"So I spoke to Remus," Sirius said, looking up from his homework on the arm of the common room sofa. Peter looked up from where he was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. He put his quill down, pushing away his transfiguration essay so he could give Sirius his full attention. 

"You went to see him, did you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, frowning. "I did. I went down to see him after you two went to bed last night..." The look on Peter's face was one of concern and Sirius almost wanted to hug him for it. He knew that last night hadn't been easy on any of them but especially for James and Peter. As mischievous as both boys were, they didn't have the passionate rebelliousness against their family as Sirius did. Of course they didn't, their families were generally right about most things. Werewolves were always an open and shut case though, and most people agreed that they were highly vicious and dangerous monsters. But Sirius was always one to believe what he saw. And what he saw was Remus who was just a scared and hurting boy and not a blood-thirsty monster. Peter and James would take a little while to adjust but they would accept Remus just like they'd all accepted each other - and Sirius knew this wholeheartedly.

"How did he look?" Peter asked softly, keeping his voice down so Rosier and his goons across the common room wouldn't overhear.

"Awful," Sirius whispered in reply. "He looked...I've never seen anyone look like that before, Pete. He just... well, you've seen his scars. They had to appear somehow." Peter nodded solemnly, looking down at his hands in his lap. 

"I hate that the Death Eaters do that to him," he said, shaking his head sadly.

 "The thing is, Pete," Sirius murmured. "Remus said... Merlin, I can't even say it out loud. He said that...it's him."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked. Sirius leaned forwards, his elbows on his knees as he ran a hand through his hair. 

"I mean that...he's the one who hurts himself," he whispered. "He told me...last night. They lock him up with silver shackles and leave him there till morning. You should have seen the burns on his wrists, Pete. Remus said that they stop him from getting too violent and hurting himself but that's a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. The Death Eaters are only trying to control him when he goes all wolfy, not keep him from hurting himself. But they've somehow made him believe that they're trying to help him even though he comes back looking like death. I just...it just makes me so sick."

Sirius finally looked up, seeing Pete who sat there with tears in his eyes and his mouth open in shock. He suddenly felt bad. Maybe he shouldn't have been as graphic. After all, Sirius was the son of two well-known Death Eaters who regularly are called upon to torture the Dark Lord's enemies. He had seen it first hand. But Peter hadn't. His whole life had been dedicated to keeping his head down. 

"Sorry, Pete," Sirius said, reaching out and laying a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to say it like that. I know...I know you're not good with this kind of thing."

"No, no, it's okay," Peter said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand roughly. "It's just that he's our friend. And I hate that he has to go through that on his own. I wish we could do something, anything, just to make it easier for him. But what can we do? We're just kids." Sirius opened his mouth to reply but the common room door opened suddenly, making him jump. James stumbled in, catching himself on the edge of a sofa and bending over with his hands on his knees.

"Made it," he gasped, grinning at Sirius and Peter like a maniac. "Made it!"

"Cutting it close, aren't we, Potter?" Rosier shouted from across the room, elbowing Yaxley who chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't want the prefects knowing that you've been out after curfew, would you now?" James shot him a glare.

"You can't prove it, Rosier," he snapped. "You'd be wasting the prefects' time and that wouldn't go down well, would it? Daddy can't protect you everywhere you go." Rosier leapt to his feet, his face bright red in anger. He started forwards but Snape shot out a hand and stopped him. 

"The blood traitor isn't worth it, Evan," he said snidely, throwing James a nasty look over his shoulder as he guided Rosier away. "Don't waste your time on him. His lot will only taint your pure blood if you get too involved."

"Shut it, Snivellus!" Sirius growled, rising to his feet and moving to stand next to James. Peter scrambled behind them, trying his best to look menacing in support of his friends. "You're one to talk about blood purity when you're a half blood yourself. Don't pretend that you and Rosier are any better than us!" Snape whipped around, his lips pulling back against his teeth in a nasty sneer. 

"You should know better than anyone what blood purity can do for you, Black," he hissed. "I'd hate for your mother to find out that you're hanging around with Potters and Pettigrews instead of those with true noble blood. At least I'm trying to live up to the honorable Prince name instead of ruining the bit of pureblood I have by befriending those beneath me!" Before James could stop him, Sirius charged forwards and tackled Snape to the ground. The two boys tumbled around the common room floor, swearing and shouting, throwing kicks and punches. Somewhere behind him, Sirius was aware that James had also launched himself at Rosier in an attempt to back Sirius up. He didn't know where Pete was but at that moment all he cared about was sticking his fist right through Snape's face. 

"You keep your fat, oily nose out of my business, Snivellus!" Sirius yelled. 

