In the middle of December, James was sitting at breakfast, demolishing a steaming bowl of porridge. The rest of the Marauders sat with him as well as Marlene. Remus was looking dead on his feet already, his upcoming transformation was casting its shadow. The full moon was tonight and Remus would got to the Hospital Wing after dinner so that Madam Pomfrey could bring him to the Whomping Willow. As usual, the marauders would join him later in their animal forms. James was looking forward to tonight. They had plans to explore the western end of the forest where they suspected a centaur shrine. Since he had adopted his more rule abiding life style, their monthly outings was one of the few occasions to indulge his rebellious side. To his right, Sirius was reading yesterday's evening edition of the Daily Prophet while sipping his strong black coffee. James had never cared for the taste himself, he strongly preferred a nice coup of tea with some milk, but his best mate drank coffee as though it was water. James had the strong suspicions that Sirius had started drinking the bitter liquid because it was considered a working class drink in pure-blood circles. Without a doubt Sirius's mother would have disapproved if she could see Sirius now. Sirius had just flipped a page when he cursed loudly at whatever was written in the newspaper.

'Really Black, someone should wash out that filthy mouth of yours,' said Marlene.

'If you want a taste of my filthy mouth all you have to do is ask,' Sirius shot back, ignore James's jab into the rips. 'They have found three dead aurors in Nottingham yesterday. All of them were killed using the killing curse and the dark mark was floating above the scene. Apparently, they were all part of the special task force dealing with this nutter Voldemort and his cronies.'

'Bloody hell,' said James. 'They are hunting down Aurors now? This is really getting out of hand. Apparently, hunting defenceless Muggles is not enough anymore.'

'Who is going to protect us if the aurors can't protect themselves?' asked Peter. 'If this keeps up the population will panic.'

'A lot of people are panicking already,' said Remus darkly. 'As long as only Muggle were attacked, it was rather easy to ignore the problem. Now that members of the magically community are getting killed, people will have to face reality.'

'Were the aurors pure-bloods?' asked James.

'No,' said Sirius. 'All three of them were half-bloods. It seems that they stick to their principles and try to prevent spilling pure blood. Not that there are many pure-bloods working as executive aurors, mind you. It merely could be coincidence.'

James grabbed the newspaper from Sirius and quickly scanned the article.

'It does not sound like a coincidence, but rather like a planned attack,' said James. 'They are getting bold. This is a challenge to the Ministry. This conflict is going to get even uglier in the future.'

'Do you think the Ministry is going to crack down on the Death Eaters?' asked Sirius. 'I mean it is not that hard to figure out who in the community supports them. Look at scum like the Malfoys, Snape, Avery and Mulciber. Hell, look at my bloody parents. I say you should arrest all of the pure-blood maniacs and call it a day. Problem solved.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' said James. 'Arrest them on what exactly? Their reputation or their disgusting opinions? Just because a lot of them are bigots it does not mean that they actually support this nutter. We can't just throw away our principles just because we face an immoral enemy. We would be no better than them. My father told me last year that some members of the Ministry want to allow the aurors to use the Unforgiveable Curses so that they can properly fight the Death Eaters. This is madness! There is a reason these curses are unforgiveable. They are foul magic which we should fight and not employ just because it is convenient.'

'You are an idealist, James,' said Sirius. 'You cannot win a fair fight against a cheating opponent. You have to level the playing field and if that means using some dark curses, then you have to do it. You can argue about what the moral cause of action would have been after you have won. If you are too squeamish to do what is necessary, then the bad guys will win just because they are less hampered by their morals.'

'That's an incredibly cynical way to think,' said Marlene. 'James is right about this. We cannot lower ourselves to their level. Otherwise we will lose anyway, no matter who wins the war in the end as we will have given up our very identity and become more like the people we were trying to fight in the first place.'

'That could happen,' agreed Remus. 'I remember a passage from the muggle philosophe Friedrich Nietzsche: 'He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself'. We should be careful about what we are willing to do to fight Voldemort and his cronies.'

