Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus

[A/N at the end]

Thank you to AJ, 2D and Alixx for the beta's. Especially to 2D and Alixx for reading through it more than once! I appreciate all your advice and dedicate this piece to you!

October 20, 1975

x

Sirius had spent the better half of an hour reading the thick leather bound book about animagi. He was a third of the way into a chapter about how your animagus animal is supposed to be chosen before a loud groan cut through the early morning silence.

"G'morning," James croaked with a hoarse voice. There was a wet patch on his chest and Sirius grinned when he noticed a matching stain on his friend's pillow. "Wossa time?" he slurred.

"Eight." The bed on Sirius' left creaked and Peter's head appeared.

"Morning," he chirped. A happy smile creeping onto his face. "Blimey, I'm starved," he moaned as he climbed down from the top bunk and sat on the plush red rug in the middle of the room. "D'you reckon there'll be a fry up?" Sirius could've sworn that a bit of drool dribbled onto Peter's shirt. Honestly, the only thing that Peter was passionate about was food. And maybe Mary Macdonald.

"Peter, they always do a fry up," Sirius droned. "Do you ever think of anything that isn't edible?"

"You can be a right foul prat, Sirius," Peter whinged as he threw a sock at him. "What's wrong with liking food?"

"Nothing, but you take it to a new level Pete. I swear you were snogging the bangers and mash last night... the way you were eating it," Sirius said with a snort.

"Sod off," Peter concluded. "Oi, James! Help me out!"

"I'm not your bloody bodyguard Pete," James retorted before focusing his attention on Sirius. "Are you reading that bloody book again?" James eyes squinted at the book in Sirius' lap and he shook his head in bemusement. "You've read it a hundred times!"

"It's interesting, alright!" he defended. "Besides, it says here that we should do it during a full moon and I reckon we have to tryit tonight," Sirius whispered as a loud snore vibrated through the dorm. A mop of light blonde hair peeked out from underneath a patchwork quilt as Remus grunted and turned in his bed.

"Are you mad?" James' hissed in response. His hair stuck up in every direction and he squinted as he stared at him without his glasses. "We aren't ready. And is there not a full moon every month you daft dolt!"

"I agree with James." Peter squeaked after a bout of silence. Of course he'd agree with James; the git. He'd agree with anyone that didn't have Black for their last name or Sirius as their first.

"Shut up for a second. Just let the big boys talk." Peter's chubby face reddened, in anger or embarrassment he didn't know, or care, for that matter. "If we don't do it tonight, then when? We keep saying we'll do it every time a full moon comes around and we never do! Our OWL's are already taking up a huge chunk of our time, mate." James' face fell and Sirius knew he'd played the guilt card just right. "You nicked the ingredients from your dad's cupboard during the holidays, plus tonight's a full moon!" Sirius hissed frantically. He was waving his hands around and the book on his lap clattered to the floor. "Why shouldn't we do it tonight?"

James looked frantically to Peter for help but he shrugged and put his hands up in surrender. James ran his hands through his hair a few times for good measure and his already messy hair now looked like a proper bird's nest – minus the droppings.

"Look, we just are not ready Sirius. We could hurt ourselves!" James reasoned. "It could be really dangerous!"

Sirius nodded towards the boy, in the bed across from him. Remus was huddled in a swarm of blankets and felt an all too familiar warmth spreading through his bones. It made his nerves tingle and the feeling settled and pooled in his stomach.

He had grown attached to this feeling; it was electrifying, addictive, uncomfortable and caused entirely because of the werewolf snoozing on the bed across the room. He hadn't yet figured out what it was supposed to mean but he had a feeling it had something to do with the dreaded 'L' word.

"James, mate, you play quidditch. How is this more dangerous than flinging a couple of balls around a hundred feet up in the air?" Sirius glanced at the sleeping werewolf and pointed at him. "Besides he's the reason we're doing this, isn't he? We can help make it better and we've got everything ready; it's supposed to be a clear night tonight and we all know what to do. When will we ever get another chance as good as this?" Sirius pleaded desperately.

"Fine! But if we lose an ear, turn into rats, or get hurt, it's completely your fault." Something soft assaulted the side of his face and Sirius flipped the bird at the black haired perpetrator of the crime. James' weapon lay casually on the floor, the shimmery blue initials imprinted on the silk pillow – J.F.P – glaring up at him mockingly. "Would you pay attention! You've got a bit of drool on your chin by the way."

"Piss off," Sirius hissed and paused as Remus turned over again. "I wasn't drooling."

