A/n: Hey hey! New chapter is here. Happy Summer to everyone! (Guess who's graduated...!) So now I should be able to put up new chapters faster. (Note the should, lol) Anyways, major huge thank you to all my reviewers. You rock and make my day complete! Before you read on, all I have to say is things are really starting to happen in this chapter. I hope no one is confused, but I can't give away anything all the same. You'll just have to wait for other chapters to find out... mwah ha. ;) Read on, and don't forget to review.

Chapter 6

Sirius yawned widely before speaking. "Where is lazy ol' Pete?"

James snorted. "Hauling goodies."

The pair grinned at each other briefly.

"But he was only getting a few things..." Sirius let his sentence trail off.

"Ya, but you know Pete." James smirked. "A small task can often be greatly exaggerated." The two boys chuckled.

"S'pose we oughta join Moony, then." Sirius lazily suggested.

"S'pose we oughta indeed." James sighed as he sat up in his bed, his hair messier than usual, if it was possible, as it always was in the mornings.

The two readied themselves for the day, and joined Remus in the Common Room. Surprisingly, Remus did not ask where Peter was. Feeling no obligation to offer the information, or even bring the subject up, the trio headed down to the Great Hall where they enjoyed some breakfast before returning quickly to Gryffindor Tower to gather their books for class. Still, there seemed to be no sign of Peter.

"Odd. I would've thought he'd have been back by now..." James scratched his head as he stared at Peter's empty, seemingly untouched bed.

"Me too." Sirius agreed heavily. "Can't worry about it now, though. We have an Arithmacy class to attend." he gave James a pat on the shoulder.

James slowly nodded. "Let's go then."

As the day progressed further and further, the trio still did not see Peter anywhere. He did come to class, and when they checked the dormitories both at lunch and mid-afternoon, he still had not returned. Around this time, the other boys began to get significantly more worried.

"D'you think he's stuck somewhere?" James whispered to Sirius during History of Magic.

"D'you think he got locked out or in, somewhere?" Sirius whispered back.

"D'you think he got caught?" James suggested and the two of the exchanged mournful and guilty glances.

Remus leaned sideways. "D'you think you two could tell me what's going on? Where the heck is Peter?"

This time James exchanged thoroughly guilty glances. Sirius gulped and he knew he would be the one to do the telling, seeing as he was sitting closest to Remus. He turned in his seat so as to face Remus properly.

"Now, look here, Moony... don't be angry," his darted from Remus to James, who was leaning around Sirius to be part of the conversation. "We gave him money and everything - "

Remus sighed and cut Sirius off. "I figured. Or more precisely, I knew it."

The other two looked rather confused, and a little apprehensive. How did Remus figure it out? Had he somehow overheard? Had Peter told him? Had he simply just guessed? Was he going to cause another small row over the issue?

"You're not as smooth as you think you are." Remus half-smiled, interpreting their expressions correctly. Then his cheeks went slightly pink as he added, "I chipped in a few Sickles myself, and made Wormtail promise not to say anything."

Sirius' mouth dropped open, and James' eyes went wide as saucers. "You - ?"

Remus lifted his shoulder as if to shrug, but stopped mid-way and let it drop. "Well, I kind of had a craving for a Whizzbee, and it was being paid for..." his half-smile became more pronounced, and it seemed he was a little pleased, in spite of himself.

Sirius finally managed to shut his mouth and James' eyes returned to normal. "You never cease to amaze, Moony, my friend." Sirius gave Remus a small clap on the shoulder, and James grinned.

"From you, I'm not quite sure that's a compliment." Remus winked and the three boys chuckled.

Later that evening, around eleven p.m., Peter had still not come back and the level of worry was significantly escalated among the other three Marauders. They sat at a table in the corner of the Common Room, quietly deciding what to until the last straggler finally left for bed.

"Ok, that's it then. James, you stay here in case he comes back." James nodded and Sirius nodded back. "Remus, you head to the Shack and make sure he's not holed up there for some reason."

"Got it." said Remus.

"I'll try the passage straight into Honeydukes, and see if he got stuck or locked in or something." Sirius stood and the other two followed suit.

"I'll give you the Invisibility Cloak," said James, glancing at Sirius.

"And I get the Map." Remus tilted his head to the side as he said this.

"Right." Sirius nodded, and within minutes the three friends separated to search, or in James' case, to wait, for Peter.

Sirius double checked that James' Invisibility Cloak was covering all of him before he set out into the dark hallways of Hogwarts en route to the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor.

He stepped cautiously, as he did not have the Marauder's Map and therefore did not know if a Professor was around the corner or not. He kept his eyes peeled and his ears attuned to any sign of Peter - human or rat. Occasionally, when he was sure no teachers were around, he would whisper things like, "Wormtail, you there?" or "Pete, it's Sirius. Squeak if you can hear me." But he never received a reply.

