A/N: Chapter Three is here, folks! As always: Read, follow, and review! Thanks!
Also, none of these characters belong to me (Except maybe Taylor Davis whom I actually really like). They are a figment of J.K. Rowling's spectacular imagination, and she was kind enough to share them with us. So thanks, Ms. Rowling! :)
Chapter Three
"Are you ready, Moony?" asked James of Remus.
"Yeah, I'm just packing an extra set of clothes in case… you know…"
"In case you eat all the others?" asked Sirius.
"Yeah," mumbled Remus sheepishly.
Peter giggled as he rubbed his hands together. "This is so exciting!" he exclaimed. Peter had finally managed to turn into a rat the previous week. Sirius rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at him.
"This isn't supposed to be exciting, Wormtail. It's serious business," Sirius explained. James and Remus raised their eyebrows and Sirius burst out laughing. "Oh, who am I kidding? We're going to have the time of our lives out there tonight!"
"Right, well, we'll be waiting for you downstairs in the Common Room, Moony, alright?" said James, grabbing the Marauder's Map and his Invisibility Cloak.
"You guys shouldn't be risking your lives for me –" Remus began.
"There he goes again," said James, shaking his head.
"Get over yourself, Moony. We're not doing it for you. We're bored and need adventure," said Sirius, clapping a hand on Remus's shoulder.
"What if you get caught?" asked Remus, taking a different approach.
"Since when have we ever cared about that?" asked James.
Seriously, Moons, you've known us for five years, yet you still don't know us?" said Sirius, with a mocking frown on his face.
Remus made to say something, but James interrupted him. "Stop worrying! No one will recognize us. You ready yet?" asked James.
Remus sighed in defeat. "You guys go on down. I'll be there in five," he said.
Downstairs, James and Sirius were huddled over the Marauders Map, going over their plans as Peter watched them.
"Right, so when Dumbledore and McGonagall come to take Moons, we sneak out the portrait under the cloak exactly two minutes after them," James said.
"They'll probably go straight down, so we'll need to go the long way past that painting of that stupid knight and his fat pony and down the other flight of stairs," continued Sirius.
"And going the long way would delay us an additional three minutes, making us five minutes behind them once we reach the entrance to the castle," calculated James. Peter seemed to be trying to keep up, but he was failing miserably.
"Yes, but the conventional way to the Shrieking Shack takes about twenty minutes from the entrance, while our passage from the Whomping Willow takes seven minutes," added Sirius. "Which means we should get there approximately eight minutes before Moony does. Plenty of time for us to transform."
Remus finally came down with his backpack of supplies. He looked nervous. "It's going to be okay, Moony. We'll get there before you, so we'll be there for you when you wolf out," said Sirius.
Remus cracked a weak smile. "Thanks, but you don't have to –"
"Yes we do. We Marauders have got to stick together, right?" said James as Peter nodded his head vehemently. There was a soft knock on the portrait door – loud enough for someone listening for the noise to hear it, but soft enough to be otherwise missed.
"Right, well that's my cue. See you guys in a bit," Remus said, waving sadly. His friends nodded.
"Okay, that leaves us with exactly two minutes before –"
"Hey, where's Remus going? It's not time for us to start our rounds yet," said Lily. She was making her way over to the boys. James noticed her long red hair was down, which was unusual because she usually had it tied up or in a bun. He liked how it cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, shiny and glossy… James shook his head.
"Oh, umm, he's going to the library," Sirius made up quickly.
"I see. Well, I'll go catch up with him. We can start our rounds from there. See ya!" said Lily.
"No wait! Evans!" called James. Lily could not find out where Remus was actually going.
Some kind of comprehension seemed to dawn on Lily's face, which confused James. "Oh, how could I have been so stupid? It's tonight, isn't it?!"
"What is?" asked James quickly.
"The full moon!" she whispered to them. Lily widened her green eyes a little, and even though James was panicking, his stomach couldn't help but flip. Why, oh why did she do this to him?
"I guess. So? What does that have anything to do with anything, huh?" asked Sirius a little too defensively.
Lily rolled her eyes. "I know about Remus, okay? You know that!"
"Know what?" asked James.