Stunned silence followed his statement.

'What?' asked Remus after a while. 'Am I not allowed to read a Muggle book?'

'Not just a Muggle book,' said James. 'A Muggle book about philosophy. That's is hardly what most sixteen year old wizards would read without being forced.'

'This reminds me of the bloody boring books about the philosophy behind blood purity which my parents made me read,' said Sirius shuddering. 'I like the sound of this Nietzsche bloke a lot more than that rubbish. Becoming a dragon would be very neat, don't you think?'

'That's not what he was trying to say,' said Remus rolling his eyes.

'Oh who cares,' said Sirius. 'I still believe that we have been too lenient with this Death Eater scum. I am sick and tired of Death Eaters killing and murdering innocent people. It seems to me that the bloody ministry does not even care too much. My guess is that all the purists in the Ministry work for Voldemort and try to hamper any actions taken against him.'

'It certainly is possible,' said James. 'The Ministry has always been mostly under the control of pure-bloods. While most of these are decent people, others take their blood purity very seriously. Some of them think that Voldemort has the right idea. They probably don't support him directly, as this would require actually taking a side and revealing their true colours, but they might be influencing the Ministry anyway to make it easier for this nutter to take over. If they play their hand just right, they can deny ever being involved with the Death Eaters if the Ministry is the victor while still being able to pass as a supporter if Voldemort wins.'

'How very clever of them,' said Marlene, her pretty face twisted with disgust. 'They are just a bunch of old bigot cowards.'

'It is the way the world works,' said Sirius. 'Changing it to the better will take time and you need to understand the current state before you can change it. From their perspective it is a logical reaction to the current situation. They don't care about Muggles and Muggle-Borns, they probably don't even know any. They just want to keep their money and their power and they see Voldemort as a way to do just that. They feel threatened by the growing influence of Muggle-Borns and Half-Bloods in the Ministry.'

'I don't see much of a growing influence,' said Remus, furrowing his brows. 'The top jobs are still taken by members of the old pure-blood families. It seems to me that their worries are not really in touch with reality.'

'It is a subtle process,' said Sirius. 'Of course the top jobs are still taken by the old families, because you need connections and lots of money to get them. But new players enter the game every day and most of them are half-bloods. For example Henry Reed, the current vice president of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a half-blood. He made a fortune in trading potion supplies before he entered politics and apparently has a lot of Ministry workers in his pocket. Naturally, most pure-bloods view him as unworthy of his title and would like him gone, but they like his money well enough to support him. If you are useful enough, they will forget all about your dirty blood and will trip over themselves to do you a favour. That's just the way it is.'

'How do you know so much about this stuff?' asked Peter. 'They don't print this kind of stuff in the Daily Prophet.'

'My father loves to complain about all the riff-raff in the Ministry during dinner,' said Sirius. 'I may be a blood traitor and a disgrace to my family, but I am still expected to be present at dinner. It is close to torture to spend time in presence of my dear family, but sometimes you learn some useful gossip.'

'Sirius is right,' said James. 'His story matches what I have learned from my parents. They are retired, but they still know a lot of people. The different pure-blood families have always jockeyed for the best positions in the Ministry. It has always been a tough game and nobody is happy about new players entering, especially if you consider them beneath you.'

'You two talk as though a revolution is in place,' said Remus. 'In reality nothing really changes. It does not really matter who is vice president of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his blood status is even more irrelevant. People get worked up over nothing while the real danger is the murderous lunatic who walks free.'

'Yeah, it is pretty messed up,' said James. 'You are right, Remus. For most peoples it does not really matter what's going in the Ministry. However, it matters to the pure-blood elite. Voldemort is smart enough not to target them until he has grown strong enough. In the meantime he picks on Muggles and Muggle-borns because he knows that the elite does not really care about them.'

'But he has already targeted some pure-bloods,' said Marlene. 'Remember the Murder of the Bones's this summer? They were Pure-bloods, rich and well connected in the community.'

