"Oi! Prongs!"
The Gryffindor boy craned his head in the direction of the voice that promptly disrupted his train of thought. It was just after the Christmas holidays and he was looking forward to seeing his friends once again. He had hardly anticipated that tonight was a full moon and was surprised when plans were made to meet at the Shrieking Shack. James crossed his arms and smirked at his friend. "Didn't you have detention?"
Sirius gave James a mischievous grin. "Do you honestly think that I'd miss the first full moon of the year?" Sirius slid his hands in his pockets and began to walk alongside James down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack. "Besides, the professor's a complete git."
"Couldn't agree with you more. When will Hogwarts start hiring professors that appreciate a good joke when they see one?" Loosening his gold and burgundy tie a little more, James stepped over an unusually large rock in the middle of the walkway. "Has that always been there?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
Sirius laughed and nodded. "Since we started coming down here. " Approaching the worn down steps of the shack, the two teenagers climbed the staircase and ascended towards the highest room. Wands in their back pockets, in case anything should go wrong, they pushed the door open and were met with the smiling faces of Peter and Remus. Well, Peter more so; Remus held a weak smile on his face, no doubt fearing the full moon's future appearance in the night sky.
Sirius gave the werewolf a pat on the back as he took a seat on the floor next to him, propping himself up with his elbows. James followed his best friend's example and chose a spot in between Peter and Sirius, the floorboards groaned at the newly added weight. "Glad to see everyone made it safely." Remus's voice sounded, echoing slightly in the emptiness of the shack. "While your intentions are certainly noble, you didn't have to feel obliged to see me tonight. I know you all had your own agendas and would much rather be tending to them than to a werewolf."
"Nonsense, Remus. You know all too well that we're together until the bitter end." Sirius lazily pulled out his wand and muttered a spell, resulting in a hovering flame that levitated in the center of the Marauders' circle. In an almost simultaneous action, all four members inched towards the flame in hopes of it providing warmth to the rather chilly shack. "I picked up that spell in the library; thought it would be useful for a night like tonight." Peter gazed at the flame, clearly won over by Sirius' wizarding talent.
"You? In a library?" Remus asked in shock. "It's nice to see that you're finally taking an interest in your studies."
Sirius gave a short laugh and crossed his legs. "I was in the library because I was setting up a little prank for a certain Slytherin." The teen gave his friends a look of pure satisfaction.
"Should've guessed." Remus murmured under his breath. Remus was always the most studious of the four and he took great pride in achieving such high grades; he only wished that his friends shared in that passion.
James cast a sideways glance at Peter who seemed more interested in the flame than actually conversing. "Something on your mind, Wormtail?"
Peter jumped at the sound of James' voice and tore his stare away from the burning ember. "Nothing. I'm just a little worried about the full moon tonight. What if we don't change fast enough? What happens if…"
"Come off that. You say that every time and to be brutally honest, it's quite tiring." Sirius interrupted. "Liven up, will you? We just got back from holidays. Why don't we stray the conversation away from the impending full moon, hmm? I don't think Remus appreciates it very much."
Peter muttered a quick apology at Remus, earning a wave of dismissal from the boy. "Not to worry, Peter. I've gotten used to the transformation." He paused, seeing the looks he was getting from his close friends. "More or less, I mean."
"Sirius has the right idea; talking about something other than the full moon might keep our mind off it. Suggestions?" James asked thoughtfully.
Silence filled the air for a few passing moments. "I had a good winter break." Peter finally said, meekly. He instantly regretted his choice of conversation when three pairs of eyes became focused on him.
"What's 'good' to you? Not having to deal with McGonagall? No offence, Wormtail, but I don't exactly picture you doing anything remotely interesting." Sirius teased, earning a light hit on the arm by Remus. "What? It's true!" He persisted.
Peter flushed and shook his head, determined to impress Sirius with his story. "Not only did my family take a short trip abroad, but we also spent Christmas with the family." Peter sighed dreamily. "There was a massive feast and everybody brought a little bit of everything. All the food was absolutely delicious and they all seemed to be my favourite foods…" He trailed off with a smile on his face. His eyes fell to Sirius, who wore a rather bored expression on his features. "It was completely boring though." He added quickly.
"Abroad, huh? Meet any cute girls?" Sirius smirked. James cast a sideways glance at Padfoot with amusement. Sirius was certainly the Casanova of the group; girls were chasing him left and right and he knew how to handle them all. James couldn't think of a single time that Sirius pursued a long term relationship. He had flings, of course, and he always seemed to be convinced that a certain girl was meant for him but when the time came to make a commitment, he ended it abruptly.
"Uh…no, not really." Peter answered slowly, deciding that his mission to impress the three friends had taken a turn for the worst.
"Figures." Sirius exhaled and propped his head on his open palm.
"Lay off. He just hasn't found the right girl yet." James defended, earning another smirk from his best friend.
"Oh, you mean like your 'soulmate' Lily?" Sirius asked, lightly teasing him.
Remus sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. Once they started talking about Lily, the conversation would last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. Remus often wondered why Sirius bothered to start the blasted discussion at all.
"Just wait. She'll fall for me and when she does, she's going to fall hard." James ran his hand through his messy black hair before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Golden Snitch. Running his fingertips over it, he lay it on his open palm and watched as its tiny wings sprung out.
"What's the point of carrying that thing around? In case you need to be reminded, you're not a Seeker." Remus rolled his eyes, deciding that being part of the conversation was better than being left out. "She's not going to be impressed by your ability to steal official Hogwarts Quidditch equipment."
"Or your messy hair." Sirius added, receiving a playful look from James. "You know, the way that you run your hands through your hair to make it look like you just stepped off the Quidditch field. Hell, she's not even around and you're still doing it."
