Oh my gosh, this chapter is so late, and I'm truly sorry. I have a lot of school to do and I haven't got much time to write.

The next morning, James woke early. The sky was still dark and he heard people snoring around him. He rolled over on his bed and frowned at the curtains around his bed. There was a quiet noise that seemed to creep towards James' bed.

He shifted slightly, so that both ears were uncovered. He listened intently to what sounded like – yes – footsteps. His heart raced and pounded in his ears.

He knew it was silly. After all, the footsteps could belong to anyone. It could be someone who went to the bathroom, even.

Somehow, he couldn't convince himself of that. Somehow, these footsteps seem different than most. He thought apprehensively.

He sat up and the footsteps stopped, but the sound seemed to linger in James' ears. James held his breath and drew the curtains quickly to prove himself wrong.

The small figure jumped backward and almost fell over. James quickly turned his lamp on and scowled when he saw the prowler, "Remus! What are you doing?" He whispered urgently. "Come to think of it, where were you?"

Remus nervously pulled at his own sleeve. "I was – erm – visiting my mum. She's rather ill, you know."

James sighed, "Oh. I guess I was sort of worried. I hope your mum gets better soon."

Remus, who seemed near to tears, answered, "Me too."

The boys went to bed afterwards. Somehow, James couldn't help but think there was something wrong with Remus' story. Despite this weird feeling, James fell asleep rather easily. It wasn't long before the sun broke over the horizon…

"James, wake up! C'mon, we're going to be late, mate!" James heard the voice, but it seemed so far away… And he was still tired. He rolled over and groaned.

"Come on, James! We're going to be late if you don't hurry up." Sirius gave James a firm shove.

James gave up and opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, so he reached for his glasses. When his glasses were carefully in place, James saw Sirius leaning casually against his bedpost.

"It's about time." Sirius huffed, looked casually at his fingernails. "You'd better hurry up and change, or we're going to be late for class. If you want breakfast, at least."

After James was washed and dressed, he and Sirius made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

While the two boys hurried to make it on time, Sirius spoke up. "We don't have to be right on time, you know."

James slowed down and Sirius followed suite. "You're right, Sirius." James said, looking confused. "Why am I in such a rush? I enjoyed slacking off before. I guess I must still be relatively nervous, eh?"

Sirius grinned broadly and they walked patiently. They ate their breakfast quickly, though, so it didn't disappear before they were done.

When they were both done, the two boys walked to their first Transfiguration class, talking merrily along the way.

When they got to their class, they marched in, happy as a couple of clams. They took seats near Remus and Peter. Remus looked peeved, "Where were you two? You're both very lucky the teacher isn't here y-."

He froze and looked down at his book, blushing slightly. The door had just opened and Professor McGonagall entered. "Good morning, class. Please excuse my being late. I ran into a spot of trouble with Peeves." She, herself, sounded quite peeved, so everyone kept quiet.

She began the usual first-year lecture. "We will begin this year with simple transfigurations, like toothpicks into needles. In near no time, we will start more difficult tasks, like turning turtles into bowls." There was an excited whisper throughout the class. "Now, please all of you open your books to page 8."

When Transfiguration was over, Remus stayed behind to talk to McGonagall, while everyone else walked to their next class. James, Sirius and Peter waited impatiently outside the door for him.

When Remus came out of the classroom, he was looking especially chipper. "You ready?"

They all marched to their next class, which was Charms. As they were all walking, they passed a seemingly empty classroom. As the last few people (including the foursome), they heard a barely distinguishable thump coming from inside. The other children hurried along, apparently not nosy enough to care, but the foursome stayed behind.

Peter twitched nervously. He looked like he was going to wet himself, and would have preferred to go on ahead with the other students. However, he remained rooted to the spot, frozen with fear.

Remus frowned and stared at the door nervously. "It can't be bad, what ever it is. I mean, they wouldn't have something really bad at a school, would they?" He asked more to himself than to his friends, but he did look their way for support.

Sirius nodded. "Right. Which is why we've got to go inside and see what's in there. Who's with me?"

"I am!" James said automatically. He almost wished he hadn't, but said nothing more. He merely looked expectantly at the other two, curious whether they were going to come along or not.

"We'll be late if we don't hurry." Remus said, taking a step back. "You don't want to get expelled, do you?"

Peter shrieked, "Mum would be very angry if I was expelled."

