Sirius was skipping down the hall. He was absolutely ecstatic about something or another. James watched him go by, and shrugged. He fell into skip with Sirius. Remus rolled his eyes and went back to reading in the corner. He'd be in the library, but past experience had taught him better. Leaving Sirius and James together without mature supervision was like begging for destruction. Peter was serving Detention with McGonagall for his 4th T in a row.

James looked at Sirius and said,

"Pads, why are we skipping?" Sirius grinned and said,

"Do you have anything better to do?" James smirked evilly and said,

"No. Wanna run?" Sirius laughed and took off like bat out of hell. James followed. It felt good. Sirius thought it felt better than sex. And that was saying something. They had way too much pent-up energy. For them, running was like an explosion. It felt good. To just let the energy flow out of every pore, oozing over them as they tore through the castle. Every time Sirius and James even thought of slowing down, their shoulders would tauten, and even more energy would come speeding into their bloodstreams.

Remus stayed put as they raced all over. Every now and then he'd take a look at the Map to make sure they were still moving. Moving meant no scheming. Movement was good. If they were hyped up on adrenaline, they were too adrenaline-wasted to do much. Thank God for that.

Minerva McGonagall walked out of her classroom and was nearly knocked on her arse when Sirius and James went whizzing past. McGonagall stared after them as the sped cackling down the hall. She shrugged and went out to the hall again. Bad idea.

The boys had turned around and went speeding back her way. Having not noticed this, she had foolishly stepped directly into their return path. The crashed into her. Everyone fell to the ground, a tangle of black and green robes. Minerva was the first to right herself. The boys were still trying to untangle themselves. She shouted,

"MARAUDERS!" Peter slowly crept out of Minerva's class, looking ashamed despite his innocence. Remus heard Minerva's reprimanding voice and sped like a speedy thing to her classroom. Sirius and James were still sitting on the ground, grinning like idiots. Minerva rolled her eyes. However, her curiosity got the best of her. What was so great about running?

Tentatively, she reached out to Sirius's mind, prepared to be scarred for life. However, she was taken by surprise.

There were no specific thoughts or images. Just an overwhelming tidal wave of euphoria washed into Minerva's mind. It was so strong, and irrepressible. Contrary to what the boys had expected, Minerva's face split into a large grin. Remus looked at her. He asked hesitantly,

"Professor? Are you alright?" Minerva thumped back to reality and hid her grin as fast as she could. This was pretty hard. She answered,

"Nothing students. Please continue with your exercise." The Marauders looked at each other in surprise and shrugged. James and Sirius grinned and took off. Remus sighed and walked slowly after them. Peter looked at Minerva nervously. She smiled benevolently and said,

"You can go too Mr. Pettigrew." He gave her a worried look, but ran off anyway. Minerva smiled happily. Oh, to be young and unburdened. She sighed and smiled, then returned to her classroom. She sank into her comfortable chair, and closed her eyes. She allowed the emotion she had stolen to wash over her, and suddenly Minerva felt like she could fly.

As the Marauders ran through the halls, a small tabby went speeding past them.