"Yes you were!" Peter replied triumphantly, his face smug.

"Does Mary know you love her?" He teased, the boy's face fell and Sirius smirked at the prat. His watery eyes flashed with anger and he opened and closed his mouth a few times like a pathetic looking fish. "I'd hate for it to slip out when we go down for breakfast." Peter whispered something to himself and flopped back onto his pillow, face down. And he was supposed to be the drama queen… Sirius thought.

"I don't know why we're friends," James said with a sigh as he nodded his head; looking at Sirius with that disappointed look on his face. His shaggy black hair brushed against his forehead – he seriously needs a trim, or better yet, a shave. "I should've just left you to be friends with Snivellus."

There was another rustling of sheets and all three of them looked at the mop of blonde hair slowly rising and a pair of thin pale arms stretching toward the ceiling. Remus' arms were tattooed with scars, ranging in depth, colour, and size. Sometimes, he and the others would draw on his arm to cover them up; last week they'd drawn several phallic shaped symbols near his wrists while he was asleep.

There was no cure, yet, for lycanthropy that he and James could find. Their solution? Why bother trying to make a cure – people who were older and smarter than them hadn't managed to – when they had a perfectly good method of making his transformations easier. Or at least less lonely. Besides, laws were made to be broken. Weren't they?

And thus, two years later and mid year through their fifth year (when they should be concentrating on their OWL exams), they had kept a mandrake leaf in their mouth for the whole month of October, the first step of many on their quest to becoming animagi, and planned a ruse to complete the next step of the process.

Remus yawned languidly and while his back was turned, James gave Sirius a thumbs up and so did Peter. They would attempt the next step tonight. For Remus' sake, it had better work. Otherwise Sirius would have to prepare to listen to 'I told you so' from his friends for a lifetime.

x

The day passed by in a blur of white lies, wizard's chess, exploding snap, gobstones, and excitement.

At five in the afternoon, Remus packed a small bag of clothes and essentials before saying 'goodbye' to Sirius, James, and Peter and heading out of the portrait door with a melancholy look on his tired face.

Remus' face was imprinted in Sirius' mind when they snuck out of Gryffindor tower and walked out onto the edge of the black lake at midnight. This is for Remus, this has to work, it'll all be worth it, he chanted in his mind.

A pouch of glass phials in hand, they found a secluded spot underneath an ancient, overgrown, hawthorn tree that would shield them from any prying eyes. With one last look at the full moon above – and a quick 'good luck' to Remus – Sirius handed James and Peter a phial each.

"You ready?" James muttered into the darkness. The world was completely silent around them and the only source of light was the moon, the stars, and the dim lights of the castle behind them. Sirius nodded, and Peter followed, both of them gripping their phials tightly.

Peter looked up at the sky once more. They couldn't have asked for a better night to brew their potion. It was entirely cloudless and the sky was dotted with stars ranging in brightness. This would work; the conditions were perfect and there was nothing standing in their way.

This had to work.

Because right now, in the Shrieking Shack, their best friend was suffering. "Let's just get on with it."

Sirius was feeling more restless as the seconds passed and he was impatient to get this over with. The sooner they did, the sooner they could accomplish what they'd set out to do in third year.

Without another word, the three of them gingerly picked the foul tasting leaves out of their mouths and stuffed the slimy things into their individual phials while making sure the moon's rays touched it.

"I can't even begin to express how excellent it is to have that thing out of my mouth," James whined. "It was like I was constantly tasting your foot, Pete."

"You're a git, James," Peter retorted.

Sirius snorted and took the lid off a small box at James' feet. He spilled the drop of dew from a silver teaspoon inside the phial – James and Peter mimicking him with their own spoons. It was a mean feat getting the dew from the spoon into the tiny phial - a dropper would be far easier - but they had no other choice. The instructions specifically said to use a silver teaspoon, which was barmy. Last time they'd tried, they hadn't used a silver teaspoon and it had been a complete failure.

The mandrake leaf disintegrated when the water touched it. A tiny plume of grey smoke escaped from the top of the phial before Sirius plucked one of his hairs and stuffed it into the fizzing concoction, alongside a chrysalis of a Death's head Hawk Moth (which James had nicked from his dad's supply cupboard).

Illuminated by the rays of the moon, Sirius watched in amazement as the fizzy liquid simmered into a viscous, jet black goo. He glanced at James' and Peter's and saw that theirs were auburn and a mousy brown.

"Is it supposed to be different colours?" Peter murmured, Sirius noticed that his hands shook as he held the phial and stared dubiously at the mixture.

