"Hey, do you guys hear something?"

Peter looked around nervously. "I didn't hear anything. You don't think someone's there, do you?"

"Well, I heard something . . ."

"So did I," Sirius confirmed. "Didn't sound very big though. A house elf maybe? Sounds about like Kreacher does when he's sneaking up on you."

"Maybe. Let's hide. The last thing we need is to get caught."

Both other boys nodded in agreement and attention shifted to Peter. He was the best at hiding, he seemed to always know where to go to keep from being seen. It probably came from being the quietest and least noticeable of all of them. Even Remus made more of an impact on people than Peter did, and he was no loudmouth hooligan like James or Sirius.

"The empty classroom. The one just down the corridor. There's plenty of places to hide in there," Peter suggested, his voice whiny and nervous. More so than was usual at any rate.

"We can't go that way," Sirius hissed. "That's the way the footsteps are coming from. Think fo somewhere else."

A nervous squeak escaped Peter's lips and his beady little eyes began to look around nervously as his friends stared at him, waiting for him to suggest another place to hide. The plump boy could feel the sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to think of somewhere else to go. Why did the footsteps have to be coming from the direction of the empty classroom? Why? He was no good at thinking under pressure (or at all if you asked most people).

He tried hard to think of someplace new to go, but his thoughts always seemed to focus on the classroom he could not hide in.

"Come on, they're getting close."

It was true. Whoever it was indeed was coming closer. Peter could now hear the footsteps as well.

"He's not thinking of anything. Come on. Let's just move. If we don't, we're caught."

Sirius nodded and the two began moving in the opposite direction. Panicked, Peter followed them. They were going to get caught. He knew it. Then he would get in trouble. That was not at all what he wanted. He should have stayed in his dormitory. This time they were caught for sure.

And just then, it came to him. There was a secret passageway in the direction they were now moving. It was behind an old suit of armor that was so badly rusted it rarely moved. They would be safe in there. Relief poured over Peter. He was not caught. He was safe.

"In here!" He exclaimed in a sort of strangled whisper, indicating the suit of armor the passageway he wished to escape to.

"We can't hide in there. It'd only hold one of us," Sirius responded, disgusted.

"There's a passageway!"

"See, Sirius, even Peter's not that stupid."

An unpleasant smile covered Peter's face at James' words. He liked it when James praised him, even like that. It made him feel important.

Sirius snorted and followed James and Peter into the passageway.

Feeling intensely relieved at having found someplace to go, Peter continued to move quickly down the passageway. He wanted to put as much space as possible between he and his almost capture.

"Hey, James, what are you doing? Let's go, mate."

"I want to see who it was."

"He's insane!" Peter whimpered.

"Shut up or we'll be heard," James hissed.

A heavy silence fell as the footsteps came closer. Peter felt certain that James and Sirius, peeking out of the passageway, would get caught. The thought of making a run for it on his own occurred—but that was an even scarier thought than getting caught.

"Hey . . . It's a kid. What the hell?"

"A kid?"

"You must be seeing things," Peter told him. "We should go before we're caught."

"No," James breathed. "It's some kid. Look for yourselves."

Peter, who still wanted to simply run back to his nice, safe dormitory as fast as he could, stayed where he was. He refused to do something so blatantly dangerous. It couldn't be a kid. What kid wandered around the castle by itself in the middle of the night? What parent would let it? It was a preposterous idea. Sirius did not seemed to think it was possible, however, and went over to where James was peeking out into the corridor to see for himself.

"You're right, it's some little kid. What's he doing out there?"

James shrugged, and peered out again at the kid. Any fears he had of being caught had vanished upon finding out what it was the footsteps had belonged to and a moment later, he climbed out of the passageway and out into the corridor.

Peter thought he had gone completely mad. Who cared if it was a kid? A kid could still rat them out. He would if it had been him.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing roaming the school at night?"

The boy turned and a very surprised, familiar looking faced stared at James. Obviously this kid, whoever he was, had not expected anyone to discover him out and about.

"Who're you?"

"Can't tell you that," said Sirius, as he joined James in the corridor. "That's top secret."

"Oh," said the boy, and to both of the older boys' surprise he did not press further. Instead he simply examined them carefully, his eyes twinkling innocently and yet somehow managing to make both feel as though he was looking far deeper into them than it seemed a little kid like that should be able to. Not that either let it get to them. James and Sirius were fearless pranksters and not to be put off by something as simple as some three or four year old.

"So what are you doing roaming about?" James asked again.

"I'm going to go nick some sweets from the kitchen," the child replied with a pleased smile. "My mum told them not to give me sweets but Albus told them not to listen to her, so I go get sweets whenever I fancy."

"Albus?" Sirius questioned. "You mean the Headmaster? Why'd he do that?"

"He says that all little boys deserve their sweets and that my mum should 'loosen up.'"

"That sounds like something Dumbledore would do to me," James laughed. "He said the same thing when McGonagall dragged us all up to his office last week."

The boy giggled.

"What's so funny, ankle-biter?"

"That's my mum," he told them, smiling.

"Strict old McGonagall's son . . . Well, I never. Sneaking out to get some sweets from the kitchens, yeah? You do anything else your mum doesn't want you to do?"

A mischievous smile appeared on the young boy's face and he nodded. The twinkle in his hazel eyes seemed to brighten adding to the mischievous air about him

"That's priceless."

"I agree."

"Who knew that the old girl had it in her to produce such a fine young lad as this?"

"Not me."

"We can't let an opportunity like this pass us buy," said James, his expression serious.

"No we can't ," Sirius agreed, eyeing Alan with approval. "We must teach him, nurture his trouble-making spirit."

"Show him places to hide, teach him pranks to pull . . ."

"Make sure he helps make oily old Severus Snape's life a living hell . . ."

The two nodded gravely at each other, exchanging wicked smiles.

Sirius turned to Alan and looked directly into the child's eyes. "You are now our apprentice. All that we know, all of our tricks, hiding places . . . We will teach them to you."

"Wow!" Alan exclaimed. He liked it when older boys taught him things. His eldest cousin Mulciber sometimes taught him things and he loved that. The idea of these boys teaching him all of the things they had just said they would was very exciting.

"You have to keep it a secret, though. No telling your mum."

Alan nodded very seriously. "I'm good at keeping secrets."

"Good, because we can't have you just giving away all of our secrets."

Alan nodded again.

"Now what's your name?"

"Alan."

"Excellent. I'm Mr. Prongs."

"And I'm Mr. Padfoot. We'll be escorting you to the kitchens and then we need to be off to see another of our friends, Mr. Moony. You'll meet him later."

"Wicked."

"We're off then?"

"We're off."

The sound of footsteps moving away reached the listening ears of Peter, who was still hiding in the hidden passage behind the suit of armor.

They're leaving me! He thought, scrambling out from the passageway. He needed to catch them. Rats weren't safe in this castle. There were too many prowling cats about. He needed someone to protect him.

"James! Sirius! Wait!"