"That I know!" said Lily, stamping her foot. Why were they being so dumb?
"We don't know that you know something. Wait, what is it that you know?" asked Sirius.
"Well, now I know that you don't know that I know," said Lily, frowning.
"Know what?" James and Sirius nearly shouted.
Lily rolled her eyes, then leaned in. "I know that Remus is a werewolf," she whispered.
"Wha – who – how – how do you know that?!" asked Sirius incredulously.
"I figured it out in third year," Lily replied proudly.
"Guys, it's time!" said Peter, speaking for the first time. No doubt he couldn't follow the confusion in the conversation.
"Bloody hell! Hey Lily, we've got to go. Say hey to Taylor for me!" said Sirius. And the three of them ran out the Common Room.
Something's going on, Lily thought to herself. She decided she'll probably catch them preparing their end-of-the-year prank during her rounds.
Forty minutes later, the four boys – animals – were running. They ran through the Forbidden Forest, they ran through the pumpkin patch, and they ran past Hagrid's hut.
Upstairs in Gryffindor Tower, Lily had just finished her rounds and was clearing up the Common Room, shooing straggling first and second years who wanted to stay up late, and picking up random quills and parchments that were left behind. She went over to the table nearest the window and found a folded parchment stuffed behind the couch pillow.
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Maruader's Map, it read and fancy letters.
She opened it and found a map of the inside of Hogwarts. Tiny dots filled the common rooms, and Lily realized that each dot represented one person. The dots in the common rooms were students! Well, at least none of them are out of bed, thought Lily proudly. She saw Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick pacing in Dumbledore's office. Professor Slughorn was sleeping in his study.
The map was fascinating. She saw her own dot sitting on the edge of the Gryffindor Common Room. She began looking for each of her friends. She saw Severus – with a jolt of sadness and anger – in the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons. She then saw Taylor, Rachel, Eliza, and Alice's dots sleeping in their dormitory. If Alice is back, then that must mean that – ah, yes, so is Frank. But then Lily's eyes froze. The other four beds in that dormitory were empty. She knew one of them was Remus's, but it meant that Potter, Black, and Peter weren't back yet! She hadn't even caught them during her rounds, much to her disappointment.
Suddenly, Lily heard a bark from the dark grounds below. She looked out the window, and the strangest sight met her eyes. In the black darkness she saw three shadows – was it four? She couldn't tell; the fourth was incredibly small. Four shadows were streaking across the pumpkin patch. Lily was alarmed.
It was an odd group. One of them looked like a deer – probably a stag; it had antlers. The other was a big dog or a wolf. The small one was either a kitten or a large mouse or something. The last one was large and oddly shaped – she gasped.
It was a werewolf. She had seen pictures of them in her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, but had never seen one in real life.
Remus.
Why was he playing with those animals? Wasn't he supposed to be locked up in the Shrieking Shack? Lily made a note to speak to Dumbledore the next morning about it. It was far too dangerous to have a werewolf running around the castle grounds at night, even if it was her good friend.
Lily went back to poring over the map. She looked at the four names again. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. The big dog below barked again. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Something in Lily's brain clicked.
No. No, no, no. It was not possible.
But it made sense. Their nicknames… could it be? Moony made sense to Lily, but she had always assumed the rest of their nicknames were just random. But what if they weren't? What if their nicknames were based on what animal they transformed into?
The idea was insane. Animagi were incredibly rare, and the magic was very complicated. It wasn't possible for three fifteen-year-olds to manage it, especially when one of them was lumpy Peter Pettigrew. But the more Lily thought about it, the more sense it seemed to make. Could it be that Potter, Black, and Peter were Animagi? Lily looked back at the grounds again, where the four animals were now racing each other. Aside from the werewolf, the other three seemed tame – almost human. They certainly weren't acting like wild beasts.
Oh, god, Lily thought. It seemed that these Marauders were getting into a lot more mischief than Lily had ever imagined.
A/N: And that's Chapter Three. I don't totally love it, but it's the best I could do. Sorry it was so short. I originally had it more than twice as long, which would have been waaay too long, so I cut it here and made the rest of it Chapter Four, which I shall post tomorrow morning. Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review. Have a fabulous day! :)
