Sorry it's taken so long for me to post part 4, it's been a really long week!
Part 4
When the interim Headmistress joined the staff at the head table for dinner, she nearly fell over when she saw the new hair decorating many of her students. Instead of the usual varying shades of black, brown, blond, and red, there were now suddenly blue, green, purple, pink, and some colors that simply defied definition. Minerva turned on Sirius, ready to flay him with the sharp edge of her tongue when he beat her to the punch.
"Really, Minerva, you didn't tell me just how bright and quick your students were. I don't know that I've ever seen someone catch on as quickly as the fourth years did in class today, you've done a marvelous job with them."
She studied him for a long moment, taking in the pink, neon yellow, and orange hair where his usually black locks hung and nodded decisively at him, "Serves you right." She then settled into her seat and tapped the table for the food to appear.
Severus was trying to drown his snickers in his goblet of wine while Remus had to take care with his chewing so he didn't choke to death on his laughter. Through it all, Sirius calmly ate his dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened; though every time he looked at his godson and friends, he nearly lost control over his own bubbling sense of humor.
Grinning like loons, the kids were telling everyone else at their table all about their Transfiguration class and the fun they'd had. Ron's hair, normally carrot red, was now a deep shade of purple; Hermione's bushy brown mane was white as snow; and Harry's messy mop now matched his emerald eyes.
Even at the Slytherin table, varying colors of hair stood out among the fourth years. Most obvious of all was Draco, who had gone from being a pale blond to having coal black hair with orange tips. When Snape had first caught sight of the boy, he'd demanded to know who'd hexed him. Draco assured him that he hadn't been hexed, it had been part of his class and he actually liked what had been done.
Sirius had the kids draw lots to see who got to transfigure whom, and it was pretty obvious that Hermione had gotten Draco from the tipping done to his new hair color. No one else in the class had gotten that much detail out of their spells, though they'd all had a blast trying.
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By the next morning, everyone appeared to be back to normal, at least when it came to their hair color, and over breakfast they were still talking about the fun in Transfiguration. The Weasley twins had the class later that day and were very much looking forward to trying out some pranks on the new professor. Little did they know what, or rather who, they were up against.
Hurrying in to Sirius' class that afternoon, the twins found it empty. After exchanging gleeful grins, they quickly set about putting their prank in place. It was really quite simple, but ever so much fun: All the man had to do was touch his chair, walk away, and it would change into an animated wooden dog to chase him around the room. It would be a perfectly priceless moment in their careers as jokesters.
Sure enough, Sirius entered the room once all the students were in, did roll call, and began his lecture on how his classes would run. He paused behind his desk and lightly rested his hand on the back of his chair as he set the parchment he'd been carrying down. Fred and George leaned forward in eager anticipation as the man walked away from his chair to write on the chalkboard. As planned, the chair popped into a shape of a brown wooden dog and began barking and running after Black.
Without warning, the desk abruptly transformed into a gigantic lion which promptly ate the wooden dog, belched out a couple of splinters, and changed back.
Complete silence reigned in the classroom as the twins stared at the desk, almost afraid that it was going to come alive again and come after them. Sirius finished what he'd been writing and turned to face the students, "Now that we have that out of the way, let me make one thing very, very clear. Are you all listening?" Obedient heads bobbed up and down as one, "Good. If you think that you can get away with playing pranks on me, you will quickly find out that it will backfire. If you persist, you will find yourself taking part in your own prank as the butt of the joke. Everyone understand?" More bobbing of heads ensued and Sirius went on with his lesson.
By the end of class, everyone had robes of different colors to go along with altered skin hues and was ecstatic over the fun they'd had. As they gathered up their things to leave, Professor Black dismissed the class, except for the twins. Seating himself on his desk, Sirius eyed the two boys as he waited for the rest of students to leave, then he closed the door with a wave of his hand.