'I remember very well,' said James his mood darkening. He remembered his father's face when he had told him about the murder. There had been cold fury in his face and James had understood then for the first time in his life, why many people had been afraid of his father when he had been head of the Auror office. 'They were their first pure-blood victims and a test of their power. The Bones's were pushing for Muggle-born rights and apparently angered the Death Eaters enough that they decided to kill them even though it was much more risky than their past exploits. And they got away with it as well. Nobody has been arrested for this murder and even now the Ministry is not cracking down on the Death Eaters as hard as it could. It probably is going to become worse.'

'It is about time that we are done with school,' said Sirius. 'I am itching to get out there and help fight this scum. School feels like a waste of time when good people are dying out there.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' said Remus. 'What good would you do out there? You are sixteen Sirius! You might be a highly gifted student, but you would be no match for a Death Eaters. Even the aurors struggle against them and they are actually trained in catching dark wizards. All you would do is get yourself killed. If you want to make a change, finish school and become and auror later.'

'You underestimate me Moony,' said Sirius. 'I know more than enough about dark wizards to catch a few of them. And in contrast to the aurors I actually care and I don't take orders from anyone. I would bet you ten galleons that a lot of investigations get killed at a high level to protect influential pure-blood families. I am quite sure that you would find quite a few interesting things if you raided Mulciber Manor for example.'

'So, what do you suggest?' asked Remus. 'Becoming some vigilante or some militia kicking up all kind of dirt to catch some Death Eaters? Do I have to tell you how dangerous this would be? You would get hunted down by both the Death Eaters and the Ministry within weeks.'

'Why would the Ministry hunt people fighting against You-Know-Who?' asked Peter. 'Shouldn't they be happy that someone supports them in this fight?'

'It is not that easy,' said James. 'By law the Ministry is the only organization in Britain tasked with catching criminals and putting them to justice. If people start taking justice into their own hands, the power of the Ministry is in danger. They want to prevent this at all costs. In my opinion this is the main reason why they care about the Death Eaters. They threaten the Ministry's power by dispensing their own twisted form of justice and thereby undermine the Ministry itself. I guess that most aurors care about the murders, but I doubt that the high ranking politicians care.'

'I see,' said Peter. 'But it is still foolish to care about who gets to fight when we are danger of losing this fight. We should unite and defeat the Death Eaters before they crush us. It people volunteer to fight let them. Maybe the Ministry can guide them a bit.'

'I disagree,' said Remus. 'Only a small part of the population is really equipped to fight the Death Eaters and the Ministry should not encourage people into throwing their lives away, just because they think it is the right thing to do. If normal people or even students like us try to fight the Death Eaters we will get slaughtered. We cannot help the Ministry. Instead, we should focus on staying out of danger and on our grades. When we are done with school and this war still continues, then we can become aurors and get directly involved.'

'It feels like we are going in circles,' said Sirius. 'We have been over this before. Let's just agree to disagree. In each case, I will join the fight as soon as I am done with this bloody school. I won't permit the Dark Arts to take over the Wizarding World.'

The others were saved from commenting on Sirius's plan by the arrival of the post owls. James knew that Sirius's detest for the Dart Arts and for blood purists was largely fuelled by the horrid experiences he had made with his family. James admired him for his resolve and determination. He himself was not sure what he would do after he was done with Hogwarts. He had little desire to fight dark wizards on a daily basis. He knew that Voldemort had to be stopped, but he felt far too young and too inexperienced to consider himself part of this war. After all, he had his own family to worry about. His parents were old and he was an only child. He should not place himself in any unnecessary risks. Also, from a selfish point of view he was not that threatened by the Death Eaters. He probably would be fine as long as he stayed on the side lines and did not get involved. Assuming of course that they would let him stay on the side line. James assumed that not all of Voldemort's followers had joined him willingly. Surely, he had threatened and strong armed various wizards to gain their support. With terror rising in the population it would become more and more easy for him to intimidate people into obeying him. James expected that especially pure-bloods would be targeted as Voldemort considered them the most worthy part of the Wizarding World. If James was unlucky he would be confronted with the tough choice of either joining the Death Eaters or risking his own life as well as his parents. James liked to believe that he would never join the Death Eaters no matter what offer Voldemort made him or what horrible things he would threaten him with. However, he knew that it was easy to be noble as long as you were only pondering hypothetical situations. If push came to shove who knew what he would find himself capable of doing? Sirius gave a shout which rose James from his dark thoughts. His best mate had received two letters and had already torn open the first one.

