Remus rushed into the common room as the others were again attempting to complete another batch of homework. His face was red and his light brown hair ruffled so much it resembled a haystack. He leapt towards them, overturning chairs in his haste and provoking a large group of fifth-years who suddenly found him treading unceremoniously treading over their work. He dodged a number of hexes fired at him and around him items of furniture erupted into boils and turned purple. A particularly nasty hex reduced a chair that Remus' leg had just been on top of into cinders. Anyone would have thought that this was the Slitherin's room. He flew into a chair which the other way so that its' back shielded him. He kept his head covered as he gasped

"She-she asked me-"

"Raven?" Sirius asked, not letting him finish. Remus nodded.It seemed a bit of a melodramatic way of telling them that they were finally a couple but they all smiled and spoke encouragingly.

"That's great!" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, nice one, Moony."

A crease gathered between Remus' eyebrows. He was completely confounded. Didn't they understand that his progress with Raven was now hanging by a thread? "Wha-?" He gasped in confusion, "NO!" He finally realised what they thought. "No. She asked me about Mannin!" He explained, hurriedly. "She asked me what he looked like; about his injuries ... She's gonna check up on it."

"Oh." There faces fell in sympathy for him.

"I'm sorry, Remus" Peter squeaked. Sirius looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Why?" he requested. "It isn't over yet!" He shot up and began stuffing things randomly into his bag. A few stray hexes were still being fired by determined students and so they were forced to keep their heads low. One caught one of James' books as he too got up and began forcing things into his bag, making it spontaneously sprout feathers. It too got snatched up and crammed into the bag. After a few seconds they were ready and they stood up, their wands raised, willing to fight their way out. They strode towards their enemy but they had given up before they had even reached them. James would have quietened them anyway but Lily was sitting near by and so, to keep up his good record, he didn't dare utter a spell. The others reluctantly followed his lead and they all marched out into the corridor. They turned, silently, into a hidden opening they all knew well, where they stopped.

"Time?" Sirius asked as soon as they were all hidden by the rather ugly form of some famous witch or other (they had never bothered to find out who).

"Half eight." Peter replied.

"That all? Time drags around here lately."

"If you were Mannin where would you be at half eight?" James questioned.

"I wish we had the map." Said Peter, longingly.

"Me too, but we haven't. So where would you be? The likeliest answer is the Hufflepuff common room, right?" He concluded, answering his own question.

"Yeah. We've got no hope." Remus said, more to himself than anyone else. He was wishing more than ever that he had just shut his big mouth. "We shouldn't do it anyway ... It's not right." Any other time he would have nothing to do with this but he couldn't let her find out. It would mean the end; and they hadn't even begun.

"If you don't want to ... If you want her to see you lied, then ..." James said slowly, "we won't do it, Moony."

Remus knew he was trying to manipulate him. The truth was, with this 'pact' he had with Lily, he was desperate to do something. Sirius didn't even attempt to deny it.

"C'mon, Moony." He begged. "I need to hex someone!" Remus scowled at him. He knew he wouldn't win so he gave up early.

"Nothing too big. Just so she sees that it happened."

"O.K." James agreed.

"It'll have to be bigger than what you came up with though."

"Came up with?" Remus spat.

"You don't wanna look like you lost. That's even worse than not fighting at all!" Sirius continued, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"I just wish he'd actually done something wrong ..." Remus reflected, sadly. The others ignored him.

"It may have to wait 'till morning, Moony." James declared. Sirius looked at him as if he'd lost all faith in him.

"Are you mad? We're here now, aren't we? I am not going to sit back in there and do homework now!" He demanded, swinging his arm around to point through the wall in the direction of the common room.

"All right, all right! Got the taste for blood, Padfoot?" James asked. This comment made them all feel rather strange, and Sirius calmed down immediately. James was surprised at himself. He had practically called his best friend a murderer and what they were doing was a long way away from this. Sirius' parental link with the dark arts was nothing to be joked about. With a sympathetic look he quickly changed the subject. "We'll just check in the library and down by his common room and, if there's no sign of him, we'll take the cloak for an early morning visit."

