A/N Sorry about all the technical mishaps that have occurred in the last few days. Chapters weren't loading properly, everything was going chaotic as I was editing – look back, see if you can spot where I've changed it – Thanks for your reviews they really do mean a lot to me. I would have updated this chapter sooner, but I had such a huge report to write for psychology and well, I didn't have time. My muse won't go away, even though I keep telling it that I have to do my schoolwork. I can't decide which is more important...

A very action packed chapter for you. I couldn't decide whether to use the giant spiders from the second book of HP, or Centaurs, I decided on spiders because they are infinitely more disturbing and freak me out at any rate.

Anyways, enjoy xx

"Why doesn't she like me?" James asked annoyed pacing the common room. "I thought people were supposed to offer second chances."

"Why would she offer you second chances?" Sirius asked squirming his chair. "I thought that was Dumbledore's job. Besides, what's so great about you?"

"I'm brilliant," James said. "I'm good at Quidditch-"

"Well she doesn't know that." Sirius said trying to get off his seat. "First years aren't allowed to ride on brooms except for that bloody flying class, and you can remember how well that went."

"-I'm smart, I'm funny," James said, ignoring Sirius as Remus entered, standing at the fire, his collar upturned as he began to make a knot in his tie.

"James, I've been sat on this chair for three days because Gideon cursed me here. Bloody fourth years," Sirius said. "You haven't even noticed."

"Of course I have," James said absentmindedly.

"No you haven't, you've been walking past me for the last three days." Sirius said.

"Well, clearly I haven't. I mean I'm very... What's that word? What's that word when you're very... You know the word... "

"Observant," Remus supplied, undoing the bad knot he had made annoyed with it slightly, a new bandage around his wrist and hand, fresh scratches on his face.

"I think it's a testament to her strong will," Sirius said. "Now will you please get me out of this chair?"

"Where's Peter?" Remus asked, finishing the knot and pulling his collar down.

"Ah, we meant to get him out of there weren't we?" James said.

"Out of where?" Sirius said. "If you haven't noticed, I've been hexed to a chair for the last three days!"

"I have noticed... Wait when did you get in?" James said as Remus buttoned his cardigan.

"A little while ago." Remus said.

"How long was that?" James asked.

"Yesterday morning," Remus said.

"And you couldn't have helped me?" Sirius asked.

"I did," Remus replied. "You've just stopped trying to get off the chair. I managed to get rid of the hex last night whilst you were napping."

Sirius frowned. He stood up. "Oh. Thanks."

"Seems I'm not the only one who isn't observant," James said.

"Shut up James,"

"Where is Peter?" Remus asked.

"He's in detention," James said.

"Right,"

"You'll need to tell Sprout it wasn't his fault the Mandrakes started screaming for no reason and sent Snivellus to sleep." James replied.

"Right," Remus said. "I'm sure he'll manage."

"Yeah, it was my fault." James said. "I thought it would be funny."

Remus said nothing.

"No, I thought it would be funny, you just took credit for it." Sirius replied.

"How could you think it was funny when you've been hexed to a chair for three days?" Remus asked.

"Well it was during Christmas." Sirius replied. "I believe you weren't around when we had this conversation."

"Mm," Remus said. "What did you do again?"

James squirmed. "Why must you use that disapproving tone on me?" He asked. "I haven't done anything stupid lately."

"Aside from get Peter put into detention." Remus said.

"And ignore me for three days," Sirius chipped in.

"Yes, we got that," James said annoyed slightly. "I only hexed the mandrakes to scream every half hour or so... And hex Snivellus' so his ear muffs didn't work properly."

"I think that merits a disapproving tone," Remus said gravely. He fell silent looking at the floor.

James waited for the yelling but Remus said nothing more. "From who? Fegwort the Rat? Come on Remus, if you want to tell me off then do it."

"I'm not going to tell you off," Remus said. "How was your holiday?"

"Well Remus, I can honestly say that it was frankly boring," Sirius said.

"But better than getting a jar of spit from your house elf." James replied.

Remus frowned. "You got a jar of spit from your house elf?" The question was directed at James. James pointed at Sirius who raised his hand like a child.

"Not me," He said. "Him."

"You got a jar of spit from your house elf?" Remus repeated, pulling on his cloak.

"Well, yes," Sirius said. "Trust me, that was the nicest gift he has ever given me. I wouldn't be surprised if his next gift is a newspaper full of maggots and spiders."

"Lovely," Remus said, pulling on his scarf. James watched him.

"And where are you going?" He asked.

Remus looked over at James. "Out," He said. "Am I allowed to do that mother?"

"I don't think you should go out unescorted, but," James said. "Ask your father he might hold a different view." He nodded towards Sirius.

"I personally agree with your mother," Sirius said. "It gets dangerous on the Hogwarts grounds."

Remus stared between them. "Maybe I should ask Lily. She might let me go."

"Don't you dare go to your grandmother," Sirius warned. "You know she spoils you like crazy."