"That's what it says in the book." James announced hesitantly, the aforementioned book laying open at his feet. "It's supposed to take on the colour of your animagus form."

"So am I going to be a sodding penguin?" Sirius added sceptically. This didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Who knew what this potion would do to him, and how would he help Remus if he were permanently impaired himself? On the positive side, if he died - at least his mother would be happy.

"We won't know until we finish," James said, exasperated.

"Right, well, bottoms up!" Peter exclaimed.

Peter raised his phial and as the glass touched his bottom lip, Sirius grabbed at his forearm and lowered it carefully. If even one drop of the liquid spilled, Peter would have to start all over again.

"I know we joke around, but, by jove, Peter, are you actually part troll?" James asked, incredulous and laughing.

"Didn't you listen to a thing that we said?" Sirius chided.

"Yeah, I did! We're supposed to drink it!" Peter defended. "We're not just supposed to look at it."

"We can't drink it yet," James said. "We have to waituntil there's a storm – you know, with lightning and stuff – otherwise it won't work and we'll have to start again."

With a nod of understanding, Peter stuffed his phial into his pocket, James and Sirius following suit. They trekked back the way they had come and bribed the Fat Lady into keeping the entire thing a secret for them - which wasn't all too hard considering how much she fancied Sirius. Wordlessly, they crept up the staircase and slipped into their dormitory.

"So what do we do now?" Peter whispered as he shrugged out of his jacket and took his shoes and socks off.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Sirius snapped. "We explained it to you not even half an hour ago, Pete." He slipped underneath his sheets and leant back against his headboard. "We wait for a storm, but until then we've got to do a charm every morning and before we go to sleep." Sirius explained and hoped that the next electrical storm would come soon. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus," he recited quietly.

"Imagine Remus' face when he finds out what we're going to do…" James said excitedly as he set his glasses down on the table next to his bed. The bed across from him was notably absent and Sirius felt a haze of longing envelop him.

"He's going to go spare," Peter muttered.

"Yeah, he'll be miffed, but he'll get over it." Or so Sirius hoped. "Wonder when the next storm will be…" He trailed off as he snuggled into his pillow, sleep lulling his senses.

February 15, 1976

x

It turned out that the next electrical storm wasn't forecast until tonight – almost four months since they had made the bloody potion in the first place. When they had decided to become animagus halfway through their third-year, it had seemed like a chivalrous and honourable thing to do for a friend.

Logistically, performing a highly difficult piece of transfiguration was nothing when you factored in how much a very good friend would appreciate it. It was just following instructions after all and there's nothing telling Sirius how to show his friend how much he meant to him. Nothing guiding him at all, so how hard could step-by-step instructions really be?

However, casting a charm above your heart every morning and every night was taxing, as was waiting around for a storm – just so that they could finish the final step. It was terrifying.

"It's Minnie," James said in a frantic whisper. "Quick, hide behind the chair!"

Sirius elbowed the side of his friend's torso and pointed a glare at him.

"You're a daft idiot, we're under your cloak," he hissed as McGonagall's emerald robe swished around the corner and her footsteps clacked in the opposite direction to where they were heading. "And there's no chair in sight."

"Right, yeah. I forgot." How James was second in all their classes was a bloody mystery. He had the intelligence of a troll sometimes. Probably why he keeps Peter around, actually. "Groovy, let's keep going then?"

With a nod, all three of them ventured out of the entrance hall, making sure to cast a muffling spell on the hinges so they wouldn't creak. Once the giant double doors were shut behind them they hurriedly made their way to the Whomping Willow. The wind howled violently around them and the cloak fluttered around their ankles as rain pelted onto the tops of their heads and their backs.

Usually, Sirius would've liked to take his time and admire the silhouette of the castle against the dark sky, but, head ducked down, there wasn't any time for him to romanticise his surroundings. A few drops of rain sprinkled atop his head and soaked through the cloak.

In a clearing a little way away from the willow, James pulled the cloak off them and stuffed it into an old, leather rucksack that contained their extra clothes - they'd transform with clothes on, but just in case - and phials of potion. A flash of lightning split the sky and illuminated James and Peter's faces; the latter ashen faced and wide eyed. Behind them the willow thrashed wildly in the wind and Sirius tied his hair back with a spare rubber band.

"Are we ready?" James shouted through the deafening gale as he held out their phials. Sirius took one more look at Peter and a determined look settled onto his face as another burst of lightning cracked above. "Alright - here."

