Yes, yes, i know, i know...i took too long to update this chapter, but i had so many things going on recently. there was a lot band practice and competitions, i didn't even have time to check my email til now. ok well blah, blah, blah, enough of my excuses...here is chapter 12!!!!!

puppyluva: thanks for telling me the correct spelling of Arithmancy!!!

Chapter 12

Free Roaming Beasts and a Sleeping Beauty

James's last class had just finished and he was currently heading to his and Lily's dorm. He was so tired of all his classes and couldn't wait for night to come. Tonight would be when Remus would turn into his werewolf form and Peter, Sirius, and James would roam the school grounds and have some fun for the first time this school year.

They were animagus, in which they could turn into an animal at will. James was a stag, Sirius a giant black dog, and Peter a rat. (Peter the rat…How fitting, huh?)

When the Marauders had first found out about Remus turning into a werewolf, they all decided to learn how to be animagi so that they could keep Remus company during his transformation.

James could recall the first time they all were able to turn into their animal form. It was very difficult to do, but luckily, they were able to successfully transform and spend time with Remus while he was a werewolf.

Soon after they learned what animals they would become when they transformed, James suggested that they all come up with nicknames that would correspond with their creature. Hence the names, Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail, and Moony were formed. (As if you all didn't know that :P)

After James said the password to his and Lily's dorm, he went to his room. He then looked inside his closet to find a large wooden trunk. It was locked, so he took out a special key from around his neck, it was made of dragon bone and had the power to keep anyone out of his trunk. Using an incantation along with the key, James grabbed his invisibility cloak, and a folded up piece of parchment, then locked up the trunk once again.

The folded up parchment that James had didn't seem very extraordinary, but in reality it was. It was a map that he and the boys had made of Hogwarts. The parchment was charmed to show him exactly where all the secret passages were in the school (a/n: it doesn't include the Head Boy and Girl Dormitory passage since it's only temporary and they just found it). It also showed where everyone was at the moment by little ink dots. The parchment was called the Marauder's Map.

With his cloak and blank piece of parchment in hand, James headed out of his room and went to the bookshelf in the common room; he pulled the book from the shelf, and said the password to leave his dorm through the new secret passage. Just as he was about to open the secret passage door, Lily came into the common room. Quickly, he shoved the silvery invisibility cloak and blank parchment into his robes to conceal them from her.

"What are you up to, Potter?" Lily asked suspiciously, setting her bag down on the mahogany table.

"Umm…just going out," he simply said.

"Did you already eat dinner?" she asked, getting out her books, a large roll of parchment, and some quills and ink.

"No, but I got to go now! Gonna visit the boys! Oh! And I'm in charge of checking the corridors tonight so don't wait up for me… Bye!" he said hurriedly before reaching for the secret door to leave the common room.

"Hmph! As if I would wait up for you?! Have fun, Potter!" she called out as the door closed behind him.

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When James finally reached the door to Gryffindor common room, he placed an ear over the door. He listened to see if there was anyone one there, but thankfully everyone was at the Great Hall having dinner.

James finally opened the door. He looked around for Sirius and Peter, but they were nowhere to be found. Getting quite anxious, he decided to take out the Marauder's Map. After unfolding it he tapped it with his wand and whispered the magic words: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Suddenly, ink spilled out from his wand, forming words on the piece of parchment, turning it into a map with little dots representing the people in the school and lines representing corridors and rooms. Luckily, James found Sirius and Peter's dots immediately. He could tell that they were going towards the Gryffindor common room so he quickly hid himself behind a large armchair. Once concealed, he took the map and uttered, "Mischief managed", making the map go back to its ordinary blank state.

Not long after, Sirius and Peter walk into the Gryffindor common room. To his pleasure, Peter decided to sit on the armchair that James was hiding behind. Just as Peter was trying to get comfortable, James grabbed him from behind the chair."AAAARRRRGGGGG!!!" screamed Peter as James got up. James looked down at the mousy boy and couldn't help but laugh. He didn't think that Peter screamed like a girl. Sirius joined in with James's laughter.

"James, why did you do that? You know I scare easily," said Peter, looking exceedingly upset at James.

"Oh, I'm sorry Wormtail," James chuckled. "I just couldn't help it."

"But you have to admit, that was the best thing I've seen all day!" Sirius said, still laughing. Once he finished his fit of laughter he looked up at James, "Alright, now that we're all here, let's go!"

"Ok, let's go then," James agreed just as excited as Sirius.

With that said, they left the Gryffindor Common Room and went out into the corridor. The portrait of the fat lady greeted them nicely as they walked around the corner to an empty corridor. Once checking that there is no one around on the map, Peter changed into his rat form as James took out his invisibility cloak to wrap it over him and Sirius. Sirius then grabbed Peter and placed him in his hand so that they could all walk together under the cloak.

Using the map, they made their way all the way down to the Great Hall. There were still a lot of people in the Great Hall so James knew that it would be difficult to get out the door undetected. Instead, they went to a portrait near the entrance hall and opened up a secret passage through there.

Finally out of Hogwarts, they went to the Whomping Willow. Instinctively, Sirius set Wormtail on the ground to press a knot on the roots of the tree. The tree suddenly went eerily still, letting James and Sirius make there way through the hidden hole within the roots, still wrapped under the invisibility cloak.