"Well, maybe I should just ask Lily,"

"Ask me what?" Lily asked, appearing behind them tossing her red hair from her face. All three boys turned to see her and she smiled. "What, do I have something on my face?" She asked.

"No," Remus replied. "Er, yes, so if it's okay with you, mum and dad, I'm going out."

"Well, we're coming with you," James said. "We don't want you to be eaten by a centaur."

"Or drained dry from a vampire." Sirius interjected.

"I'm sure I would be able to fight off either creatures," Remus said.

"What, a skinny little bloke like you?" Sirius said. "You need proper burly blokes."

"Yes, like me or Sirius,"

"Or you could opt and go for a real man," Lily suggested, calmly from behind them.

"Thank you Evans," James said turning to her. "So, we're coming along."

Remus rolled his eyes. "If you must," He said wearily.

James grinned stupidly. "Hold on just one minute," He darted up to the dormitory and returned a few seconds later tucking something silvery and fabric like into a satchel before slinging it over his shoulder. He tied a scarf around his neck and pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Why are you bringing that for?" Sirius asked.

"I'll tell you later," James said. "Come on,"

"Hold on," Sirius said grabbing his cloak and scarf. "So are we going to try and bust Peter out of detention."

"You will do no such thing." Lily said. "I'll have to tell Professor McGonagall if you do."

"Spoil sport," Sirius said.

...

They hid under James' cloak waiting for the right moment. Then, James took out his wand and began muttering. Explosions set off around the courtyard melting the snow around them. McGonagall ran out from her classroom followed by Peter who looked confused.

"Stop it!" She screamed, brandishing her wand at the explosions. They seemed to multiple until the entire courtyard, corridors surrounding it and the floor above heard the noise causing a few students to peer out from the balcony.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" McGonagall shrieked, still trying to get rid of the explosions. "Pettigrew, you may leave, you may resume your detention tomorrow evening,"

Peter gave a little squeak and then ran off. James, Sirius and Remus followed him, huddled under the cloak. Once they were out of sight, and around the corner from the arising noise, they pulled off the invisibility cloak and scared the crap out of Peter.

"What the hell are you doing?" He squealed.

"Well, Remus has decided to go for a walk," James said. "We'd thought we'd go along with him. And because I felt bad for landing you in detention-"

"Wait, you did that?" Peter asked.

"Yeah..." James looked sheepish. "Sorry about that, I don't know how Sprout could blame you though, I mean it's pretty obvious that you couldn't cast such a spell."

Peter frowned. "Thanks," He said a little confused.

James gave a grin. "It's my pleasure that you found that to be a whole-hearted compliment, I mean, it was so clearly an insult."

Peter opened his mouth as if he was about to say something. He sighed and gave a look towards Remus who looked sympathetic. James and Sirius didn't seem to notice.

"So where exactly are we going?" Peter asked as James draped the cloak around their heads.

"Not sure." Sirius shrugged. "Lemmy?" He turned to Remus.

"Lemmy?" Remus asked.

"Yes, a cross between your first name and your last." Sirius said.

Remus continued to frown. "Shouldn't it be 'Remmy'?" He asked.

"Don't be silly," Sirius said shaking his head. "Stop being silly Remus,"

"I thought I was Lemmy," Remus said.

"Well, if you don't like the name," Sirius shrugged.

"Nicknames are an important feature in a young school boys life," James said.

"Very well, Potter," Said Sirius.

"Oh shut it Black." James said as they made their way onto the castle grounds. The sun was setting just in the distance and a dark spread had fell across the grounds, making it eerie and silent. They could hear Hagrid roaming around in his hut making his dinner. Remus stopped as they tried to make their way into the Forbidden Forest.

"I don't think we should go in there," He said cautiously.

"And why not?" James asked, removing the cloak.

"It's out of bounds to first year students," Peter piped up.

"You're not honestly taking his side are you?" Sirius said moving towards the forest. Remus gripped his arm, surprisingly strong for someone of his stature.

"You're not going in," Remus hissed.

"And I suppose you're going to stop me?" Sirius asked, pulling his wand from his cloak. Remus looked at it for a moment before relinquishing his grip. He grinned a little. "Like I would hex you," He said playfully. "Come on," He began to move towards the forest. James followed, then Peter, then Remus who gave a lingering gaze up to the half moon that lit their way. He sighed and followed them.

"This is creepy," James said, smiling, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets.

"If it's creepy," Remus said. "Then let's not go any further,"

James let out a laugh. "Nope, you're not getting away with that."

"What are you so scared that we'll find?" Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged. "I dunno, there's all sorts of things in the forest."

"Name something," Sirius said climbing over a tree trunk. "Lumos," He muttered. The tip of his wand exploded with light that expanded over the snow covered grounds. "I wonder if there are vampires out here."

"Don't be ridiculous," James said, following Sirius. "If there were they would have attacked us by now."

"I read somewhere that Vampires are trying to integrate themselves into the wizarding society." Peter said.