Here and there a House Ghost passed by, or a portrait made a particularly loud snoring noise. Sirius met no human, however, even when he'd reached his destination and gave the witch's hump a tap with his wand and said the magic word. He slid down into the passageway and at this point, he removed the Cloak and slung it over his arm.

"Lumos!" he held his wand out as a light and made his way down the tunnel, shining it at different shadows on the wall and floor.

"Peter?" he called softly at regular intervals, hoping for some sort of an answer. "Wormtail?"

Still, there was no answer, and Sirius was becoming even more worried. What had happened to him? Had he even come this way? It seemed odd that he would have gone by way of the Shrieking Shack and Whomping Willow, but maybe for some reason he did...

Sirius had reached the end of the tunnel and he sighed. 'Where are you kid?' he thought and gave the trap door now above his head a small push with his free hand that should have opened it, but it didn't move.

Confused, Sirius gave it another push, and it didn't budge. He pushed hard with both hands and still the door didn't move. Now slightly more alarmed, Sirius pushed on the door as hard as he could, again with both hands, and thought maybe the door had moved a fraction of an inch.

Trying not to feel panicked, Sirius decided that something heavy must be on top of the trap door so that's why it was not moving. He refused to let himself think that somehow Peter had been caught inside Honeydukes and door now magically sealed. 'He went this way, found it blocked, and went the other way.' he thought determinedly.

"Well, that's a dead end." he mumbled aloud and started heading back, squelching the rising panic deep within. "He had to have gone the other way...he's fine... just fine..."

He rubbed his forehead and took a deep calming breath. 'I'm sure Moony will find him, then. Prat probably locked himself up somehow...' he thought.

Not entirely satisfied with that thought, but feeling a little better nonetheless - he wasn't going to panic unless there was reason to - he quickened his pace and blocked further panic-related thoughts completely from his mind.

Remus slipped out the great oak doors leading to the Entrance Hall and was met with cool, fresh air. He'd kept a close eye on the Marauder's Map to ensure he avoided any teachers or ghosts.

He double checked the map to make sure no one was out on the grounds with him, saw no dots and names. Then he pointed his wands at the parchment and mumbled, "Mischief managed". The writing on the map disappeared and Remus folded the map up and slid it securely into the inside pocket of his robes.

Remus sighed. Where, oh where, was little Peter? He knew he shouldn't have added his money to the pot and let Peter go on his way when he'd figured out that they were sending him. His 'Sirius-James' side had encouraged him, with thoughts like, 'It is paid for...'. His logical 'Remus' side was the one taking over now, as he walked across the chilled grounds, hoping Sirius had found Peter.

There seemed to be an extra amount of chill to the air, even though the day had been a hot one. He continued walking towards the Whomping Willow as any breeze seemed to completely die. What was even more odd than the sudden stopping of air flow, or extra cold to the air, was the odd creeping feeling that Remus was getting, that made him feel like someone was watching him.

Remus looked behind him casually, sure no one was there, and sure enough, he saw no one. He shook himself physically and kept walking. He was tired, and easily attributed his feelings in part to that, in part to his worry about Peter, and in part to his imagination.

A few steps later, the hair on the back of Remus' neck was beginning to prickle, and the sensation of feeling watched was much stronger, accompanied by a scary sensation of being followed. Remus whipped around and still, he saw no one. Nothing. Remus swallowed, and quickened his pace in the direction of the Whomping Willow.

He suddenly heard the distinct swish of robes after his ears pricked up, and a footfall not far behind him. He stopped dead and turned around in the same instant. His eyes scanned the area quickly - every crevice, every shadow, every lump - all the while, his heart pounding in his ribcage. Someone was following him, he was sure. The noise he'd heard had not been his imagination.

'I bet its Sirius under the Cloak trying to scare me... Pete must be back...' Remus decided, calming himself down. He heard another quiet swish, and figured his suspicions were confirmed. He took a small breath and turned to face the Willow, ready to jump when he was scared by Sirius.

He gave a loud yelp and stumbled back onto the ground as his nose nearly touched fabric. Standing between Remus and the Willow was a tall, ominous figure whose appearance was strongly reminiscent of a Dementor. It was far too tall to be Sirius, but too short to be James on top of Sirius or vice-versa. If it was them, they were doing an exceptioanlly good job.

Remus scrambled to his feet and could feel sweat forming on his forehead as fear caused his heart to beat wildly. He opened his mouth to say something but the figure spoke first, only making it startling clear that the thing was most definitely not James or Sirius.

"Wheeere isss Jamesss Potterrr?" it hissed in a bone-chilling voice.