"Get off me!" Snape snarled, managing to land a punch right across Sirius' jaw. "Get off me, you blood traitor!" Sirius growled, now fighting with new strength and energy. How dare Snape threaten him! He didn't know anything about him! Sirius wanted to be brave, to say that what Snape had said about his mother didn't bother him. But the truth was, he was scared. Scared of what would happen if his mother found out about James and Peter and even, Merlin forbid, Remus. Snape has no right to threaten him at all. 

By this time, the rest of the first year students had crowded around the four boys fighting, circling them and chanting "fight, fight, fight!" As Sirius was momentarily distracted by the other first years around them, Snape took advantage by kicking Sirius off and pinning him to the floor. He raised his wand, which he must have taken out of his robes at some point, and pointed it right at Sirius' face. "Let's see if we can't permanently mark up that pretty face of yours," Snape spat, raising his wand to cast some jinx. Refusing to close his eyes, Sirius stared dead at him, gritting his teeth as he prepared for whatever curse Snape was about to fire-

"Expelliarmus!" someone shouted and Snape's wand went flying across the room...right into Peter Pettigrew's outstretched hand. Everyone fell silent, staring at Pete in surprise. Pete himself looked the most shocked, clutching both wands so hard his knuckles were turning white. 

"Brilliant, Pete!" James exclaimed from across the room, his nose bleeding and glasses crooked but grinning like a maniac from where he had pinned Rosier. "You bloody legend!" He didn't get to say much more because the portrait hole opened and Slughorn stepped through. His face was turning red as he scanned the scene in front of him. 

"What is the meaning of this?" He bellowed. "Rosier, Potter, Snape, Black! Stand up and right yourselves immediately!" The boys scrambled to their feet, quickly adjusting their uniforms and straightening their ties. "What on Earth do you think you're doing? This is not how respectable young wizards behave!"

"Black and Potter started it, sir," Rosier cried. "Severus and I were minding our own business when they jumped us!"

"Oh so you're a liar as well as a coward, Rosier?" James seethed, his hands closing into fists. "You wanna go again? Is that it, huh?"

"Enough!" Slughorn roared. "That is enough! You are wizards! If you have a quarrel, you dual like real men! Muggles use their fists, and we are higher than muggles, are we not?"

"Yes, sir," Rosier and Snape mumbled but Sirius and James remained silent. Luckily, Slughorn didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps he didn't care. Either way, he glared at them all once again before turning to Peter. 

"Mr Pettigrew, please return Mr Snape's wand to him," he ordered. Pete nervously moved forwards, holding out Snape's wand for him to take. The other boy snatched it from his hand but said nothing.

"Now, off to bed, all of you," Slughorn said, addressing the rest of the first years who remained frozen around the room. "You have classes tomorrow. Off you go." They all quickly collected their things, murmured quiet good nights, and headed up the stairs. Peter and James followed Sirius as he stormed upstairs to his room at the top of the tower. 

"Mate!" James called, huffing slightly as he tried to keep up. "Sirius, come on, slow down!" Sirius didn't listen, throwing the door open to his room and ushering the other two inside. He then slammed the door and locked it behind them.

"Stupid bloody Snape," he muttered, yanking off his tie and throwing it to the floor. "And Rosier too. Thinking they're so high and mighty. They're no better than anyone. They're worse, actually. All their talk of blood purity and whatnot when they're the ones who are messed up in the head." James had thrown himself onto Sirius' bed, Pete sitting tentatively next to him. 

"I get you, mate," James replied. "We need to teach those slimeballs a lesson. One they won't forget quickly. Something huge and spectacular that no one will forget." Sirius glanced over at his friend, grinning at the glint of mischief in his eyes. Even then, he could tell this was going to be the start of an epic prank. Maybe even the greatest prank in Hogwarts history. The three boys agreed that tomorrow they'd go to the library and research the spells they'd need for the Great Prank. Sirius had wanted to start right there and then but Pete reminded them that they were already in trouble enough. Slughorn would be keeping a close eye on them for the next few days so they needed to let him calm down first. But after that, Hogwarts was theirs.

They stayed up for another hour before Pete called it a night, staggering off to bed down the stairs. Once he was gone, Sirius saw his opportunity to ask James what he had been dying to ask all night. 

"Hey, where were you earlier anyway?" he said, tilting his head as he looked at James. James froze for a moment. He glanced up, eyes careful. 

"Just at the library catching up on homework," he replied slowly. "Los track of time." They were silent for a moment, neither boy daring to speak. But then Sirius cleared his throat, sitting up properly and crossing his legs.

"James, the library closes an hour before curfew," he said quietly. "So you couldn't have been there. Why are you lying to me?" James didn't answer. "Jamie, come on, you're my best mate. I'm not gonna be angry or anything. It's just...look, ever since we've got here, you disappear every so often. Sometimes for hours. I'm just worried for you, alright mate? I wanna make sure you're okay. So what's going on? Where have you been going?" James bit his lip, also sitting up. He quickly glanced around them, as if there was someone else in the room, then turned back to Sirus.