"Why?" Sirius asked. "I mean, I thought they were technically dead."

"Well, I didn't go and read the entire article," Peter said tripping over a fallen branch before he took out his own wand to light his way through the darkness. "I found it way too wordy."

"Give it to Remus, he might be able to decipher it," James suggested.

Remus said nothing as he followed them deeper into the forest.

"Oi, Lemmy, still alive back there?" Sirius called.

Remus held his wand aloft. "Unfortunately," He replied.

"What have you got against the forest?" James asked.

Remus shook his head. "Nothing," He muttered.

Something snapped from behind them, they turned at once holding their wands out. "Who's there?" James called out.

Nothing replied.

"Okay," Sirius said. "Now I'm freaked out,"

"Then let's go," Peter suggested.

"No," James scoffed. "It was probably just a squirrel." He looked doubtful of his own words before he turned and began to lead the way, taking over from Sirius who hung back, frowning. He leaned down into a crouch as if to try and ambush whatever was following them. "Sirius, you coming?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, standing up again, his face remaining very still as if he had just caught the scent of something following them. He shook his head and followed his friends.

Deeper then went into the forest, the night growing evermore dark. The trees completely clouding their view of the sky, so much so that they couldn't even see the half moon, which Remus seemed oddly relieved by, but no one took heed of it.

There was a scuttling behind them, they all turned. "What was that?" Peter asked.

"I dunno," James said. "Hello? Who's there? Show yourself!"

Something lunged itself at Peter, all legs and body. Peter yelled in fright. The giant spider clicked its pincers trying to lunge for the little boys' neck. Remus, James and Sirius each grabbed a leg and pulled, trying to get the arachnid off their friend. The creature spun snapping angrily. Remus fell as the spider darted towards him. James pointed his wand and a burst of light shot from it, sending the spider flying. It lay on its back twitching for a moment. Sirius pulled Remus up, before walking towards the spider to stand beside James.

"Is it dead?" He asked. The creature was huge, almost as big as a muggle car. It's hairs on its legs reaching over a foot each and it's eight black eyes looking out lifelessly at its surroundings.

"How am I supposed to know?" Asked James. "What is it?"

"I believe it's what muggles call a bloody big spider," Remus said, fixing his cloak which he had become entangled in during the struggle.

"You alright Peter?" James asked.

Peter gave a shaky nod.

There was more scuttling behind them. They turned swiftly to see dozens of spiders, lining up. "I think we've stumbled into their nest," Sirius said quietly.

"Yeah, and killed one of their kind," James said.

"This does not bode well." Remus said. "I told you so!"

"Really? You choose now to say those words?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, well seeing as how we are about to die," Remus said. "Yes, I think I better say it now, or otherwise I'll never be able to say it again in my rotten life!"

James, Remus, Sirius and Peter raised their wands as the spider army advanced, pincers snapping, thousands of eyes staring at them.

"What do we do?" Peter hissed.

"We er..." James looked at them for a second. "How fast do you think you can run?" He asked. "Never mind! Just RUN!" The boys turned to their left and ran from the spiders, hearing them scuttle after them. Peter was sagging behind. Sirius stopped and hexed the closest away before yanking Peter again, pulling him to catch up with the others. The eight legged creatures were everywhere, rushing towards them with unprecedented hunger. Remus stopped and turned.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? " James bellowed. Remus wasn't listening. He set fire to the snow in front of the spiders. Stopping them dead, the flames catching the hairs on their legs. They weren't easily dissuaded, as they began to climb the great trees. James grabbed Remus dragging him along.

Hexes were fired towards the spiders sending a few back. This still did not deter them.

Remus, James, Sirius and Peter skidded out of the forest and onto the frozen lake, their shoes making them slide. They ran as far as they could before stopping to look at the spiders who were flailing on the ice. Together, all four boys raised their wands and aimed not at the spiders but at the frozen lake beneath their many legs. They shouted the incantation in unison. "INCENDIO!"

Flames shot from their wands, hitting the ice. The spiders fell back unsure of what was happening. The ice underneath their feet creaked. Then with an almighty crack, the thick ice split, tumbling the spiders into its icy depths. The boys ran from the ice as it began to shift under their feet. The spiders had no control, their legs refusing to stick to the ice as it sent them below the waters. For a moment all there was thrashing then everything went still.

The boys breathed deeply, before cascading into a fit of nervous laughter.

"Holy mother of mercy," Sirius said first.

"Never again," Remus panted, trying to stop himself shaking.

"Aw, come on," James said. "It was an adventure."

"It was bloody terrifying," Peter said, holding his knees to stop them from passing out under his weight.

"Never again," Remus muttered again. "When I say I want a walk, we go only for a walk and not get attacked by bloody creatures the size of cars,"

"I think that's enough excitement for one night." Sirius said. James nodded and pulled his invisibility cloak from his satchel and draped it over them. Together, still shaking but talking excitedly about what had happened, they walked back to the castle.