With shaky hands, Sirius uncorked his phial and placed his wand tip above his heart. He chanted the spell they'd been repeating every morning, every evening, for six months, hoping that it'd be the last time he'd have to do it. With a rush of adrenaline, he swallowed the contents of the phial as a boom of thunder shook the earth beneath his feet.

The tips of his fingers, toes, and nose tingled as the sensation spread throughout his body. He glanced at his friends in a daze and his eyes widened as a pair of odd looking ivory horns sprouted out of James' head.

He didn't have time to say anything before an overwhelming feeling of pain clouded his senses and he keeled over with closed his eyes due to the sensation. Taking deep breaths, he counted in his head, and when he reached fifteen, the pain had subsided.

Looking down he yelped – wait, yelp? – in surprise as two black furry paws greeted him. Something was moving on his bum and then he barked in surprise when he caught sight of a long fluffy tail wagging excitedly.

Blimey! This is weird!

A ruffle to his left caught his attention and Sirius barked at the unlikely pair next to him. A small brown rat was scuttling around a brilliant auburn stag's legs. The stag nodded his antlers pointedly at him and trotted in a circle proudly – it has to be James, he thought.

With a snort – did stags snort? – from James, the two of them changed back into their human forms, fully clothed (thankfully for Sirius' peace of mind), and ventured into the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. Of course, Peter scurried ahead and prodded the knot with his paws.

"You ready?" James asked with a hand on Sirius' shoulder as they watched Peter scurry towards the willow's trunk. Sirius felt his throat clog up with nerves, or maybe anticipation, and nodded in response. "He's going to wig out when he sees us."

The willow stopped its' thrashing and Peter's silhouette appeared near the entrance to the tunnel and waved them over.

Well this is it, we either find Remus or a murderous, bloodthirsty creature that'll kill us on the other end, Sirius thought as he quietly said his last prayers.

February 16, 1976

x

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Remus sighed as he took short breaths. "You shouldn't have done it. You could have killed yourselves, do you realize?" he said as he shook his head in disbelief. Sirius could see a hint of a smile creeping into the corners of his lips and he grinned as she wrapped his arm loosely around Remus' shoulders.

"Moony, a 'thank you' will suffice," he drawled. James and Peter snorted and laughed ahead of them and Remus poked Sirius' side playfully. He had been lecturing them for at least a half hour as the sun rose gradually above the horizon.

A few strands of hair brushed against his eyes and, without a second thought, Sirius brushed them away tenderly before realising what he'd done. Remus' cheeks coloured and he looked down shyly. Luckily, James and Peter were facing away from them and Sirius thanked Nostradamus.

Quite frankly, Sirius thought, Remus looked incredibly handsome. His hair, usually neat, was ruffled in a manner similar to James'; his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were alight with happiness and lingering adrenaline. Sirius decided that he preferred Remus like this; happy and carefree. He deserved to be like this all the time and he hoped that he could be the reason behind it.

They had spent the entire night running around the grounds with Remus and Sirius couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so happy. It was blissful to be able to just be with his friends, playing with one another and exploring the surrounds of the castle. There were so many things they had seen and so many things they hadn't yet uncovered. He was already looking forward to the next full moon.

"Why'd you call me Moony?" Remus asked softly. His cheeks and neck still pink as Sirius kept his arm slung around his shoulders.

"You're a werewolf. Werewolves are related to the moon, so, I'm calling you Moony now," he explained as James and Peter stopped and turned around. James had a grin on his face.

"Excellent idea! Sirius, you're Padfoot, and Peter you're Wormtail," James announced proudly as he puffed his chest out. "I can be Prongs."

"Why am I Padfoot?" Sirius complained. "It sounds stupid."

"Because of your paws, they're padded," Peter said. "I like mine. It's creative, plus my tail looks like a worm."

"I didn't ask you if you liked yours Pete. Besides, why can't mine be something more macho? Like ripper? Or savage?" James rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before pushing his glasses up his nose and staring at Sirius in annoyance.

"Because you aren't macho, Padfoot," James taunted. "You spend half an hour everyday gelling up your hair or whatever you do in the bathroom. Blimey, we'd be forgiven for thinking that you care more about your hair than you do about us!" Remus and Peter hummed in agreement. "D'you want to be called snuffles?" he warned. Remus and Peter scoffed out of amusement.

"If I'm Padfoot, then you're Bambi," Sirius retaliated. "I wonder what Evans will think when we call you that - Bambi." He earnestly wished that he had a camera because the look that settled onto James' face was worth whatever came next. His eyes were wide and there was an angry red vein in his temple as he clenched his jaw.