"What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else," James said lowly. "I mean anyone. Not even Pete. Certainly not Remus or Lily. You can't tell anyone. Swear you won't, Sirius."

"I swear it," Sirius replied solemnly. "I swear on my life I won't repeat what you're about to tell me." James nodded. He kept running his hands through his hair, breathing deeply. Whatever he was about to say, he obviously was nervous. Scared, even. Sirius wondered what kind of a secret could cause his friend such trouble. He supposed he was about to find out.

"Listen, you know my family aren't exactly...supporters," James said. "They hate You Know Who. They hate everything he and the Death Eaters stand for. But we're pureblood and that's afforded us some protection that others weren't so lucky to get."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius replied. "My parents are always on about your family's affiliation with muggles. I never cared, you know that." Biting his lip, James squeezed his hands together tightly. It unnerved Sirius to see his usually joyful friend looking like this.

"My parents are part of a secret organisation," James said, his voice almost a whisper. "We're called the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore runs it. You know Dumbledore, You Know Who's greatest ever enemy?" Sirius' eyes went wide. Dumbledore. The great Albus Dumbledore. Next to Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard that had ever been born, maybe even more powerful. He was the one everyone thought was going to defeat the Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix were the only people who ever stood up to the Dark Lord. But they failed. They couldn't defeat the Death Eaters and Voldemort took over the magical world. 

"You're in the Order of the Phoenix?" Sirius exclaimed. "But...but they were all destroyed. Voldemort destroyed them!"

"He didn't find them all," James explained anxiously. "We went into hiding. Most of our members still are hiding. But we haven't given up. We never will. We're just...waiting for the right moment." 

"So what has this got to do with you disappearing then?" Sirius demanded. James winced.

"Well you see...I'm in the Order too, not just my parents," he murmured. "Dumbledore...he needed someone on the inside at Hogwarts. There's something going on here, Sirius. Something that Voldemort has been planning for years now. Hogwarts was always so high on his hit list so there has to be something about the castle that's special. Dumbledore wanted to find out why."

"So he sent you?" Sirius said, incredulous. "He sent an eleven year old kid as a spy? This dude is crazy if you think the professors won't find out what you're doing! Do your parents know what you're doing?"

"Dumbledore isn't crazy," James said sharply. "And no. My parents didn't want me to go. But I went to Dumbledore myself and told him I could do this. He seemed to agree. To be honest, he was planning on sending an adult to pretend to be a professor. But that was more risky. No one will suspect a student, even if they are a blood traitor. I was the best choice. So he arranged for me to get on the train that day. My parents know now but there's nothing they can do to get me out of here. Besides, I wouldn't let them. I have a job to do now. That's where I go. I try and gather as much information as I can and I sneak out of the castle to report to one of the Order. It's too dangerous to send a letter; you know the Death Eaters read everything we receive and send home.  So I use a secret tunnel on the first floor behind a statue. It goes to Hogsmede where I meet up with an Order member and tell them what I know." 

Sirius gaped at his friend, his mouth falling open. James was a spy. An actual spy. And Order spy! Of all the things Sirius thought James was up to, he would never have guessed that. He didn't know whether to feel scared or thrilled or betrayed or ecstatic. Maybe all of them. Maybe none of them. But if he really thought about it, everything made sense. It explained how James seemed to know everything about what Hogwarts was like before Voldemort took over. How he always stood up for muggle-borns and halfbloods. Why he was always disappearing. 

"I...I don't know what to say, mate," he stammered. "You're a spy. If the Death Eaters ever found out..."

"They won't," James assured him. "Besides, that's the fun part of all this. Before I left, I stole my dad's invisibility cloak. No one ever sees me leaving the castle. And no one ever sees me coming back either. It's completely safe."

"No way!" Sirius gasped. "But they're so rare! Can I see it? Can I use it?! Merlin it would make going to see Remus so much easier!"

"That's the thing, Sirius," James said, his voice stern again. "With the information I'm getting for the Order, I'm hoping one day, maybe even soon, we can break Remus out."

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I'm back my loves!!!!!

Very sorry for the break I took. The pandemic and uni work were really starting to get to me so I took some time off to recover. But I'm back home for Christmas which means hopefully I can get some more chapters out too! Be sure to check out my Marauders oneshot book too!

I hope you enjoyed this one! There's much more to come on James being a spy for the Order so I hope that has intrigued you! 

Please do let me know what you thought of the chapter! Your comments and votes really do keep me going and I appreciate every single one of the beautiful souls who take the time to read my fanfics! Honestly you guys don't know how much I appreciate you!

Up next: Remus recovers from the moon and the boys start asking questions of lycanthropy! Stay tuned! Love y'all!