"It's a habit." James answered simply, watching the small golden ball dart around the flame. "And I can't go around with a Bludger or a Quaffle, can I? The Snitch is mobile and is the reason why it's worth so many points; she's impressed by my superb ability to catch the damn thing."
"Yeah, when it's hovering just a few inches above your head." Peter added under his breath, knowing all too well that he was being ignored.
"Moving on…" James continued, not wanting to get into another discussion of why he couldn't bag one particular redhead. "I'd say I had the best Christmas; Sirius was kind enough to stay with my family for most of the holidays and needless to say, we had quite a time together." Sirius laughed softly at the memory as James continued. "Enchanting books, replacing quills' ink with the exploding variety and bewitching a few stairs were only a few examples of what we accomplished in the three days we spent at Hogwarts before leaving."
Peter's eyes grew wide with excitement. "That sounds amazing."
"Amazing is an understatement, Wormtail." Sirius spoke up. "After setting Hogwarts up for various strings of pranks, James and I communicated secretly while I still remained at my parents' house. I couldn't stand the lot of them and James somehow kept me sane. Finally, I couldn't withstand my parents any longer and promptly announced that I was staying at James' for the rest of the holidays."
"You 'announced' it?" Remus asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay, so I didn't formally address the decision but they knew where I was going and they hardly made an effort to stop me. Not to mention, I had the opportunity to escape the grasps of my family and Kreacher; I would have to be barking mad to not accept that offer." James and Sirius exchanged a knowing glance, both grinning like idiots. "We also took the time to spy on some of the students left behind at Hogwarts and watch as they came across our little pranks."
"Maybe next time I can spend the holidays with you two." Peter piped up. "We'd have so much fun together."
Sirius snickered and regarded his friend. "I'm not sure that you could keep up with us, Peter." James bit his lip to prevent a smile but when he failed to do so, brought his hand over his mouth to hide his amusement. "You're a little more mild mannered; you're a little more like Moony."
"Except that he doesn't have fleas." Remus joked, inducing laughter among his friends. "You two get into trouble all the time; the last thing Peter needs is another detention."
"I wouldn't mind so much." Peter replied, still looking at James and Sirius with envy. Both of them knew how much he looked up to him and while they ignored it most of the time, they occasionally had some fun at his expense. Not that he was complaining, however, they were the best friends he could ever hope to make and he knew that their feelings were mutual.
Hearing the shack give shrill creaking noise, the four boys looked around cautiously. After they realised that the culprit of the noise had only been a tree tapping on one of the nearby windows, they dismissed it as nonsense and became immersed in the conversation once more.
"Does anyone know how much longer it's going to take?" Remus asked, a tired tone in his voice. "I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible and I've already chipped away at the floor with my impatience." He lifted up his hand to reveal the floorboard, completely covered with scratch marks.
Sirius gave a low whistle and ran his hand over the indents in the floor. "You're certainly the impatient one, aren't you?"
A humorless laugh was heard from the werewolf. "You try living with lycanthropy and see how your patience gradually becomes insignificant." He glanced out the window, gazing at the darkened sky. "Christmas with a werewolf is hardly a happy experience. My father and mother are among the sweetest individuals that could possibly exist in the wizarding world and yet, they continue to blame themselves for the bite." Sirius opened his mouth to respond but Remus politely held up his hand. "We try to have a normal Christmas but it's difficult to get into the jolly spirit when there's an elephant in the room as big as this one." He made a motion to his face and gave his friends a grim look. "I'm dreadfully sorry for dragging you into this. My 'condition' should be my issue and mine alone."
"Because of your 'condition', we all became Animagi; something we never would have accomplished without you. I can't tell you how many times it has come in handy. If anything, mate, we should be thanking you." James leaned forward and met his friend's eyes. He couldn't imagine the torment and pain that his dear friend had to deal with on a regular basis but he was determined to make his experience as pleasant as possible.
Peter and Sirius nodded in response. Remus looked touched by the dedication of his friends and his weary look seemed to vanish. "Thank you." He said, his features softening; it appeared for the first time this evening, Remus was completely relaxed and accepting of his inevitable fate.
The room suddenly filled with light, provoking Remus to turn around towards the window. The full moon came into view as the other three Marauders prepared for their transformations. Remus' appearance suddenly began to contort into something that seemed quite unworldly.
James watched silently as Remus struggled with his forced future physical appearance. Moony squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the ungodly pain. Sirius had already turned into a shaggy, black dog and seemed to be hinting at Peter and James to follow suit.
James couldn't pry his eyes away from Remus, seemingly mesmerized by the transformation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peter disappear from his position. Remus' torso began to take more dramatic changes as the moon continued to shine its light through the cracked window. Fur began to trace the teenager's body and fangs sprouted from their sheaths. A sharp bark snapped James out of his trance and, realising that time was running out, quickly embraced his stag form.
Minutes seemed like hours as Remus completed his transformation. He turned his head towards the window and howled at the moon, his claws gripping the distressed window sill. Sirius exchanged a look with Peter and James before taking up a position near the door, blocking it from the path of the werewolf.
Remus heard the movement and gave the dog a throaty growl. Sirius stood his ground, like always and barked to show his authority. The werewolf took a threatening step forward only to be met with a stag invading his path as well. Both the canine and the stag stood with pride and absolute discipline, not intending for their friend to leave their sight.
Peter scurried towards the window and quickly gnawed at the thin rope that was attached to the opening mechanism of the window. With a final bite, the rope was pulled upwards and out of the reach, preventing escape via window. All standard procedure.
Looking into the werewolf's bleak eyes, James could have sworn he saw Remus' true human eyes, quietly thanking them for their friendship. The four Marauders held their assigned positions, taking care of each other even in the most trying of hardships.
It was at that very moment that James felt he was with his true family.