'What is it?' asked Remus.

'Bloody hell,' said Sirius. 'It's my uncle Alphard. He... passed away yesterday.'

'Shite mate, I am so sorry,' said James. 'I never met the man but from what I have heard he seemed like a decent bloke. Does it say how he died?'

'Heart attack,' said Sirius. 'Apparently, he died in his sleep. His house elf found him in the morning. And there is more: It says here that he left me everything.'

'Everything?' asked Peter. 'His gold?'

'Yes, his gold,' said Sirius. 'It is sealed away in a special account in Gringrotts. I will gain full access when I become seventeen.'

'Who much is it?' asked Peter eagerly, ignoring Remus's scandalized look.

'More than enough,' said Sirius. 'Alphard was one of the richest Blacks around.'

'Were the two of you close?' asked Marlene. 'I think I have heard you mentioning sometimes.'

'More or less,' said Sirius. 'Alphard is, no was, a black sheep. He was a Ravenclaw and never bought into the whole blood purity nonsense the rest of the family considered key to being a pure-blood. He kept to himself and distanced himself from the family, but he was never disowned as he had a lot of money. Even the most radical purist in my family did not want to antagonize one of our most wealthy family members. So, they gritted their teeth and endured him. I wonder what they are thinking now. They will be furious when they learn that Alphard left his money to me. They probably have already been counting their galleons. To be honest, I am a bit surprised that he left the money to me. I have rarely met him and while he was always kind to me, I assumed that this was just the way he was with everybody. I remember that he was quite excited when he learned that I had been sorted into Gryffindor. But I never would have guessed that he considered me fit to be his heir.'

'Does he have any children?' asked Marlene.

'No,' said Sirius. 'He was always a bit of a loner to be honest. No wife, no kids, I think he was content with his work. He was a very gifted potion master and spent most of his days experimenting with all kind of brews. While most of his money was inherited, he also made a tidy sum selling rare and difficult potions.'

'Sounds like he wanted to pass one the money to someone who did not buy into the blood purity nonsense,' said James. 'Everybody knows that you don't, so he probably considered you the most worthy person.'

'Yeah, maybe,' said Sirius. 'The funerals is in two days. I will have to ask Dumbledore for permission, so I can attend. It's the least I can do for the old man. Blimey, I will probably run into my bloody family there as well. They will probably come to pay their respects even though they never respected him while he still lived. Bunch of bloody hypocrites!'

'I am sure the headmaster will give you permission,' said Remus. 'As far as I know he has always granted similar requests in the past.'

'And if he doesn't you can still sneak out of school and we will cover for you,' said James. Sirius gave a small smile while Remus looked rather put off by the suggestion.

'I thought you were going to keep your nose clean this year,' said Remus to James. 'How does sneaking out of school fit into this?'

'Relax, Remus,' said James. 'I said that I will try to keep my nose clean. However, helping a mate overrides this. If Sirius needs my help and I have to get myself into trouble in the process, I will not hesitate for an instant. That's what being mates is all about.'

'Very noble, Prongs,' said Sirius sarcastically, but James could see a grateful look in his mate's eye. Sirius has always been bad at showing affection, probably due to his upbringing, so he tended to veil his feelings in snarky comments. At first, James he been put off by this habit, but he had quickly realized the truth and know simply considered it part of Sirius's character. 'I don't need your help to sneak out of school and you know it. So, don't worry about me and keep your nose clean. Anyway, I still have another letter to open. Let's see what we have here.'

