Remus Lupin sat enthroned in his domain, surrounded by thousands of leather-bound subjects just waiting to pour out their contents to serve the expansion of his mind. He was in the library, resting comfortably at a desk he had long claimed as entirely his own. Judging by the immense and precarious piles of books, it would remain so for quite some time.
He was, at that moment, engaged in a tome recommended to him by his Transfigurations professor and Head of House, Minerva McGonagall, one that she promised would more than alleviate his thirst for knowledge in the area of human transfiguration. As a scholar, and a werewolf, Remus had a keen interest in Transfigurations, though it was nothing in comparison to that of his best mate: Sirius Black.
It had been nearly a year since Sirius, Peter, and James had uncovered Remus's 'furry little problem.' Now, midway through their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Sirius had become somewhat obsessed with it.
Something had gotten into his head, following the stunning performance of Professor McGonagall transforming herself into a striped tabby cat in the middle of class, that he too would be able to transform into an animal at will. Some would consider his avid fascination to be a temporary amusement, of which Sirius had many. For Remus - who was doing the primary amount of research for his slacking, lazy friend - it had become an addiction.
Flipping delicately through the pages, Remus finally stumbled across the section he had been searching for. Bugger ancient texts for not having an index. Skimming the words, he grinned as he turned to his snoozing companion. "Siri," he whispered.
"Hey… Sirius." The other Gryffindor snored loudly before rolling over in his chair, hands tucked beneath his head like a pillow. Remus looked appalled, shocked with Sirius's ability to sleep almost anywhere. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. Trust Sirius to fall asleep in the library, the only place where pretty girls don't loiter.
Leaning in to whisper in the unconscious boy's ear, Remus mumbled a few words that were guaranteed to awaken Sirius. "Those hot girls over there are checking you out…" As expected, Sirius's eyes shot open. He sat up quickly on the edge of his chair, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he looked around quickly.
Not giving Sirius a moment to understand what had happened, Remus shoved the book under his nose. "Is this what you were looking for?" he asked casually. Sirius took the book, yawning, and sat back in the seat.
Several minutes later, when the information he was blankly staring at began to fully sink in, his eyes widened again. He quickly skimmed the section Remus had pointed out - for the hundredth time - face bright with excitement. "Yes! Bloody hell, Rems, this is it!"
Remus stole the book back, carefully examining it, as well as the spell provided. "I don't know… this is remarkably complex. And you have to register with the Ministry…"
Sirius openly laughed at Remus's doubt. "Oh, ye of little faith," he responded, voice light and cheery. "You wait and see. Give it a little practice, some light study, and James and I will have it by Tuesday."
Remus rolled his eyes, taking Sirius's bravado for what it was. "Sure you will - let's go and find James, eh? Before you go signing him up for anymore insanely difficult projects."
"He doesn't mind, love of the spotlight and all." Sirius grinned, half-smile exposing pearly white canines. "Peter, however… we may have to help him."
Shuddering at the thought, Remus shook his head. Spells could go horribly wrong when performed by inexperienced but perfectly capable wizards. He couldn't imagine what would happen to an inexperienced and perfectly incapable one. "Where is Peter, anyway?"
"Probably wetting himself."
"Watching James?"
"Yep."
"And where is James?"
"Probably showing off."
"At the pitch?"
"Yep."
They laughed together as they collected Remus's things and exited the library. The old librarian, Madame Pince, watched them cautiously, shooting daggers at their joyful laughter.