Chapter 5: Midnight excursions
The next few days passed relatively peacefully. James managed to not irritate Lily too much so the Gryffindor common room was much quieter than usual. Halloween finally arrived and the Marauders were excited to be heading into Hogsmeade. Sirius was supposed to be going with Marlene but had convinced her to spend some time with her friends in the morning and then they would meet up at the Three Broomsticks at lunchtime.
"I can't believe you aren't spending the whole day with her." James commented in disbelief. He knew that if he was lucky enough to be going with Lily then he would not let her out of his sight if he could possibly help it. Sirius simply rolled his eyes at his friend, knowing exactly what was going through his mind. He had never understood his attachment to one girl who didn't even like him. James had girls practically throwing themselves at him and yet he had eyes only for the one who hated his guts.
The four friends made their way down through the gates and headed towards Hogsmeade. Without even asking they instantly made their way to Zonko's. Remus only followed his friends out of amusement, not any particular desire to buy anything until he saw a box of hiccough sweets and decided to get some for when his friends annoyed him. James and Sirius were busy picking up as many bags of dungbombs and frogspawn soap as they could. Peter bought some bulbadox powder along with an ever bashing boomerang. It took them a while before they finally decided to move on. Remus dragged his friends over to Honeydukes as his chocolate stash was running dangerously low. Thankfully he had managed to find a place that Sirius had not yet discovered and so his stash was lasting longer than usual. As his friends were distracted he also bought a variety of sweets for Sirius' birthday which was coming up. He magically shrunk the sweets for his friend and hid them in his pocket just as the other three came up to him.
"So, is there any chocolate left in the store, Moony?" James asked with a smirk. Remus rolled his eyes good naturedly.
"Of course there is." He replied, sticking his nose in the air. He couldn't hold the pose long as was soon grinning along with his friends.
"Where next?" Peter asked.
"Well I need a new quill so I'm going to Scrivenshaft's and then I want to stop at Tomes and Scrolls." Remus informed them.
"Not Tomes and Scrolls again!" Sirius let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I'm not making you come." Remus retorted coolly.
"Great! I can head over to Spintwitches." Sirius grinned eagerly.
"I think I'll head with Remus. Lily might be in Tomes."
"I'll go with Sirius and then we can all meet up in the Three Broomsticks in half an hour?" Peter suggested.
"Great idea Wormtail. Come on Remus." The four split up.
"So why are you really coming with me?" Remus raised an eyebrow at James.
"I need to get Sirius a birthday present."
"I figured as much. Any ideas yet?"
"Yeah. I do actually need to go to Tomes."
"You're going to get him a book?" Remus looked incredulous. James just shrugged and grinned wickedly. They both went into Scrivenshaft's. Remus got himself a nice new eagle feather quill and James bought some invisible ink for Sirius. Once in Tomes and Scrolls, James went off on his own looking for the latest edition of 'A mischief maker's guide to the perfect prank'. He knew that the new version had only come out a few days previously and had heard Sirius moaning that he couldn't get his own copy yet. Naturally he got a copy for himself at the same time, but he shrunk both of them knowing if Sirius saw he had a copy he would likely go and buy his own. When he found Remus again he saw him with a book of magical creatures.
"You don't already have that?" James frowned. Remus was known for his knowledge of magical creatures and had almost every book he could get his hands on.
"No. It's one Kettleburn recommended as extra reading."
"Of course it is." He rolled his eyes. "Got everything?" Remus nodded so they set off towards the pub. They beat Sirius and Peter there and so they grabbed a Butterbeer each and found a table to wait for the others. It was another five minutes before they arrived with Marlene and Co in tow. Sirius and Marlene sat opposite each other as did Frank and Alice. This left Dorcas sitting opposite Remus and so Lily was forced to sit opposite James, much to the latter's delight.
"How is your day going so far?" James asked in an attempt to make polite conversation.
"Fine." Lily snapped. She then decided she had been a little too harsh. Again she realised they were going to be stuck in each others company a lot for the foreseeable future. "Thanks anyway Potter. Yours been alright?" She kicked herself when she saw his face light up at her civil response.
"It's been great thanks." He beamed.
"Oi! McKinnon and I are going to Madam Puddifoot's." Sirius whispered to Remus who then reported this loudly to the table, causing them all to laugh at the idea of Sirius being in that teashop. Sirius glared at Remus before being dragged away by Marlene.
"So, what are we doing for Sirius' birthday?" James turned to Remus as soon as Sirius was out of sight.
"Party in the common room?" Peter suggested. "You can keep him busy at Quidditch practise while we set up."
"Genius Wormtail. You guys and gals in?" James turned to the rest of the table.
"Sure." Alice and Frank agreed. He turned pleading eyes on Lily. She eyed him distastefully.