"What I'm about to tell you two goes no further than this room, do you understand? If you share this information with anyone, I will know and you will not like my reaction." Waiting until they had nodded at him, he continued, "I know that you were the ones who set up that little fiasco with the chair, and while I applaud your abilities and sense of humor, I caution you to be careful who you sic your creations on. Someone of my own abilities can make your lives very difficult if you started a prank war, whereas your peers don't have the power or knowledge that I do. Moony is another one you need to avoid setting up for a prank war…"
"Wait, wait, you said Moony? You know who Moony is?" Fred demanded.
He slanted them an amused look, "Of course I know who Moony is, I'm the one who gave him the nickname."
The twins exchanged eager looks and turned back to their teacher, "And Wormtail and Padfoot and Prongs?"
A dark cloud passed briefly over the man's elegant features, "Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew, former friend." He tapped his chest, "I'm Padfoot, and Prongs was James." Sirius chuckled at the looks on their faces. Harry had shared with him the Marauders Map and how he came to be in possession of it; so Sirius was inclined to be generous to the Weasley boys.
"The Marauders," George whispered, "You were one of the Marauders."
"No," Sirius corrected, "I AM one of the Marauders. Moony is Remus, so named for his furry little problem once a month, so there are still two of us. Peter can't be counted since he turned on us, the little bas…er…traitor. We now have some mini-Marauders with Harry, Ron, and Hermione whom we are trying to sculpt into our own image."
The boys shared another look before dropping to their knees and raising their hands in supplication, "Please, please, take us under your wing and teach us your ways!"
Sirius laughed outright; sometimes power was a wonderful thing! "From what my godson has told me, the two of you have done some marvelous pranks in your time here at Hogwarts. Nothing quite as grand as our own yet, but you still have time. We can teach you some things to help you with developing your own ideas, and Harry tells me you're interested in opening your own joke shop someday?" They nodded, "I would like to see your plans for something like that on paper so I know where you stand and what you have in mind for your future."
The Weasleys left, heads still spinning from the revelation laid at their feet today. Sirius had changed into Padfoot and explained the reasons for what they'd done. He also let them in on the secret of teaching the Golden Trio to become animagi, prompting more begging and pleading to learn as well. He'd told them that he would discuss it with the current Marauders and get back to them, but until then, they were to be on good behavior.
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Class with Remus was just as fun for the fourth years as it had been last year. Lupin made things enjoyable, brought hands-on experiences for the kids, and his knowledge was indisputable. They had a free afternoon after Defense so the three teens decided to take advantage of the lovely day and went outside to sit by the lake to do their homework. After talking Dobby into a picnic basket lunch, they settled under a large tree along the shore and ate while they talked about their classes so far and what they hoped to get out of the classes yet to come.
Hermione was the first to pull out her parchment and potions book and with sighs of regret, her friends did the same. Stretching out on the soft green grass, a light breeze blowing over them from the water, and the gentle sounds of the lake lapping against the shore, all three were relaxed and content. Just being with his friends helped Harry feel secure, and knowing that his guardians were close at hand made everything right in his little corner of the world.
They stayed out by the lake until almost dinnertime, proud of having gotten all of the homework done for potions and transfiguration, and they had also gotten a good start on their defense as well. None of them were looking forward to History the next morning, though they had Herbology in the afternoon to anticipate. Gentle Professor Sprout always had good classes where you were able to get dirty and learn at the same time.
Gathering their things up, the trio began to make their way back up the lawns to the castle, spotting another trio heading in their direction. Surprised, they recognized the Marauders and were concerned that something had happened in their absence.
Sirius was the first to reach them and caught Harry by the shoulders, "Where have you been?"
Startled by his godfather's anxiety, Harry took hold of the man's black sleeves, "We've been down at the lake doing homework. Why? What's wrong? No one told us we shouldn't or couldn't!"
Pulling the child into his chest, Sirius gave him a hug, "None of you were at lunch and the other Gryffindors didn't know where you went. I left word for you in the common room to come see me and when you never showed up, we got worried."
There was something more going on; Harry could sense it. Whether it was due to his new abilities as an animagus, or his closeness to his godfather, he knew something had happened. Pulling away from the embrace, he looked up into the grey eyes, "Sirius, what is it?"