"Let's go, then!" Peter said. He was the only one left out who was at all eager. They quietly agreed and ventured off to the library. They walked in a line across the breadth of the corridors, only moving from this formation when the varying widths of the castle's passageways forced them to. They walked methodically to the library, scanning everyone who passed them and asking anyone from Hufflepuff if they'd seen him. They received some odd looks in return but none of them cared. It was curious how, when one of them was in need, they united in this way against everyone else. The element of danger in their night time excursions had taught them to depend and look out for each other and this echoed into the day.

They reached the library with no more insight as to where Ivan Mannin was than before. The only friend of his who was known to them, Taddius Lasch, was also missing. They were longing more and more for possession of their map. This was just the sort of task it was suited to. Even with their detailed knowledge of Hogwarts, finding someone in it was difficult.

They walked into the library in the same determined silence in which they had walked through the corridors. There was only one path from here on - to split up and search. Each took a group of shelves and tables and continued the hunt. This was what it could now be described as. The moments of merely searching were over.

If anyone of those whom the Marauders had asked for Ivan's whereabouts had returned the information to him, making him nervous, by this display of theirs he had a right to be. Their animal characteristics were shown by the way they looked moved and spoke. Sirius continued to subconsciously sniff the air where his eyes could no longer help him and James barged in where Madame Pince wouldn't have let him. Remus couldn't help but think that this was getting out of hand. After they had searched to no avail he motioned them to him.

"Listen," he hissed, "there's no point in all of this." They all stared at him with a variety of odd expressions. He dropped his voice, watching Madame Pince. "She's only a girl. I don't even care - I'm not sacrificing someone's health just because I think that I might have a chance with her. It's stupid and it's childish and, even if something did happen, she'd find out that i'm - about me and what we do so-"

"Get out!" Madame Pince cried. "No talking in the library! Get out!" She hurried them out of the library with more noise than they had first created. All this happened before Remus could speak another word.

"Re-" Sirius began once they had safely escaped Madame Pince. Remus stopped him in his tracks.

"If she finds out, she finds out! It's my own fault in the first place." He said, residedly. They respected his decision and walked guiltily back up to Griffindor Tower. All the previous spark and energy left them as they trudged forward sulkily.

"I've got to go and ... prefect duty." Remus groaned as they got closer to Griffindor Tower. He departed in the other direction and descended a staircase with no idea of where he was going They didn't argue with him but slid automatically into the common room and aimed straight for the boy's staircase, ignoring several attempts from people to steal their attention. Imogen was among these. She slipped slinkily into Sirius' path before he knew what had hit him. He paused from his haste, looked down at her hand and then up at her face. Her cropped brown hair was ruffled majestically and, though the impression was that it was effortless, not a hair was left out of place. She was blessed with fiercely wizened grey eyes which, if Sirius had cared to notice, now and then were flecked with golden strands which glittered in the sun. This colour changed with her emotions and, even now, the dull light of the common room highlighted some of it's hypnotic properties. Her face was encased by an innocently sweet smile which didn't quite reach these powerful eyes. These remained calculated and determined, a fire slowly burning in the depths of her pupils. Sirius didn't notice anything beyond her hand.

"Hello, Sirius." She breathed, tilting her head slowly to the side to more clearly gauge his reaction.

"Hello" He said as a line deepened between his eyebrows. He was confused and frustrated rather than displeased by her forwardness. He couldn't see what she wanted from him. He was busy. Surely she didn't think that what had happened meant something? It was him, Sirius Black. Had she been hiding her head for the past seven years from all of the rumours?

"So ... What are you doing tonight?" She asked, her hand now falling to fiddling with the clasp on his robes. He smiled slowly, gazing again from her hand to her face. In his second look he caught, over her shoulder, the image of James. He was leaning against the boy's door frame, rolling his eyes. As soon as he saw Sirius he began frantically tapping his wand against the wood, pointing it up the stairs.