"I will probably be in the common room at that time and attend the party but don't expect me to help set up." She sighed when it was clear he wouldn't give up waiting for an answer. He frowned slightly but knew better than to push her. The group stayed and chatted for another half an hour about details for the party. They had decided to hold it on Tuesday which was Sirius' birthday rather than wait for the weekend. James would keep him busy while Remus was in charge of getting all the supplies with Peter's help. Alice would decorate the Common Room.
Soon the group decided it was time to leave. They headed back to the castle together, leaving the other happy couple in Madam Puddifoot's. Dorcas left them all on the fifth floor as she headed back to her own common room while the others carried on up to Gryffindor Tower. James, Remus and Peter headed straight up to their dormitory as the full moon was the night after tonight. They spent another hour discussing how the night would go before Sirius came in looking rather pleased with himself.
"So same start as usual then. Remus heads out at nine. We follow at half past. Pete gets us in. We spend an hour or so getting Moony used to us again and then we head on out. Go straight to the forest and explore."
"I still don't know James." Remus frowned.
"Come on Moony. You know you hurt yourself less if you have room to stretch out." Sirius argued. Remus looked around at all his friends and finally caved. The other three cheered and decided to turn in for an early night. The next day passed relatively quickly. Remus was much moodier than usual but that was normal for the day of the full moon. The Marauders all knew not to aggravate him the day of and the day after. During those two days his word was law among the group even if James was the unofficial leader. They spent a lot of the day playing games in the common room or else pouring over books trying to create their map. The first four floors had been drawn out by James and approved by the others. Remus had also found a way to link the room to the map so they could track everyone one in that room. Now they had to go around every single room in the castle and cast the spell. They had agreed to do that in pairs to try and speed up the process.
"Is that all the spells on the map now?" Sirius asked, late that evening.
"Yes, I think so. We just need to cast the spell on every room, corridor and secret passage. I think it should treat the grounds as one big room although Hagrid's will need to be done separately. As will each greenhouse." Remus replied, looking exhausted.
"Then we just need to protect the map so only we can open it." Peter put in.
"Yeah, that's important." James agreed. "How about a passphrase to make it show everything? It could be blank until we say exactly the right phrase."
"What about 'Marauders'?" Peter suggested.
"Naaa. Loads of people know we are called the Marauders." Sirius shot down that idea.
"I solemnly swear I am a marauder?" Remus put forwards. 'Solemnly swear' was a Marauder oath. They all took that very seriously.
"I promise to cause mischief?" Sirius grinned.
"I like that line of thinking Padfoot." James grinned back. "I solemnly swear I will cause trouble?"
"How about I solemnly swear that I am up to no good?" Remus said.
"Moony...that's brilliant. We have to use that." James clapped him on the back and Sirius agreed, nodding his head vigorously.
"What about 'Mischief Managed' to make it blank again?" Peter suggested.
"Perfect Wormtail." Everyone agreed in unison. All four of them cast the spell required and then said in perfect unison.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map glowed brightly for a few seconds and then they repeated the process with "Mischief Managed." They each tried it. Tapping the parchment and saying the phrase, watching with fascination as James' drawing appeared and disappeared. By the time they were finished protecting the map it was time for Remus to head down to the hospital wing. The other three wished him luck and then continued adding protections to the map.
At quarter past nine the trio put on James' invisibility cloak and sneaked out of the common room. They headed down towards the Whomping Willow and saw it deserted. Having passed the hospital wing they knew Madam Pomfrey was already back from helping Remus so Peter transformed and pushed the knot on the tree. The other two hurried into the tunnel and once out of view, they took the cloak off. James shoved it in his pocket and then both he and Sirius transformed before the three headed up the tunnel and emerged in the shack. Remus was still in human form for the minute. His clothes were neatly stacked on the edge of the four poster bed and he was covered in a blanket. The change shredded his clothes otherwise. James transformed back to human and sat beside their friend. He handed him a bit of chocolate to munch on and just then a shaft of moonlight came in through the window. As Remus began to change, James turned back into a stag and waited a fair distance away from the pained werewolf. Moony howled as he completed the transformation and sniffed, turning to face the three other animals. Padfoot whined trying to sound comforting but Moony snarled and he stopped. It took a few minutes before Moony recognised the company and knew they weren't a threat.
They gave it a couple of hours of playing. Every time Moony lost interest in them and starting biting himself, Padfoot or Prongs would butt in and drag his attention back to them. Then they decided to usher the werewolf towards the tunnel. They knew almost everyone should be in bed by then so it should be safe to sneak out onto the grounds. It took a lot of playful shoving and pulling to get Moony down the tunnel and out into the forest. Once he saw the amount of prey in the forest he was much happier. They engaged him in a game of tag which did see them sustain a few scratches but nothing major. The night passed without incident. Padfoot and Prongs remembered all the parts of the forest they had played in and made a mental note of how to get around.
