoot, I can't concentrate outside." Remus said vaguely, scanning another book.

"Why not?"

Remus didn't answer. James was skim reading a book and Peter was staring out of the window.

"Snivellus is outside." Sirius said bitterly.

"That's exactly why I don't want to be there." Remus said putting down his book and looking up. "You two always start fights with him and then we either end up running back into the castle or hiding under James' invisibility cloak. It's the same old story. You aggravate Snape, Snape calls a teacher and we don't get any work done."

"What's so great about work anyway?" Sirius asked grumpily but sunk down into his armchair and took out a book as well.

The weekend gradually drew to a close and on Sunday evening the common room had never been so crowded. Some even said it was worth taking their books up to the dormitory where at least they would have more space since the latecomers were forced to spread their books out on the floor as all the armchairs were occupied.

"I'm glad I don't do arithmancy," Peter said glancing at a fifth year's revision notes. "Defence against the dark arts is hard enough…"

"Yeah, you're rubbish at that Pettigrew." Sirius said grinning.

"Have you worked out how to do a patronus yet?" James asked.

"No." Peter said gloomily.

"Have a go now," Sirius said.

"It's too crowded." Peter mumbled, looking around the common room.

"Nah it's not. Go for it!"

So Peter pulled out his wand and looked nervously at Sirius for instructions.

"Think of something happy," James said.

"Like what?" Peter asked, eyes darting round the common room as though hoping to find inspiration in the armchairs or the fire.

"I dunno, think." Sirius said.

"Ok… I'm thinking of my ninth birthday party." Peter told them.

"Remember, expecto patronum." James said grinning.

Peter raised his wand and eyes screwed up in concentration shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Something small and white shot from his wand making the students on the floor scream and get to their feet. It was very small… with a long writhing tail. It was…

"It's a rat!" Sirius shouted in delight. "I knew it! I knew yours would be a rat!"

"It's not a rat…" Peter said in dismay. "Is it?"

"I'm afraid so!" Sirius said happily. "You get a rat and I get a dog… Fair isn't it?"

The small patronus reached the end of the common room before vanishing. The students returned to the floor, many of them shooting suspicious glances at Peter while James and Sirius were still doubled up with laughter.