"This and that," he eventually said to Imogen, plucking her hand cleanly from his robes, "see ya!" He skirted around her and shot off to where James was waiting.

"Bout time! I was gonna start writing messages in the air with my wand in a minute!" James exclaimed as Sirius halted, shifting his feet comically infront of him.

"Eh. She was trying it on." He said lazily, looking through a gap in his fringe. James shot him a knowing smile. They began their journey up to the dormitory, passed the fifth step at a steady pace and then burst into a run. They sprinted flat out to the top, in parts crawling on their hands and knees to quicken their speed on the slope. They reached the top, stumbled through their dormitory door and instantly formed a rough tangle of limbs upon the carpet as they collapsed, one after the other. This had become a bit of a habit for the. It couldn't be called so much a race as the staircase was far too narrow for one to overtake the other, meaning that the one who started first finished first. It was however, one of James and Sirius' little quirks; one that Peter found highly amusing. As they pulled themselves together Peter began clapping furiously. James gave him a look of approval but Sirius often though that, at these times, he somewhat resembled a performing house-elf.

"All right, Wormtail. It's never that funny!" He hissed out of annoyance. "You really should get out more." He added, rummaging in his trunk for a book. He found it somewhere near the bottom and threw himself onto the bed where he lay on his stomach, reading. Peter flushed but fell silent and returned to writing his letter. A few minutes were passed in silence, each busy with their own tasks, before James asked, "found anything good?" Sirius was casually reading something called Useful Spells for Useful times by Osmond Odball. It described itself as being 'the comprehensive guide to mischief.' So far they highly disagreed with this aspiration. Sirius had bought it over summer and so far nothing out of the ordinary (or at least as outstanding as to be used by the Marauders) had been found within it.

"Tarrantellegra, colloportus, furnunculus, sonourous ... First year stuff." He sighed, flicking through the pages and then tossing it back into his trunk. "Waste of galleons!"

"There's always something! The inspiration will find us, Padfoot. Don't worry," James said enthusiastically, "but, in the mean time, we've got Mannin to deal with."

"But- but I thought Remus didn't want-"

"He said that he didn't want to do anything, Wormtail. It doesn't mean that that's what he really wants." James explained with a strange, mischievous smile on his face. "It's how Moony is - you know - he-"

"has a conscience." Sirius interrupted.

"He likes her, that's all, but his stupid morals keep getting in the way. It's this prefect thing I think, he was never like this before ... Talking of that, do you honestly think he's off doing prefect duty now?" He asked, turning to Peter "No." He said, answering his own question. "He's off somewhere moping and thinking that, if he'd just told the truth ...We'll have to get up early if we want to catch Mannin before breakfast and - er - one of us will have to check up on Delling but, apart from that, tomorrow's looking up!"

"Indeed!" Cried Sirius, sitting up hurriedly. "About time too!"

They woke, as planned, an hour earlier than usual, finding no need for any kind of alarm as the anticipation itself woke them. It was a crisp autumn morning and they dressed in complete silence. Remus was still fast asleep but it looked a troubled one. He tossed and turned so much behind his bed curtains that so much that a few times they thought that they had woken him. James finally scooped the invisibility cloak into his arms and they departed hesitantly, shuffling their feet slowly across the floor so as not to make any noise. Admittedly, James thought as they tiptoed down the stairs, it was even more of a risky plan without Remus to back them up. Ivan could demonstrate that he got a bit beat up but there was no real link to Remus. The only solution (the only one that they would consider) was to risk it. It didn't matter what happened either way now that Remus had given up. If it didn't work then nothing had really been lost.

They reached the common room and were now able to speak but they had nothing to say. It was deserted apart from a few small groups of first years who had not yet adjusted to the time of breakfast. They moved out of the room and down the corridor, the Fat lady calling after them 'Up early aren't we? It's a long wait 'till breakfast!' They strode in the direction of the Great Hall. The three passed through corridors and staircases, weaving their way easily downwards. They arrived at the Entrance Hall in minutes and then turned their attentions to a small doorway leading off to the side. They passed through it and down the flights of stone steps, leading to the basement. To their right stood the painting which concealed the entrance to the kitchens and, a little further on, turned left into a vaulted corridor.

