A/N: Well, again, I'm dissapointed with the number of reviews I received for my last chapter, but I've decided to update. So I'd like to thank Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot and Noompjuh for reviewing!

Now…on with the show!

CHAPTER 6

Midnight Escapade

"You may go, Potter." James sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stiff hand which was cramping severely. He stood up to leave, but turned back at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice.

"And I hope to never see you in here again, Potter," she said, her eyes surveying him sternly over her spectacles. James grinned.

"You say that every time Professor." She glared at him, but James could've sworn he saw her lips form a faint smile.

"Good night, Potter."

"Good night, Professor." James walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him, and proceeded to stroll down the corridor that headed for the dungeons, instead of the Gryffindor common room.

He entered the Potions room and wasn't at all surprised to hear strange sounds emitting from Slughorn's office. James entered the room and grinned as he saw Sirius and Peter rummaging through the store cupboards, getting ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion.

"Hey, Prongs!" Peter cried breathlessly, holding up his bulging book bag. "We're almost done. We just need to get the boomslang skin."

"And it's hiding…doesn't want to come out and play!" Sirius muttered, standing on his tiptoes and reaching into the depths of the cupboard. James cocked his head in Sirius's direction and Peter laughed.

"What's up with him?"

"I dunno…"

"Aha! Here you are, you little bugger!" Sirius cried, removing his head from the cupboard and proudly holding up a piece of boomslang skin, which he promptly stuffed into Peter's book bag.

"Alright, let's go!" Sirius grabbed James' invisibility cloak, which he'd borrowed, and swung it over Peter's shoulders. "You should use it, Wormtail…seeing as you have the bag and everything."

"I don't exactly want to land another detention…" James stated.

"Oh come on, Prongs!" Sirius cried, slapping him on the back. "Since when have you ever been scared of a detention?"

"Shhh! Slughorn! He's coming!" Peter cried, and James heard him mutter something under his breath, and the sound of a wan hitting parchment.

"Damn!" Sirius hissed. "Let's go, James!" The two darted out of the classroom and were just in time too, for Slughorn rounded the bend at precisely that moment and spotted them immediately.

"Ahhh…Potter! Black! What are you two doing out?"

"Nothing Professor," Sirius replied quickly, "just out taking a stroll." Slughorn narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Well, I should give you two a detention…but, I'll give you a break. Now, go back up to your dormitories." James breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good night, Professor," he said, grabbing Sirius's sleeve and dragging him off down the corridor.

"Don't forget the essay that's due tomorrow!" Slughorn called after them; he waved cheerily, before heading back into his office.

"Hey, Wormtail! You still there?" Sirius asked.

"Yep…I'm here," a voice replied, somewhere off to James' left.

"Ahhh, good…wanted to make sure you had enough time to get out."

"Yeah, thanks, mate," Peter answered.

"And I totally forgot about that essay," James murmured, and Sirius laughed.

"That's alright…we can do it tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" James asked.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? We're due for a midnight escapade," Sirius answered, turning left into another corridor.

"Oh, really? I completely-" James stopped dead in his tracks.

The sight that met his eyes was unbelievable…stunning…absolutely unheard of…something James saw only in his nightmares. He rubbed his eyes, yearning for the image to go away, but when he opened them again, they were still there; standing in the shadow of a staircase, were Lily and Brandon, kissing fervently, their arms intertwined, and looks of utmost pleasure on their faces.

"Oh….damn," Sirius whispered hoarsely.

James stared dully at the scene before him, and watched it unfold. Brandon removed his mouth from Lily's and smiled down at her, looking, to James, like a lovesick ape who'd just got done snogging an angel.

"Wow…" he murmured, and Lily giggled.

"That was…fun, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Mhm…" Brandon bent down, kissed her again, and murmured something that James didn't catch. Lily laughed and grinned.

"Most definitely," she said, throwing her arms around him and pulling him close; that's when she spotted James. Her eyes went wide and she hastily untangled herself from Brandon's arms.

"What is it?" Brandon asked, turning and smirking as he spotted James and Sirius standing there, dumbfounded.

"Well, well, well…look who's walked in on us, Lily!" Lily, fuming, glared at James, her bright eyes emitting sparks that could hardly douse the tears that were forming in James' eyes. He blinked them away and mustered all his strength, trying to forget what he'd just witnessed.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Lily demanded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her bun.

"Well, it's not like I want to be here, Evans," James replied hotly.

"Yeah…if you didn't want him to walk in on you, you could've chose to snogg someplace…well, erm…not so open to the public," Sirius cut in; James silently thanked him; Lily's glare faltered for a moment.

"It's ok, Lils," Brandon replied, slinging his arm around her shoulder. "I'd say Potter hers is just a bit jealous." Lily smirked.

"I daresay he is." James instinctively reached for his wand, but Brandon was faster.

"Don't even think about it," he hissed menacingly, brandishing his wand in front of James' face.

"There isn't really much to think about, dog breath," Sirius yelled. Brandon turned to face him.

"Why, you little-"

"STUPEFY!" James roared and Brandon flew across the corridor and hit a portrait of a woman making breakfast while her baby slept in his cradle.

"You woke him up!" the woman screamed, as the baby started crying, but James was oblivious. He had eyes only for Lily who was standing, speechless, staring at Brandon and then back at James.

"Don't tell, please?" James whispered hoarsely, glancing at Brandon who lay slumped against the portrait. Voices could be heard, fast approaching the spot where they all stood.

"Why shouldn't I?" Lily demanded.

"Because, I can't stand another week of detention, Evans," James replied hastily as the voices grew louder.

"Well, that's too bad, Potter, because-"

"Sorry, Evans," James cut in. "Stupefy!" And without another word, he and Sirius dashed away from the scene.

The cool night wind ran through the pine trees…whispering like students sharing a few giggles and then becoming silent as the teacher walked by. James basked in the coolness of the night, and a pleasurable tingle went up his spine as a lone howl split the night. The moon shown brightly on the castle, casting large shadows on the grounds; the lake rippled in the strong wind and James ran across the grass, his hooves hitting the dirt with a meaningful thud. He dashed into the forest, closely followed by a black, shaggy dog, a rat, and a werewolf. He tried to forget what he'd just done, what he'd just seen…but it remained fixed in his mind, like someone had branded it there. He tried to imagine how it could've been different…what he could've done…and the only way he saw that situation working out, was if he had been the one snogging Lily, not Brandon.

He stopped, turned, and shuddered as the werewolf howled towards the moon. It's bright yellow eyes turned back and fixed themselves on James. The dog barked, and together, the four Marauders, dashed off into the night.

A/N: Alright, sorry this chapter (and pretty much all my chapters) are so short…but that's the way I write. And I'm sorry if this chapter is bad, because I wrote as I went along. So yeah…review review review!

-Elise Bentwin-