He reached for the envelope and studied it for a moment. James could see his face grow grim as he studied the writing and the style of the letter. The envelope was a velvety black and Sirius's name was written on it with elegant silver script. James thought he had seen this kind of letter before. Then Sirius flipped it around and James could see the Black family seal stamped on the backside of the letter. Now he knew why his best mate's mood had soured so quickly. In Sirius's case a letter from home never brought good news. In conjunction with Alphard's death, James readied himself for the worst. Sirius broke the letter's seal and extracted a small piece of parchment. He scanned it quickly, fury growing on his face with every line he passed. Whatever was written in the letter obviously wasn't good. When he was done, he set the parchment on fire with his wand. The letter burned quickly and was reduced to ash within a minute. For a moment nobody spoke.

'Trouble at home?' asked James.

'You could say that,' growled Sirius. 'My cunt of a mother wastes no times.'

'Sirius!' said Marlene. 'Mind your language! How dare you call your own mother such a foul name?'

'If you had ever met her, you would congratulate me for this fitting assessment of my dear mother,' said Sirius darkly. 'In each case, you should mind your own business. I have never listened to my parents and I will not listen to you when you attempt to lecture me.'

'Alright, settle down,' said James when Marlene was about to protest against Sirius dismissing her like that. 'What did that letter say? Will she come to the funeral as well?'

'Oh yes,' said Sirius. 'She made it very it clear that she and the rest of the family is going to be there. And she does not want me to come.'

'What?' asked Remus. 'Why ever not?'

'She said that it is not appropriate as I bring shame to my family,' snorted Sirius. 'She said that she did not want me to cause trouble at the funeral because Alphard deserved better. As if she actually cared what he wanted. She only cares about my presence at the funeral because of the inheritance. She does not want me there as she does not want me to tell everybody that I am going to inherit Alphard's money. She wants to seize control of the money for herself quietly. It is an insult to her that her disappointing son receives a huge amount of Galleons while she is not getting anything. But I am going to foil her plans. I am going to this funeral and I am going to tell everyone that Alphard left the money to me.'

'She wants to seize the inheritance?' asked James. 'I don't think she can do that. Alphard certainly made sure that his will was well crafted. Maybe she is just trying to rile you up.'

'Well, she has succeeded,' said Sirius through gritted teeth. 'I don't know what exactly she is trying to do, but she wrote in the letter that she was going to take this money away from me. My best guess is that she wants to seize control of the account as I am still underage and will only be able to access it when I turn seventeen. If she can do this, the money will be gone in a heartbeat and I will never see a single knut. Merlin's balls, I hate this woman!'

'That's perfectly understandable, but you have to keep a cool head,' said Remus. 'You should probably get an expert opinion on this. If there is anything you can do a good lawyer will find it and help you keep your money.'

'I am underage and don't have any money besides pocket change,' said Sirius. 'No lawyer is going to help me fight my family. The fallout they could catch is simply too much. My family will make sure that no one of their friends is going to hire any lawyer, who has agreed to help me, ever again. Being a lawyer for such an old family is a highly respected position where you can earn a lot of money. Only very few lawyers will risk offending such potent customers.'

'Don't worry about this, mate,' said James. 'A close friend of my father is a very good wizarding lawyer. I am sure that he will help you if my father asks him. We are going to take care of the costs and he will be very discreet.'

'I can't let you do that, Prongs,' said Sirius. 'That's too much money and too big a favour to ask.'

'Nonsense,' said James. 'What is money good for if you can't use it to help your friends? Just consider it a loan. You can pay us back when you turn seventeen and get access to your own gold.'

'I will pay back every last knut as soon as I got the money,' said Sirius with a determined look on his face. 'I hate my bloody family! Why do they have to fight me whenever they get the chance? Can't they just accept that I am different then they are? Whenever our rotten family produces someone decent they try everything they can to make his life a living hell. It was the same for Andromeda until she cut ties with them. I just can't believe it. I can't wait until I am seventeen so I can get out of there.'