Since the boys had done this tons of times, it was almost second nature to them. When they finally reached the end of the narrow pathway, they entered a room where James and Sirius then turn into their animal form.

In their animal form, they went to a separate room where they found their werewolf friend, who was violently chewing up a couch. Upon seeing Remus in this state, James was reminded of a pet dog he once had that would chew up his father's shoes.

The thought soon went away when the werewolf sniffed the air. It growled for a moment then turned to look at James and the two other animals next to him. At that instant, the attitude of the werewolf seemed to change into a mixture of calmness and then excitement as the newly arrived animals gather around it. It wasn't long before they soon embarked on their night of fun.

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Lily yawned and looked around the empty common room of her dormitory. She found herself feeling quite alone as she finished up a 20-inch essay for Professor McGonagall. She had already completed most of her work when she decided to get up and stretch for a while before returning to it finish the rest. It was already half past midnight and she wondered when James would come back from his rounds of checking the corridors. It usually never took her this long to check the halls, but knowing James, he was probably doing something he wasn't supposed to.

Tiredly, she sighed and decided to sit at the windowsill to watch the stars. There was a nook at the window with a soft cushion that she could sit on. She soon settled into the nook, placing her back against the wall with her knees in her chest, and looked out the window.

It was a clear night with the full moon shining bright in all its glory. She looked at the starts for a moment, and then turned her attention to the grounds below. From where she was, she could see the tranquil lake. Next, Lily looked down towards the Forbidden Forest. She scanned the edge of forest sleepily. It wasn't long before she noticed a white animal looking up towards the school.

As Lily took another look at the animal, she recognized that it was a stag. A magnificent stag, from what she could tell. Odd, I never knew there were stags in the forest, she thought quietly. Even at the distance where she was from, she could see how its antlers towered high above the ground, and how its coat shimmered beautifully in the moonlight. After being in such awe of this animal, she realized that it seemed to be looking right at the window she was in.

''That's silly," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. "It couldn't be." But she could have sworn that it was looking right at her. Before she could get another glance at the animal, a large black dog appeared and both beasts disappeared into the dense, dark forest.

Lily stayed looking out the window for a little while longer before convincing herself that it was time she finished the rest of her homework.

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James, in his animal form, was standing on the outer edge of the forest when he noticed something in one of the windows of the school. It seemed to be a person looking out of the window to the lake.

I wonder if it's Lily, thought James as he continued to keep an eye on the person looking out the window. James then noticed that the figure's attention went to the forest. Soon, he felt a sensation of being watched. Sure enough, the person was looking right in James's direction.

He stared back at the figure, noting that it had long red hair that seemed very familiar. He stayed looking at the redhead for a couple more seconds, still wondering if it was Lily. Before he could decipher if it was her or not, he heard a loud bark and Sirius showed up. Pushing his thoughts from his mind, James followed Sirius into the forest.

It was 2 o'clock in the morning when James snuck back into his dormitory. He was so exhausted, but happy that he finally got a chance to wander around Hogwarts like old times.

As James made his way through the common coom, he noticed that Lily had fallen asleep on the table where she had been doing her homework. He thought it was cute the way her head rested on an open book and the way her red hair was spread out on the table like a shinny, scarlet blanket. She looked very angelic as she slept soundly on the open book. But even in sleep he could still see the lively girl that constantly appeared in his mind.

After debating with himself on whether or not he should wake her up and tell her to go to bed, he decided to just take her there himself. James lookd at Lily keenly then gingerly picked her up; within that moment, she sleepily wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her head in his chest. He let out a loud breath of air, afraid that she would wake up and fall out of his arms. But she didn't wake up and she surprisingly stayed snuggled into his chest. He looked down at her in his arms, relishing in the fact that he was holding her and she wasn't making some attempt of hitting him or yelling at him to let her go. He smiled sweetly at her and then slowly began to walk towards her room.

James walked carefully towards Lily's room and it wasn't until he was about to step one foot into through the door when he thought better of it. Almost immediately he remembered a time when he tried to sneak into the girl's dormitory in his third year. Back then, the stairs collapsed into a long and winding slide and he landed in a mangled heap on the floor. Recalling that that room wouldn't let him in, he came to the conclusion that neither would this one.

Still, the thrill seeker that he is, James placed one foot inside Lily's room, despite what his conscience was telling him.

He waited for a moment. Then put in his other foot so that his whole body was on the other side of the door and waited a little while more.

To his surprise…

"Nothing happened," James whispered happily to empty room, almost wanting to do a little victory jig, but thought better of it since Lily was still in his arms.

Proud of himself for not being magically thrown out of Lily's room or something of that sort, he continued to gradually walk towards Lily's bed. Once there, he softly placed her on it, took off her shoes, and then tucked her in.

Looking at her fondly as she slept, he kissed her lightly on her forehead, whispered good night and then crept out of the room, closing the door behind him.

awww, i love using fluff in my fics. i hope you all don't mind it too much. ok well come on boys and girls, send me reviews...i already have 50 some reviews...now send me some more!!!!