James shrugged. "Ok. You guys go ahead and get to class. That way, if we miss something important, you can fill us in." He grinned and waved his hand to shoo them away. "Go ahead. It would be better, anyway."

"Yeah, James and I can handle it by ourselves. It's probably just someone looking through stuff. So you two go to class, and do whatever. It'll just be boring anyway. I already know everything there is to know." He puffed up his chest proudly and smiled serenely.

"Well, I don't want to leave you two behind." Remus said awkwardly. "I mean, that wouldn't be very – er – loyal."

Sirius snorted. "Since when did people start worrying about being loyal in this putrid world?" He did, however, look quite touched.

James nodded encouragingly. "Right, you two should make your decisions quickly. We probably could use your help, though."

"W-we could help-p." Peter stuttered, not believing his own words. He quickly realized his fatal error. "I m-mean, you know, if y-you n-need-d our help." He gulped.

"Go ahead, guys. Sirius and I don't care either way. You two go, now."

Sirius grunted, "Before I get mad and hex you both." He pulled out his wand for good measure and the two boys left, feeling slightly guilty about leaving their friends.

"Good, now we can explore."

Sirius turned toward to door, and tried to open it. It was locked. When he rattled the door, there was a huge thump from inside. Sirius heart beat faster and he smirked at himself. Pointing his wand at the door's lock, he said, "Alohomora!"

There was a click and an angry sounding rustle from inside. Sirius and James exchanged nervous glances before James walked up to the door and gently pushed it open. The boys looked into the room. It was pitch-black, so they waited a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dark.

However, before James' eyes had a very good chance to do so, Sirius tugged him into the room and closed the door, saying, "Anyone could walk up anytime."

There was a shuffle ahead in the darkness. Sirius grabbed James arm, and squeezed it tight enough to hurt – badly. James grunted and was trying to remove his friend's hand from his shoulder when there was a loud thud and the sound of a large dog, panting…

James heart raced as Sirius' hand left his shoulder. He heard the shuffle of cautious footsteps to his right. "Sirius?" He managed to ask, barely a whisper.

There was nothing but silence. Then, he felt a hand squeeze shoulder. Before he knew what was happening, James fell to the ground, along with someone – or something – else. The thud beside him told him everything he needed to know – it wasn't Sirius' hand that had been on his shoulder.

James tried to get up, but something was holding him down. He struggled with all his might, but he couldn't get free of whatever held him down. He heard a grunt from his side and knew that his friend was having the same trouble as himself.

James blood ran cold as he felt a slimy; claw like hand grab his leg. He gasped and tried to yank his leg free, but no avail. The hand kept a tight hold.

He heard a dog-like yelp from beside him and tried to reach for Sirius. He heard a small thud, as if Sirius' head had forcefully hit the ground. He heard a small groan and no more.

With a gasp, James felt something hard hit his head. His head banged hard against the ground, biting his tongue in the process. He tasted blood. His head felt like it had been hit by a brick, but he couldn't cry out. A terrifying cold was creeping itself along his back. The cold reached his throat and he could no longer breath. Something hit his head again. James tried to force out a yell, but nothing came out.

His body became rigid. He could no longer hear a thing, and everything was still pitch black. He couldn't smell the musty odor of the room, or taste the blood in his mouth. Before long, everything was gone in a swirling black fog of nothingness…

When James awoke, his eyesight was blurry. Instinctively, he reached for his glasses, but only grabbed air. He reached to the other side of the bed and felt a nightstand. He groped around and found his glasses.

He put them on, but had to blink his eyes many a time before they came into complete focus. His head ached so horribly that it was painful to think. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

He tried to think. I appear to be in a bed, He thought. There are curtains all around me. I can hear footsteps outside the curtains. So far, so good.

James listened closely. He heard voices, but could not make out what they were saying. It sounded to him as though they were only babbling. He could hardly bear to listen. His head felt as though it would explode if he listened any closer. He closed his eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep.

Sorry to cut it short like that, but I want to get this out so people at least know I'm still writing it! ;)

Kitschy Kitty: I'm afraid I did get my hopes down a bit, but they're lifted once again! Thank you very much for such a nice review and for truly making my day. I hope you'll excuse the lateness of this chapter, but (sadly) I do have a life. ;) Good day to you!

Jamie88: Thank you for your nice review. I really appreciate it.