It was the early hours of the morning before they headed back to the shack. Moony did not wanted to go back into the cramped tunnel and shack when he had been free to roam in as much space as he wanted. It took a lot more effort to get him back in but they managed eventually. They tried to occupy him as much as possible in the small space before Remus started to change back to human. He barely managed to get dressed before he fell asleep on the bed, exhausted. The others all changed back once he was asleep and healed all their cuts and bruises. This time there hadn't been anywhere near as the previous times. Remus himself looked a lot healthier too. Sirius healed him while James took care of Peter although Peter always sustained the fewest injuries because of his form. Once this was done they crept back out of the tunnel under the cloak and headed back to the common room to get some sleep themselves. Sadly for the three Marauders it was Monday the next day so they only got a few hours sleep before classes. James tried to pay attention but did almost fall asleep in Charms. Peter did fall asleep in Transfiguration which got him detention from McGonagall.
After classes were over they took their notes and homework to the hospital wing for Remus who insisted despite Sirius' loud opinions that he should rest and use it as an excuse not to get homework. Remus took his complaints with good humour. Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the hospital after a little while so they quietly promised to come back that night under the cloak. Remus appreciated their effort. They got back to the common room and claimed the comfy seats by the fire. Peter made a start on his Care of Magical Creatures homework while James and Sirius had a game of gobstones. All of their homework had been finished as they found it easier than most.
They all snuck out later under the cloak having to be very careful as they were now too large really to all fit. In the end Peter changed into a rat while James and Sirius shared the cloak. At the hospital wing they shared the extra changes they had made to the map while Remus had gone to see Madam Pomfrey. They spent about an hour with him before they all needed to get some sleep. The next day was Sirius' birthday. They all agreed to wait to give him his presents until Remus was released. So Remus was awoken by a bounding Sirius jumping on his bed although this did draw the ire of Madam Pomfrey quickly enough. She then did deem Remus fit to go once he had had breakfast.
The four mischief makers then hurried up to the dormitory while everyone else had breakfast and gave Sirius his presents. Remus had gotten him some chocolate, mostly as a selfish present so Sirius would stop stealing his, and some zonko's products. Peter had gotten him a book about his favourite Quidditch team and James had given him the new pranking book which earned him a massive manly hug. He opened a present from Marlene of some Quidditch goggles charmed to repel water and other bad weather. James' parents had sent him a small moving model of his broomstick and a box of homemade fudge. They had also sent him a gold watch that is customary to give to a wizard on his seventeenth birthday. Sirius looked like he was about to cry. The custom was generally done from father to son and this was their way of saying they saw him as a second son.
"Who would have thought I'd enjoy getting two whole books for my birthday." He beamed. "Thanks guys."
"Well, when I finally teach you to read we thought it best to start with topics you know." Remus chuckled.
"Oi! I can read just fine thank you." Sirius raised his nose in a haughty fashion.
"You keep deluding yourself Padfoot." James grinned. Sirius threw a pillow at him and it would have fallen into a full on pillow fight if Remus had not reminded them that they all had charms. Once all lessons were over, James and Sirius headed down to the Quidditch pitch. They spent a couple of hours having a great practise. The team were now gelling nicely and starting to perform the more complicated moves with ease. James was incredibly pleased with how his team were performing.
Once practise was over the team showered and headed up to the common room. As the Fat Lady opened to reveal the room there was a loud cheer of "Surprise!" and some more yelling.
"Happy birthday brother!" James called, accepting a drink from Remus.
"Wow. Thanks everyone." Sirius grinned. Marlene flew over and engaged him in a not so chaste kiss to loud cat calls and whistling. When they broke apart, Sirius winked at most of the audience and plastered his most charming grin over his face. Many of the girls around swooned. Marlene scowled at them and claimed his attention with a drink of firewhiskey. Food was passed around with butterbeer. Everyone chatted loudly and tried to wish Sirius a happy birthday. The party lasted well into the night. Towards the end it was clear Sirius was starting to get drunk. He was flirting with any girl that came close to him. Marlene was busy trying to get Lily to join in. Peter was trying his luck with a small mousy fifth year girl, they were kissing in one corner. As the crowd began to thin she spotted Sirius wrapped tightly around a seventh year. Both were clearly drunk but that didn't stop her as Marlene marched over, quite drunk herself, and forcibly pulled them apart.
"How dare you!" She screamed. The whole common room stopped and looked at them.
"Mar...come on." Sirius slurred grinning lopsidedly.
"Don't you 'Mar' me Black! I thought things were going great for us. And then I find you wrapped around the resident slut! We are done Sirius Black!"
"Marlene. Don't do this. We are going great." He drunkenly staggered towards her, arms outstretched.
"Get away from me. We are over!" Marlene stormed off to her dormitory. Lily stood, shot a vicious glare at Sirius, and followed her upstairs.