'You can always crash at our place if things get too tense,' said James. 'My parents don't mind having so around. Hell, my mother almost considers you a second son.'

'I know,' said Sirius. 'And I am forever grateful. I just wish it was not necessary.'

Silence followed his statement and for a moment they all focused on their breakfast while mulling over Sirius's situation. A few minutes later the serene atmosphere was pierced be some unwelcome company. Snape had appeared at the Gryffindor table, with Regulus Black following on his heels.

'Well, Black, did you enjoy your letters?' Snape sneered. 'Your young brother just told me of your uncle's passing. I am heartbroken. Hopefully, you have not made any plans for the money he left you yet. From what I have heard, you are going to lose it within the next few days. I suppose it is for the best. You have no sense of responsibility and would just squander it. Your mother is right in placing it under her control.'

Sirius did not answer. Instead he just drew his wand and rose from the table. Snape smirked grew ever more malicious.

'What Black, are you going to hex me in the great hall?' he asked tauntingly. 'Almost all of the teachers are here. With a bit of luck you may be able to cast a spell before they break it up. Maybe I will be lucky and they will finally decide that you have caused enough trouble and will expel you.'

'What makes you think I care about getting expelled?' asked Sirius, his wand pointed firmly at Snape's face who had not yet drawn his own wand.

'Sirius, back down,' said Remus. 'You are going to get into trouble.'

'Yes, listen to Lupin,' said Snape with a sneer on his face. 'He always was much smarter than you are, Black. Look at you raising at the bait even though there is no way you can get your revenge.'

'You should not underestimate my cunning, Snivellus,' said Sirius. 'I am sick and tired of you messing with me. I am going to make you pay! You will see the error of ever provoking me very soon.'

Snape just smiled at Sirius's threat. James could see his best mate's control snap and saw him open his mouth to curse Snape. Fortunately, McGonagall arrived at their table in just this moment and Sirius was still able to abort his hex.

'What is going on here?' she asked in brisk voice. 'Black, put away your wand before I land you in detention.'

'Yes, Professor,' said Sirius. His voice was only barely controlled and continued glaring at Snape while he stuffed his wand in his packet.

'Very good,' said McGonagall. 'I expect you to remember the discussion we had during our last detention, Mr. Black. I am not known for my patience and even the headmaster's patience has limits. Now, is there anything you want to say to Mr. Black, Mr. Snape? Otherwise, I suggest that you move along. It seems that you are causing a commotion at this table.'

'That is an excellent idea, Professor,' said Snape, barely containing his glee. 'We are done anyway. Come Regulus.'

He turned around and walked back to the Slytherin table with Regulus on his heels. McGonagall watched him carefully until he had retaken his seat. Then she refocused her attention on Sirius and the other Marauders.

'I am going to let you off the hook, Mr. Black,' she said. 'It was obvious that you were about to curse Mr. Snape, but as you were smart enough to abort your attempts when I arrived, I am going to turn a blind eye on it.'

Sirius opened his mouth, probably to make some ungrateful comment, but James spoke up before his best mate could say anything.

'He is very grateful, professor,' he said to McGonagall, turning up his most charming smile. 'It is very generous of you to let him walk away.'

'Thank you, Potter,' said McGonagall, before striding away to teacher table. James could have sworn that he had seen the ghost of a smile on her face at his comment, but it was always hard to tell what was going on in her mind.

'Very smooth, James,' said Remus with a smile on his face.

'Sod off,' said James good-naturedly. 'You alright, Sirius?'

'I am going to make Snape pay,' said his best mate quietly, his voice cold. He had sat down again, but somehow his anger was even more frightening now. 'I am going to enjoy making him suffer. How dares he making fun of my uncle dying? And when I am finished with him, I am going to pay my little brother a visit. The stupid git should know better than to blab anything about our family to scum like Snape.'