It was painted a golden yellow and the stone supports and floor gave it extra warmth. Here they waited. Positioned as they were, they could clearly see the stretch of wall which they knew, from past encounters, to hold the Hufflepuff entrance. They leant, close against the wall, so as not to be felt by anyone who might emerge from there. They remained there for a quarter of an hour as the activity around the room gradually increased, going over in their heads the plan which they had formulated, assigning charms and curses to their unbeknown victim.

The corridor soon became eclipsed in the noise of gossiping voices as a gaggle of girls fluttered past them, making the cloak bellow out infront of them and momentarily revealing their feet. Luckily the girls were too busy talking about 'what Harriet did last night' to notice a small detail like this. This conversation distracted the trio and, if it wasn't for James' sharp eye, they would have missed Ivan Mannin altogether. His tall, dark frame was walking close behind them, Taddius Lasch, a stocky, well-built boy, by his side. They were talking animatedly. James took out his wand from within his robes and pointed it at the seam of Ivan's bag. With a load ripping noise it burst open, spilling the contents onto the floor in a spatter of crashes and bangs. Quills, parchment, books and an ink well collided with the floor, rolled, opened and smashed across the stone. A black spattered mess lay at their feet.

"Not again!" Ivan exclaimed "I must get through ten bags a year!" He knelt down and began gathering up his things. Lasch stooped too, ready to help, but, before he'd touched as much as a quill, Mannin groaned "It's O.K. I'll meet you in the Hall." Lasch nodded

See you in a bit then." He left and, as he did so, tapped what appeared to be a remembrall with his foot and sent it skidding across the floor. This is perfect Sirius thought as Mannin mended his bag with a simple Reparo, piled his things into it and then headed off, chasing the remembrall. They started this way ahead of him and contented themselves by kicking it a little further down, away from the Entrance Hall. It was like baiting a cat. He followed it to an empty stretch of hallway where the Marauders saw their chance.

"Brivius Opticali!" Sirius cried. Mannin flew backwards, clutching his eye. He didn't know what had happened nor where it had come from. James pointed his wand at his own throat. "Remus, no!" He screamed with all his might but it still only counted as a whisper. "Remus don't!" Echoed again through the halls. Mannin's head shot around in every direction, searching for Remus Lupin. He had pulled out his own wand and was ready for a duel.

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius shouted and watched as Mannin's wand flew from his hand and several feet down the corridor.

James returned his voice to normal and shouted "Tagtailify!" Ivan's face began to change. It was now becoming a stunning shade of cerise. It was becoming harder and harder to control their laughter as they looked at Mannin. He was now evolving into a nice shade of orange, his black eye too changing but to a vibrant blue. There was only one last thing to be done.

"Petrificus Totalatus." Sirius said. Mannin's limbs snapped together and he swayed back and forth like a board before swinging right over to lie on his back. They left him lying there and crept up to the Great Hall, stopping off at a tapestry to pack up the cloak.

"Someone'll find him in a minute." Sirius said, faithfully as they sat down at the Griffindor table.

"Yeah." Squeaked Peter.

"Nice use of the Brivius Charm." James commended Sirius. "Such a nice charm! Lasting humiliation with none of the pain!"

"Can't be bad." Shrugged Sirius as he piled rashers of bacon onto his plate. "He might be in the Hospital Wing for a while whilst Madame Pomfrey works out what that hex was but that's all the better, isn't it?"

"I've been waiting to use that one all year!" James smirked. "Very colourful."

"Certainly is."

They saw Remus approaching them and so they stopped. He appeared tired and weary. It looked as if the full moon had come early. He was slightly paler than usual and he had large bags under his eyes. At the sight of him they instantly came to the decision that they had done the right thing.