Disclaimer: There is no chance this is mine.
Note: This is the reason why I made this story rated why it is. I got a number and decided to make it the number of times a swear word would appear. I had an insanely fun time writing this portion.
Part Two
"This is so stupid, just because you got into a fight with your stupid cousin is no reason we should come out and here and try to get back at her, it's all dark and I can't see anything, and Sirius, are you listening to me?"
"Unfortunately," Sirius mutters. "Peter, you great pillock, can you just shut up for once in your life?"
Peter makes an indignant as his reply, but says nothing. Off to the right, Sirius can hear something sigh that sounds like Remus. "It's not his fault you're angry with Bellatrix, Sirius. Can anybody see anything?"
"No." That would be James, off to the left, sounding as annoyed as Wormtail and Moony. "Did you have to pick the crescent moon, Sirius?" Well what was he supposed to do? Plan an outing during the full moon? Although Remus won't admit it, he gets steadily more nervous as the moon waxes, but is too weak when the moon is new. So, a small sliver makes perfect sense.
Unfortunately, that means absolutely no light under the thick foliage of the trees surrounding them, which is resulting in many intimate encounters with spiky bushes and rough tree trunks.
Well, he reasons, they've been off the path for a few minutes now, and out of the Invisibility Cloak for quite some time, so wands should be safe very soon. There's a scuffling sound to the right (James, then), and soft, "Fuck, this is stupid. Lumos!" Suddenly, a pale light creeps out from behind some branches, followed by James's sweaty face. He takes off his glasses and wipes them on his shirt.
Sirius can't help thinking that the lighting of James's wand is not at all an improvement. Previously, any wild beasts could have eaten him while he was still happy. Now, every movement of the shadows is making him twitch. Sirius isn't the only one on edge. The Marauders have been in the Forbidden Forest many times before, but in the past it was mostly with something more daunting than the lurkers that frequent this place.
"No light then?" James asks tersely, as he starts at seeing the shadow of Peter absentmindedly swinging the Invisibility Cloak.
"No prank then?" Peter adds hopefully, glancing fearfully about himself.
The light goes out, and a shiver passes across the group.
"It seems we are at an impasse," Remus comments in the dark. "Light or no light, that is the question."
"Shut up, Moony," Sirius snaps, feeling slightly hysterical. Shouldn't this be the other way around? Shouldn't he be the one slaughtering the famous dead Muggle writers?
A twig crunches.
Something high pitched (a scream, maybe?) follows soon after, and James let out a loud grunt. "Fuck!" A stifling silence follows, and Sirius allows the bead of sweat to drip down his nose before he opens his mouth to speak. It's no use though, as James is yelling out obscenities.
"What happened?" That would be Remus, of course. He's the only one who could sound calm and in control in the middle of a Forbidden Forest filled with dangerous creatures in the middle of a pitch black night even though the venture wasn't his decision in the first place.
Sirius makes a mental note to hex Bellatrix to hell when he sees her again.
There is brief light from Peter's wand, but only for seconds before it goes out. This time it's Peter who needs his mouth cleaned out. "Bloody hell, my wand just broke! Snapped in half! Do wands normally do that? Sirius, where the hell did you take us, you stupid bastard?"
"Just calm down." Ha, a fine thing to say, James. "Just fucking calm down, all right? All we have to do is hold hands, and walk out of here."
"Didn't know you felt that way about me, James old pal."
"Fuck you, Sirius."
A frenzy of motion, and Sirius is suddenly pinned to the grass. "Well, hello there," he says bemusedly. Hands are kept sedately at his sides, as he's not quite sure who's pinning him. With James he would be vulgar, with Peter tickling, and with Remus, well...
"Sorry about that," Remus apologizes, and tries to climb to his feet, elbowing Sirius a times as he does. "Argh, the dark is so – sorry – irritating, this really was stupid – ouch, that must have hurt – there. Do you need help?"
"No, it's all right," Sirius wheezes in reply. He can feel dampness creeping through the back of his robes, and imagines that it's just his luck to have landed in a puddle of mud. New robes too, freshly laundered.
Oh well, James shouldn't let Sirius borrow his clothes anyway.
Sirius gets to his feet and wipes his now damp hands against the front of the robes, then stumbles into Remus. "Do you smell that?" Remus asks.
"I just took a shower this morning, Moony, if you're suggesting – "
"No, it's not." He sniffs the air delicately, Sirius can hear that slight intake of breath. "I need to light my wand. That can't be just a bit of mud."
As the pale light flickers into being, Sirius wishes that Bellatrix had just kept her opinions to herself and instead written him a polite fancy letter like all good cousins should just to let him know that although he had run away she was still being forced to write to him.
"Oh," says Remus faintly. "Blood."
There's something strange about Remus, and Sirius doesn't know if it's with all werewolves, but he is under the belief that blood is better used and not seen. Nonetheless, he moves his wand down the trickle, which becomes a puddle, and then –
In the time before the light flickers out, Remus's face significantly pales, and Sirius fights the urge to let go of his lunch. "We need to find James and Peter," Remus says, his voice weak, his intent strong.
Sweaty hands grasp in the dark, and they start forward slowly. "James?"
"Over here, Sirius. Great hell, what was that?"
There's a muffled thud, and Peter squeaks. "Ow! It was me! What was that?"
All four marauders go silent, and listen carefully for any sounds besides their heavy, panicked breathing in the early autumn air.
"Shit!" Sirius promptly voices all sentiments. "Fucking hell bugger shit bollocks!"
"FUCKING RUN!" James roars. He doesn't have to repeat himself.
They scatter like four very scared boys about to wet themselves in an almost pitch black forest.
This time, none are worried about the branches poking at their faces, arms and legs as the tear towards the path (which they never should have strayed from in the first place), and consequently, safety.
Something snags the back of Sirius's borrowed robes. "Fuck James!" he hisses, and claws his way out. Why would James want to wear something covered in blood anyway? Especially blood that...
He's going to be ill if he thinks that way.
Ragged breaths sound on either side of Sirius, but he can't decide if this is from fellow Marauders or from whatever the hell is going to try and kill them. "Hell!" James yells. "Fucking shit! The Cloak! It...it caught on something!"
"Sod it!" Sirius yells back. "Sod your goddamn cloak!"
"It'll be the end of us!" James bemoans, but his voice is moving again, and broken by his feet pounding against the ground. "We'll never be able to carry out anything ever again!"
"Marauders are not constituted by – " Sirius stops and tries to swallow the burning vomit feeling at the base of his throat " – by things! We are an idea! A creation!"
Silence replies to this statement.
"Buggering hell," he gasps. "Where did you leave it?"
Peter lets out a sound that suggests he has just been impaled, or had a limb severed from his body. James let out a strangled cry. Remus's voice is muffled against the ground. "I hate this place," he says. Then, he in a very non-Remus way he adds, "Sirius, you great bastard."
Sirius gropes for his fallen friend, and finally manages a hold on the shoulders of his robes. "I'm the bastard?" Sirius demands. "I'm not some bloody beast waiting to have at it with your insides!" Heaving mightily, Remus is once again restored his feet.
"I think I've got it!" Peter cries out.
"You think?" James's voice is dangerously rising. "You'd better be fucking sure, Peter!"
Think is good enough for Sirius, and he starts to run again.