'Sirius, don't you think you are overreacting to this?' said Remus. 'Snape was just going to get a rise out of you. You should know by now that he uses every opportunity to provoke us. We just have to ignore him and everything will be fine.'

'He will not dare to provoke us again, after I am done,' said Sirius. 'I have been too lenient with Snape. I have grown too soft, tried to hard not to get into too much trouble. Well, that is off the table know. I am going to strike back fast and hard. Snape will not know what hit him.'

'Sirius,' said James who was now starting to get worried. Sirius often went over the top with their pranks. Usually, Remus was there to get him back down to earth, but he did not seem in the mood to listen. Under other circumstances, James would let Sirius have his fun, so he could have his revenge, but he did not want to see Sirius expelled from Hogwarts. He had to shut this down now. Otherwise, Sirius's rage would continue to simmer until he released it in some dramatic prank which would probably get him kicked out of school. 'You have to ignore Snape. If you get caught when you retaliate you might be expelled! We all know that Snape is a bloody git and that he deserves getting put into place. But it is not worth the risk! Just imagine how gleeful the git would be if you were caught and expelled! You would just have played into his cards. Just let it go and let us focus on protecting your money rather than dealing with scum like Snape.'

'How can you let him get away with this?' asked Sirius, rounding on James. 'If we don't strike back he will consider himself untouchable and will continuing provoking us. He has been at it for quite a while now and I don't think that he will stop. I have already listened to you once, James and I have given Snape a free pass. But I will not walk away from my revenge again. Snape had his chance and he blew it. I am going to get him back, like we would have done in the past.'

'Sirius don't!' pleaded James. 'You are right, I was wrong. Snape did not stop provoking us when we stopped retaliating. He probably thinks that we would not dare harm him, because we are too worried about the repercussions.'

'And he obviously is right about it,' said Sirius triumphantly. 'The only one willing to do what is necessary is me. You and Remus don't have the guts to stand up to Snape and don't get me started on Peter. What the hell happened to you James? A year ago, you would have been first in line to get Snape back! I know that you are trying to be more mature to get into Evans's knickers, but this is more important than her!'

'This has got nothing to do with Evans, thank you very much,' said James, his own anger rising now. Of course Evans was one of the reasons why he had decided to change his life, but she was not the only one. 'In case you haven't noticed, I am done with Evans and I am with Amber now. So, let's get back to the point here. You have to back off from Snape if you want to stay in this bloody school.'

'You will never be over Evans and you know it,' replied Sirius sardonically. 'And you don't tell me what to do James! I am done listening to your advice which has not gotten the job done so far. I will do this my way and you will just have to suck it up.'

He turned around and stormed out of the Great Hall leaving the rest of the Marauders behind.

'Wow, he is really ticked off,' said Peter. 'I have never seen him this angry. I feel almost sorry for Snape now. Who knows what Sirius will do to him?'

'Bloody hell,' said James, slamming his fist on the table. 'Great, just great. Well, I think there is nothing we can do as long as he is this wound up. Let's just hope that he does not do something stupid before he has calmed down.'

'It will be alright,' said Remus. 'Sirius is not stupid and he knows what's at stake. He will not seriously harm Snape.'

'Let's hope you are right Remus,' said James through gritted teeth. He was still angry at Sirius about his jab at Lily. 'I am so done with cleaning up Sirius's mess.'

'Come one, we have to head to Potions,' said Peter. 'Let's see if Sirius feels up for the lesson.'

James stood up from the table and followed his friends out of the hall. He hoped that the lessons would take his mind off things. He was angry at Sirius and worried about him. He just hoped that things would have cooled down until the night. It was a full moon after all and he needed Sirius to focus if they wanted to do their usual exploring. He would not be able to control the werewolf for long on his own. His stag from was big and powerful, but the werewolf was well-equipped to fight deer. Damn it, why did everything have to be so bloody difficult?