A/N: I hope ya'll like this. If you do, please review! Hey, that rhymes. Anyway, there's still no slash yet, but I expect it to be there in the next chapter or so. Don't hold me to that, though.

Chapter Four

The four boys stood frozen in horror as they watched the scene unfold. Suddenly, James seemed to come to his senses. He turned to the others and said, "We can't just stand here. We've got to do something – it won't be long before those Death Eaters are coming in here, too."

This seemed to break the others out of their trances. "I agree," Sirius said, his face set in determination. "They're attacking third years – we've got to get them out of here."

Remus nodded in agreement. "I say we round up as many people as we can and get them out through the Honeydukes passage – not many people know about it, so the Death Eaters won't be able to follow us."

"Sounds good," James said. He was just about to step outside when he turned to face the others in the bar, all of whom were staring at the Marauders as if they were crazy. "Why is it we're the only ones trying to do anything? Are you lot just going to sit there, or are you going to get off your arses and do something?"

A Ravenclaw fourth year sitting at the bar spoke up. "How are we supposed to know he-" he said, indicating Sirius "isn't going to attack us?"

Suddenly frustrated, Remus turned to face the younger boy. "When are you people going to get it through your thick heads that Sirius isn't a Death Eater! If he were, don't you think he'd be out there, wearing a mask and a hood like the rest of those cowards? And if you're going to let fear of what Sirius – who's never once hurt any of you, and who's never accepted his family's pureblood beliefs - might do keep you from helping your friends then you're just as bad as those who are out there trying to kill them! If you're so against the Dark Arts, then why don't you prove it by helping us? We're not asking anyone to fight the Death Eaters, just help get the younger students out of danger, and warn the Headmaster." With that, the four boys turned and walked out of the pub, not caring if anyone followed.

"Right," James said, looking at his friends. Each of them looked pale and nervous, but even Peter had a determined look on his face. "I think we should split up, but always have at least one of us in sight – that way we'll cover more ground, and we'll have help nearby if we need it."

"Yeah," Sirius said as he took out his wand. "Let's meet back at Honeydukes in a half hour, no matter how many students we've found, all right? And try not to engage the Death Eaters unless you have to – we won't really stand a chance against them for long." The others nodded, and they split up, James and Sirius heading towards the mountains on the edge of town. Remus and Peter ran in the other direction, closer to Hogwarts. It wasn't long before the Death Eaters noticed the four boys, and began to fire curses at them as well.

Remus turned around and shot a stunning spell at one of the Death Eaters attacking them, before refocusing on his destination – the Post Office. He could see a number of younger students, as well as some younger kids who were much to young to be attending Hogwarts taking cover behind the building. The werewolf ran up to them quietly calling, "Peter, over here!" The other boy turned towards his friend's voice, and seeing where he was, started running to him.

"Follow us," Remus said to the group of third years, as he picked up a small brown-eyed boy who couldn't have been more than six and started making his way around the back of the building. He saw Peter take up the rear, making sure that none of them got left behind. Remus glanced around, looking for anyone who might attack them as they left the cover of the Post Office. Seeing three masked figures approaching them from the right, Remus fired another stunning spell at them before ducking back behind the Post Office. He heard one of their attackers yell in surprise, so he thought he must have hit one of them. Chancing another look around the corner, Remus saw that his suspicions were confirmed. He glanced back at Peter and was glad to see that the other boy was keeping watch from the other side, making sure that no one could sneak up on their group from behind.

Hearing the other two attackers coming closer, Remus lunged out from behind the building, shouting, "Impedimenta!" He saw his target stumble back, and aimed a stunning spell at the hooded figure, before dodging another attack by the remaining Death Eater and jumping back out of the line of fire.

"Right, I think we've waited here long enough," Remus said to his charges. "Pete, c'mon let's get these kids out of here. Be ready to run, everyone." With that, Remus grabbed the little boy again before rushing out from behind the building, shouting what sounded like a war cry. His shout and sudden appearance took the other Death Eater by surprise, and Remus stunned the attacker without hesitating.

On the other side of the village, Sirius was running towards a bunch of younger children, none of whom attended Hogwarts. A Death Eater was standing in the middle of the High Street, laughing as he put one of the four kids under the Crutiatus curse. Seeing the girl's tiny body twist with pain as she screamed in terror, Sirius fired a curse at her attacker. The man yelped in surprise and then pain as his robes caught fire. The other man distracted, Sirius was able to stun him before picking up two of the children and running for cover with the others following behind.

The girl the Death Eater had been attacking was still crying, even though the curse had been lifted. Sirius took her into his arms and said, "Hey, it's all right. I know a way out of here, okay? You kids'll be back with your parents soon. Just do what I tell you to, all right? You'll be safe soon, I promise." The other children, two boys and another girl, none of whom looked any older than seven, seemed to be calmed a little by his words. The girl in his arms stopped crying and they all nodded.

Putting the girl down as gently as he could, Sirius ducked out from behind the structure they were using as cover. He didn't see any Death Eaters coming their way. He did, however see James leading a two Hufflepuff third years and a Gryffindor fourth year through the town. Sirius sighed in relief at seeing that his friend was apparently uninjured. He wondered briefly how Remus and Peter were faring, before deciding that he couldn't worry about them at the moment. He had to get these kids to safety.

