The Marauders ran hurriedly through the corridors, their cloaks billowing in the wind. Remus had left his pile of books in the common room along with his quills and ink for once. Peter had momentarily forgotten about food and Sirius' mind was jumping to so many possible conclusions, it was scary.

"James could have been mannapped." Sirius suggested.

"What?" Remus asked tiredly.

"He's not a child so he was man-napped. Or Lily could be pulling an incredibly horrible prank on us..." Sirius said, frowning. "No, that's too cruel. Even for Lily."

"So what do you think has actually happened to him?" Peter asked, leading the way to the astronomy tower.

"Whatever has gone down this evening, I can only hope that no one got hurt."

OoOoOoO

Andrew White held the gun limply in his hands as he watched the colour ebb away from James' face. A smile he had previously worn to meet his girlfriend had since vanished and was replaced with a haunting frown that would haunt his waking nightmares. 

When he had previously shot the bird, it had felt good.

But when your main intention is to hurt someone who people care so much  about, the act suddenly becomes so hollow and dark. He had never taken a chance to step back from what he had done, the damage he had caused every time. 

Was this how his father felt when he shot his own brother?

Was Andrew White becoming the thing he despised most in the world? He was. He was becoming what he hated, a bloodthirsty, gun-holding, violent man who has no regard for anyone but themselves. 

He looked down at the gun he had been holding and gasped. He dropped the gun to the floor, making a loud bang noise on the wooden floorboards no rushed over to the man he had previously been threatening to kill. Blood flowed from his chest and onto his Gryffindor robes and jumper.

"I'm sorry..." he managed to croak.

With one quick look at the heartbreak and sorrow he will have caused in only a matter of time, he picked up the gun. He slotted it inside his robes and ran down the back way of the astronomy tower just as he began to hear thundering footsteps.

OoOoOoO

Sirius ran ahead of his group of friends whilst Remus and Peter trudged along behind him. They were getting nervous with every passing second. As the sky got darker, their worries did the same. What could have happened to James? Sirius was imagining all sorts of possibilities and all of them were blamed on him. He would blame himself if any of his friends were hurt because he always felt like he could have stopped it. After growing close with Remus, he wished he could have stopped his monthly problems but unfortunately he couldn't, he could only make them bearable for his friend. 

Peter had always had a hard time in life, being teased by the Slytherins and all. Whenever something remotely bad happened to his friend, Sirius always blamed himself. So whatever fate had befallen his fellow mischief-maker, he was never going to be ready.

As they climbed up the steps to the astronomy tower, fear suddenly mounted in his chest and he stopped halfway up.

"What's up?" Remus asked.

"I don't want to know, I've changed my mind." Sirius said with wide eyes.

"What on earth, Sirius? Move it, James is up there!"

"Fine..." he said and reached the top of the stairs.

Remus had witnessed many horrible things in his life but nothing could have prepared him for the horror that lay at the top of the astronomy tower. It wasn't James, it was Sirius. As he saw the limp, lifelsss body of his fallen friend, Remus could visibly see his whole world falling into small, fractured pieces.

His expression lay placid but his eyes showed it all. The fear, the sadness, the desperation, the relief and the anger. Sirius felt like he couldn't stand so he slowly fell to his knees next to his best friend and never looked away. His eyes were fixed on James.

"Oh my God..." Peter's voice whispered in the darkness.

Only a small light shone on the wall outside the tower but it just about lit up the ghost smile spread across James' face. The three marauders stood rooted to their spots until they hear an ungodly sound screech from behind them.

"James!" she screamed.

Lily ran over to James, knocking Sirius out of the way, and held his face in her hands, roughly stroking his hair. Tears fell freely down her face as she completely let go. Her tears landed on James' cheek and she quickly rubbed them off. She looked down at his limp, lifeless face and completely crumbled. She grabbed hold of his hand and fell to the floor in a weeping mess. 

Sirius didn't move, however. All he did was kneel on the floor next to his best friend. His former best friend. The man who had stood by his side every second of every day whilst he constantly chatted up the Hufflepuff girls. But this man was completely different. 

He didn't speak.

He didn't move.

He showed no sign of emotion. 

All Peter and Remus could do was sob to each other. Remus sobbed into Peter's shoulder whilst he watched Lily cry her heart and soul into the man she had loved. Slowly but silently whilst no one was looking, Sirius stood up and left, his jaw clenched tightly and his knuckles turning white. 

As he left, he muttered under his breath to James...

"I'm sorry..."