Ron and Hermione, hearing the tone to his voice, and picking up on the tenseness of the three men surrounding them, moved closer to their friend.
Sirius dropped to one knee and stared at the grass for a moment before lifting his gaze to meet Harry's, "There's no easy way to say this, pup. I wish there were; I wish I didn't have to tell you at all, but you have a right to know…"
"For Merlin's sake, Padfoot," Severus hissed, "stop dragging it out and making it worse. Just tell the boy."
The kneeling wizard heaved a deep sigh and caught Harry's hands in his, "Harry, we received word just before lunch…your aunt's house…there was an attack. Death Eaters went in…there was no one left alive. I'm sorry, pup."
Frozen where he stood, his mind whirling in shock and horror, Harry didn't know what to say or do. Sure his aunt had hated him his entire life and made him miserable, but she was the sister of his mother. And Dudley. He may have been a royal pain and mean to Harry every chance he got, but he was still his cousin. Uncle Vernon…oh no, not Uncle Vernon! The one person who had ever been kind to the orphaned boy, the only one who made sure he got something to eat when he aunt denied him, the only person who hadn't called him a freak every chance he got and who had tried to protect him as best he could from Petunia's rages. Gone.
He stiffened his spine abruptly and pulled his hands away from Sirius' tender grip. Turning away from the group he took several steps back towards the lake and focused his attention on the squid that had appeared and was lazily waving its tentacles to the sun. He took a deep breathe, let it out, and took another; then without turning around he stated, "I'd like some time alone, please."
True to form, Hermione started to take a breath and go to him, only to be caught gently by one shoulder as Snape's soft, silky voice sounded behind her, "Of course, Harry. We're here when you need us." He tugged on the girl's arm, ending her brief flare of mutiny with a look, and led her away.
Ron studied his friend for a moment before nodding, "Sure, mate, like the professor said, we're here when you're ready." He followed the potions master and Hermione with Remus beside him.
Harry walked back down to the lake and sat on a large rock jutting out over the water to think. He remembered the times with his uncle trying to protect him, his aunt and her constant fussing at him, his cousin and the times they spent playing "Harry hunting". He had very few good memories of his blood family, but they had BEEN his family, and now they were gone. Taken away from him by a bunch of monsters because they were related to him, the Boy Who Lived.
When he finally looked up from his contemplation of water ripples, Harry spotted a motionless black hulk seated beneath a tree nearby watching over him. When he nodded in acknowledgement, the huge dog trotted over to join him and changed back into his godfather, who offered a hug. Harry leaned into the now-welcome embrace and sighed, "At least I'm not alone any more. I have you and Remus and Professor Snape, as well as Ron and Hermione."
"Of course you have us, and we'll always be here to raise your spirits up as best we can. I know you feel guilty and angry over their deaths, pup, but it wasn't your fault. Blame Voldemort, not yourself."
"I know, Siri, but it's still hard. Even though my aunt and cousin hated me, they were still related to me through my mother. But it's Uncle Vernon that actually hurts most; he's the one who was kind to me and tried his best even though he was only related by marriage."
Carding his long fingers through Harry's black mop, his godfather tried hard to be objective, "Not all blood relatives are good, pup. Look at most of mine; blacker than our name and followers of the dark arts. But even among the evil ones, sometimes one or two breaks the mold and shows the world a things or two." He hugged the boy tighter, "You are pure light, Harry, despite what your aunt always told you. You radiate love and goodness, neither of which she was able to handle or understand."
Harry's arms gripped his godfather's waist in an answering squeeze as he whispered, "But you do."
A low chuckle rumbled in the chest he was pressed against, "Yes, I do; despite the years in Azkaban, I can still see and rejoice in the love and light I have in you. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to me if you had been different or, Merlin forbid, dead when I broke out. I think I would have gone mad with grief and would never have recovered."
"I love you, Siri."
"I love you, too, pup."