"Alright then, Lassie, wonder what you know who will think..." He nodded subtly towards Remus. "If we call you that instead." Touche, Sirius mused.

A few tense moments passed between them as Sirius stared James down. Really, the only reason he was so miffed was because of James' implication behind what he'd said. Did he know? There was a knowing glint in his best friend's eyes as a slow smile spread across his face. Surely not? If he did know, what did that mean for him? Luckily, before he could really give it anymore thought, James pulled him into a headlock and nudged his ribs for sport. It was Remus and Peter who separated them a few minutes later.

"How about you pick your own nickname then?" James cajoled as he panted and took a few deep breaths. "Ripper did sound groovy."

"Padfoot's not so bad," Sirius concluded and shoved his best friend back with both hands.

With a final, playful, glare from James, the four of them sauntered back up the hill to the castle while singing Bohemian Rhapsody and Mamma Mia off key. They were sure that they'd offended a flock of birds in a tree if their screeching was anything to go by.

Every now and then, Sirius' stomach would grumble from hunger or he and his friends would yawn from exhaustion; but it didn't matter, not even a little bit. They had just had the best night ever. Not only had they successfully become unregistered animagi, they had also spent the evening with their friend and roaming the castle and grounds.

It was unfortunate, really, that they had a full day of classes, because a nice long nap sounded quite attractive as they crossed the courtyard. How they would stay awake for any of them, he didn't know. Sirius was positive that he, Peter, and James would get detention if they slacked off in Minnie's class. She was formidable like that, and, unfortunately, they couldn't say a word about the reason behind their behaviour.

At the intersection of the entrance hall, to the left was the Great Hall and to the right the stairs that would eventually lead to the infirmary, Sirius lightly punched Remus' shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks for that, Padfoot," Remus grinned. For once, Sirius noticed that he didn't look the least bit tired. Quite the opposite, in fact. And in that moment, as they looked at one another happily, Sirius knew that he'd go through the entire animagus process again if it meant Remus didn't have to dread his transformations.

"We'll come and visit you later!" Peter chirped excitedly before pulling Remus into a warm hug. "I'll bring some chocolate frogs for you."

"Yeah, we'll come around with those tarts you like and your books," James added and pulled him into another hug. "I think Pinky might want to come and see you. She missed you last night." James sniggered. The house elf was totally infatuated with Remus since he'd "accidentally" freed her from the Dolohov's just before the end of term last year.

Remus wrung his hands together nervously and looked down at his shoes as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He tugged at the loose ends of his thick wool cardigan and opened his mouth a few times without a sound escaping.

"I can't ever express how thankful I am for what you've done…" he choked out hesitantly and looked at the three of them with a weak smile. "I co-"

"You're welcome," Sirius interrupted and smiled warmly at him. He patted Remus' arm awkwardly and felt a sudden rush of warmth on his neck and cheeks. "All we've got is each other and we love you, yeah?"

Without any warning, Remus darted forward and enveloped Sirius in a warm - and incredibly restrictive - hug. Pine cones, dirt, and grass was all he could smell as Remus whispered a few words into his ear. None of which he could hear because he was too busy committing the moment to his memory. From behind him James and Peter coughed dramatically and Sirius quickly pulled away; his face flush and hot.

"Sorry," Remus said as he hastily turned away from Sirius and turned to face James and Peter. "I'll see you later?" They nodded.

"Sod off, would you? Pomfrey's going to be up our arses' if you aren't back on time," James joked.

"Yeah, alright, see you later then." With a final thank you, a few more hugs, and a grin, Remus bounded up the stairs to the west wing as Sirius, James, and Peter trudged into the Great Hall and took a seat in their usual spot close to the entrance.

"So - what are we going to do next time?" Peter asked as he chewed on a chipolata and hash brown. His chubby cheeks bulging from the food he'd stuffed in them.

"Slow down, would you?" Sirius smirked. "We're not short on food, Peter." He gestured at the empty hall and the platters upon platters of food around them. His friend washed down his food with half a goblet of apple juice before speaking up again.

"So? What are we going to do next month?"

Sirius looked at James, and he grinned when his friend had the same mischievous look in his eyes. James adjusted his glasses on his nose and leant forward, elbows on the table and beckoning him and Peter to huddle together.

"Well, here's what I think…"

Author's Note

Word Count: 4,643

Written for the Houses Competition

House: Ravenclaw

Category: Themed

Prompt: [Speech] "Quick, hide behind the chair!"

I hope you all enjoyed this story x

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I love love love reading them!

Until next time, Andy x