Telling the kids to stick close to him, Sirius slowly made his way towards the nearest structure he could use for cover. It would have been quicker to just go back down the street like James was, but the kids couldn't keep up with him, and carrying them was out of the question.

It was nearly twenty minutes before Honeydukes came into sight. Sirius had had to stun or tie up four Death Eaters, and had picked up a few younger Gryffindors who'd been trying to take cover behind a large tree. He turned back to the group following him and said, "All right. I can see Honeydukes from here – there's a passage hidden in the cellar that will take you to Hogwarts. That's where we're going. You're going to have to run, as fast as you can. You three," he said to the other Gryffindors, "carry these kids and keep your wands out. Let's go." With that said, Sirius picked up the girl he'd been holding earlier and began to run towards the sweet shop.

Sirius saw James reach Honeydukes and disappear into the sweet shop with his group just as a group of six Death Eaters emerged from an alley down the street. He sped up as the Death Eaters turned towards his group. "James!" He called as he neared the shop, hoping that his friend would hear him. "James! Help!"

Hearing the call, the messy-haired teen stepped out of the shop. He looked relieved to see his friend, but that relief soon turned to fear when he saw where Sirius was pointing. Not stopping to think, James ducked back inside, firing curse after curse at the Death Eaters, trying to cover Sirius' approach. Two of the attackers went down before the other four turned their attention to James and began to attack him as well. James dodged their curses, and just managed to get out of the doorway in time for Sirius to enter.

Sirius placed the girl he was carrying on the floor and stood out of the way for the rest to get into the sweet shop. He wondered briefly where the owners were, before deciding that it didn't matter. Sirius told the kids to hide in the cellar before returning to the doorway and joining James in his attempt to hold off the other four attacking Death Eaters.

James noticed with increasing dread that more Death Eaters were approaching their spot, and preyed that the students he'd sent ahead would be able to find the Headmaster soon. He continued fighting off the group of now eight Death Eaters, and was shocked when two of them were hit with stunning spells – from behind. As more of the attackers fell under the double assault, James and Sirius were able to make out who had come to their aid. They were glad to see that it was Remus and Peter, and they weren't alone. Apparently, the Ravenclaw who'd questioned Sirius in the Three Broomsticks had joined them, along with some other sixth and seventh years.

It wasn't long before the Death Eaters attacking them fell, and the group of fifteen students and younger children made it into the shop. Peter seemed to be uninjured, with the exception of a few minor cuts and bruises, though he was breathing heavily from exertion. Remus, on the other hand, was limping slightly and looked quite pale.

"Are you guys all right?" James asked his friends in concern, as they entered the cellar. The group Sirius had brought was waiting for them near the trapdoor.

"Fine," Remus said, though his voice sounded strained. James decided to let it pass as he reached down to open the door. Peter jumped into the passage, and Sirius began handing the younger children to him. They told the older students to make sure that everyone got back to the school, and to inform the teachers.

Once all of the four boys were alone in the cellar, James looked at his friends and said, "Well, do we go back out there or return to school?"

"Go back out there," Sirius said immediately. "There are still a bunch of people in danger, and we should try to help as many as we can."

"I agree," Peter said, much to the others' surprise. "We should do what we can. But I don't think Moony should come. You're hurt," he said, seeing his friend about to protest. "You might think you're fine, but you aren't, and I for one don't think you're in any condition to fight."

"I'm not going back without you guys," Remus said with a fierce growl.

"All right," James said, taking charge once more. "Remus, why don't you stay here; we might need someone to cover us when we come back. That way, you won't have to move too much, and you're not leaving us behind."

Remus couldn't disagree with this, so he just nodded. Sirius and Peter seemed to agree with this as well. The four boys heard more shouts of fear, and another loud explosion as they returned to the main part of the shop. Sirius glanced at his friends, wishing them luck, before leading James and Peter back into the street. Remus watched from the doorway as his friends sped off in three different directions. He kept an eye on them as long as he could, and fired stunning spells at any Death Eaters who approached the shop.

What felt like hours later, Professor Dumbledore finally arrived, along with Professors McGonagall, Abinger, and a few others. They began attacking the Death Eaters immediately. Most of the masked figures fled as soon as they saw the venerable old Headmaster.

James, Sirius, and Peter had just gotten another group of students to Honeydukes when nearly fifteen Death Eaters, who apparently weren't aware of Dumbledore's presence, attacked them. Remus, seeing his friends in trouble, ignored the pain in his right ankle (he'd injured it earlier when he'd been hit by a curse), hurried out to help his friends.

The Death Eaters converged on the four boys, hurling curse after curse at them. They managed to either block or dodge most of them, and were able to give almost as good as they got. However, one misstep sent Remus sprawling to the ground with a cry of pain. He managed to roll out of the way of one of the Death Eaters' curses, but he was unable to return to his feet. Remus rolled onto his back and continued trying to curse their attackers, before he himself was hit. He cried out in surprise and pain once more before everything went dark. One of the Death Eaters conjured up robes and bound the unconscious teen, before lifting the boy up and placing him on his shoulder.

"No! Remus!" Sirius cried, seeing his friend being picked up by the Death Eater. He sprang forward, throwing as many curses and hexes as he could at the man, before he too was hit. Sirius vaguely registered hearing James and Peter calling his and Remus' names before falling to the ground, unconscious.