Remus' mouth stayed open, but out of shock more than anything else. James? "What?" he was sure what he'd heard, but he wasn't sure what it meant.

It sniffed the air, made a grunting noise, and then seemed to turned his hooded face more at Remus. "You arrre not hhhim." It sounded a little irritated, as though it had clearly been expecting him to be James Potter.

"What do you want with him?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound steady. The thing hissed quietly as if chuckling, but otherwise completely ignored Remus' question. "Where isss he?" it asked again.

Remus lifted his chin slightly in defiance as an unusual and unexpected courage washed through him. 'I'm not in Gryffindor for nothing.' he thought, trying desperately to ignore how increasingly difficult it was becoming to merely stand as his knees were shaking so bad. "Not here." He crossed his arms over his chest to stops his hands' trembling. "You've got the wrong place."

The thing hissed angrily. "Liar!" An arm made out of thick black smoke suddenly shot out from under the thing's robes, from somewhere around its chest. The arm grabbed Remus around the neck, lifted him off the ground and threw him back down forcefully, sending him skidding painfully across the grass and dirt.

Remus raised himself off the ground quickly using his arms, knowing bruises were forming after that throw. What did this thing want with James? What - or who - was it? Why was it here?

The smoke arm vanished like a vapour and the hooded thing stepped over to where it was once again just a few feet in front of Remus. "I asssk you again. Where isss he?"

Remus knew he should not be angering the creature before him, but he also knew that as long as it was in his hands, he would not give up the whereabouts of his friend. The intentions of the thing did not seem good.

"I don't know where is he." Remus said as convincingly as possible. He was suddenly worried the thing might try to read his mind, so he quickly forced his mind to be starched blank, other than the repeating thought of, 'I don't know where he is... I don't know where he is... I don't know whe - '

"You lie! Do not trifle me! I know he is here!" The thing sounded enraged.

Remus had no time to react and move out of the way. Before he could blink, the smoke arm had reappeared and grabbed Remus by the ankle. He was thrown much harder this time, skidding several feet after landing horribly on his shoulder. The grass seemed to slice at him, the dirt burn his exposed skin, and the rocks cut him terribly.

He pushed himself up again, though less quickly, coughing dirt and grass, and throbbing all over. He could feel himself beginning to bleed in several places, however he did not worry about it at that moment.

The thing made a fist with its pale bony hand at its side. "Do not make me kill you like the other one."

"I'm telling the truth!" Remus shouted, immediately forcing the panic to stay deep within at the thing's words, making his mind as blank as fresh parchment.

This time the thing wasted no breath to call Remus a liar or tell him anything. The smoke hand lashed out and struck Remus hard as an iron battering ram in the stomach. He flew across the ground on his back, landed hard, completely winded. Remus gasped for air and struggled to stand up quickly.

The thing, however, didn't allow Remus a moment to recover. It seized him again with the smoke arm, this time around the wrist, and flung him so hard that he landed in very close range of the Whomping Willow's branches.

He tumbled across the rough ground and distinctly heard a loud CRACK, although he wasn't whether it was a bone breaking or branch snapping beneath him as he rolled and landed. Even then, if it had been a bone breaking, he would not have been able to discern where, as pain rushed through him.

"Ssssince you arrre ssso unwilling to hhhelp, I ssshall leave you with thisss." The thing seemed to smile beneath the edges of it black hood, and then the smoke arm shot out like a viper, and hit Remus in the jaw like a concrete fist. Pain exploded through his face and he could see starts sprinkle his vision. The arm then grabbed the back of Remus' robes and roughly deposited him a few feet closer to the Willow, quite within its range.

"Die nowww..." it hissed and snickered.

The braches of the Willow twitched to life, creaking around before coming crashing down like a massive baseball bat to swipe at Remus. He desperately tried to move out of the way as he saw it coming, but the pain was so intense throughout his entire body, he couldn't move. It only got worse.

The enormous branch hit him like a train and threw him like a rag doll. Remus was now most definitely certain he'd never felt that much pain in his entire life and easily would've guessed that all of his ribs were broken. That is, if he had been able to think clearly through the horrible haze of pain in his head.

He could see the Willow winding up for another attack, but could do nothing. He heard sinister laughter coming from the thing, then saw a burst of blue light. He smelt smoke like someone had just blown out a hundred birthday candles. He senses the branches coming straight for him.

One though penetrated his mind before the branch hit him, before he lost consciousness:

'I am going to die.'

A/n: Oh no! Remus is going to die! What will happen? Is Peter dead as well? Will James and Sirius find Peter? Will they be able to save Remus? Will Sirius be the next to be attacked by this mysterious creature? FIND OUT SOON!

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