Chapter 10: Found Out

"So?" James said to Harry

The two Potters were in the Room of Requirement alone.

"You decided to follow in my footsteps and become an animagus?" James asked.

"Yes Sir." Harry said nervously. He wasn't sure about how much trouble he was in.

"A wolf at that."

"You know as well as I do that we can't choose." Harry argued while leaving out the small detail he could do ANY animal.

"True." James said. "You DO know of the risks involved right?"

"Yes."

"Harry. I'm talking more than the risk of getting stuck." James said as he knelt down to look Harry in the eyes. "Especially in our cases. Padfoot, and…anyways, they could pass as pets. However I'm a stag. I have to be especially careful because people hunt stags. You're at risk too, being a wolf. So is Ron. Hermione could pass as a pet. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"You want me and Ron to be extremely careful because we could be targets for hunters if we stray too far from the Forbidden Forest." Harry said with a nod.

"Right." James said with a sigh thankful that Harry understood. "Now, explain to me…how did you do it in one MONTH?!"

"Hermione found a book in Potter Library." Harry said. "I told her the address and lent her the invisibility cloak."

"You mean I had a book the whole time that would enable me to transform in a month instead of three bloody years?" James asked more to himself than his son.

"Yes. But your way was probably better. We had to brew this potion that was even more disgusting than Polyjuice. And that includes taste."

They laughed.

"When did you brew Polyjuice?" James asked after he calmed down.

0000

In Dumbledore's office three hours later, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lily, Charles, Elizabeth, Sirius, Remus, and Snape were waiting for James.

"Where is he?" Lily asked referring to her husband.

"He had to talk to Harry about something." Remus told her.

The door opened to reveal James looking rather pale.

"James?" Lily asked. "What's the matter?"

"Our son has been through so much." James told her as he plopped in one of the chair. "He just finished telling me about his second year."

"Oh." Elizabeth winced. "When he fought the Basilisk?"

Lily paled at the description of that year as James nodded.

"He did WHAT?!" Lily asked.

"How'd you get on that subject?" Remus asked.

"We got on the subject of Polyjuice Potion and…We'll talk about that later." James said before turning to Dumbledore. "What's with this emergency meeting?"

"We were waiting for you." Sirius explained.

"James? Were there any other animals with you last night?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.

The Marauders looked at each other. How could Dumbledore know already?

"Is there a specific animal you're asking about?" James asked.

"Yes. A rat."

The room dropped ten degrees in temperature.

"We didn't see one." Sirius said. "Why?"

"The Dark Lord had sent Pettigrew to spy on Lupin and Black last night. Obviously, he saw Potter and reported to the Dark Lord." Snape answered.

Sirius clinched his fists.

"That dirty, rotten, two-faced, no-good, two-timing..." Sirius started.

"Enough." Charles told him. "Snape has something else to say."

"Also, he noticed three other animals that Lupin recognized." Snape continued. "However, Pettigrew could not."

"That's not for us to reveal." Remus said.

"You three may enter." Dumbledore suddenly said as he waved his hand.

A bookshelf slid open and Harry, Ron, and Hermione came tumbling out.

"Hi." They said.

"Where did that passage come from?" Sirius asked

"What are you three doing?" Lily asked.

"Just, hanging out." Harry answered. They had actually been exploring and found a passage not on the Map.

"How much did you hear, Potter?" Snape asked.

"Enough." Harry said. "So, Voldemort knows about my parents and grandparents?"

"Not exactly." McGonagall said. "He only knows about your father. Do you three know about those three other animals?"

"What other animals?" Ron asked.

"We'd rather not say." Hermione said.

"Kids." Lily warned giving them a dangerous look

POP

An owl, a fox, and a wolf stood in front of them in the place of the kids.

POP

"Gotta go!" they said running back into the passage behind the shelf at top speed.

"WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Lily screamed at her husband.

"Apparently they got the idea last month." James said. "For the record, I didn't learn until this morning. They found this book in the Potter Library about how to become animagi in a month. That's how we got started on the second year conversation. He compared it to Polyjuice."

"I don't believe this." McGonagall said. "Three more unregistered animagi running around."

"I swear Severus." Lily said turning to the Potions master. "If Voldemort EVER gets wind of what Harry did, I will personally hold you responsible."

"Very well." Snape said. "The only way the Dark Lord will discover, will be if another Death Eater discovers."

TBC