In a world of ever-growing darkness, can four mischievous teenagers find a way to turn on the light?
Chapter 10 (actually chapter 10 this time , last time was a typo)
The Great Hall bustled with the clanging of cutlery and the chatter of hundreds of teenagers. The four long tables were lavishly laid with food of all kinds as candles floated in the air. By far the noisiest of the tables was Gryffindor, and a large portion of that noise could be traced to two black-haired, sodden-clothed boys.
James and Sirius debated loudly about their Quidditch practice that had taken place that afternoon as they replenished their energy by shoving as much food into their faces as humanly possible.
Remus, who didn't know or care about anything to do with Quidditch, tried to catch Peter's eye, but the round-faced boy was listening to Sirius and James, rapt with awe like normal, as he tried to nod in the right places and look like he understood and nibbled quietly on a peice of cheese. The werewolf sighed and went back to focusing on his dinner when Sirius nudged his arm.
Remus felt a slight shiver pass though his body, but he ignored it and turned to his friend.
"Moony. You seem to have got the hang of that charm we learned this morning," Sirius said.
"Well, I guess I've kind of got it. I need to practice loads more, though," Remus reasoned.
Sirius almost scoffed at the suggestion. He couldn't remember a time when Remus hadn't mastered a charm on his first attempt. "Well, Hallowe'en is coming up, and you know that's always a good time for-"
"Sirius." Snapped a familiar strict voice behind him. McGonnagal, despite hardly ever calling other students by their first names, normally respected Sirius' wish for his surname to be used as little as possible. "I do hope you're not planning another prank."
Peter jumped, startled by the loud voice, and looked like he very much wanted to hide under the table.
Sirius bowed his head submissively, a gesture that Remus hadn't seen from him before. "Of course not," he said in his innocent voice which everyone listening knew was as fake as the Daily Prophet. "I would never do anything so disruptive or hilarious- I mean irresponsible."
McGonnagal pursed her lips, as if she didn't know whether to humour Sirius or just dispair of him. "If you try anything, Mr Filch will be sure to catch you, since he'll be patrolling outside the Gryffindor dorms from curfew to midnight between now and Hallowe'en."
"She's setting Filch on us? That's harsh, even for her." Sirius whimpered as McGonnagal strode away, her shoes clacking on the stone floor.
"Yeah, she's our head of house. She should be on our side, at least against Filch." James agreed.
Remus sighed in exasperation. "You two. Seriously. She said Filch will be patrolling from curfew to midnight. All we need to do is avoid that time window, and we'll be fine."
"So she is on our side against Filch," James realised, happily.
"Moony, you're a genius," Sirius exclaimed.
"You're only saying that because you didn't figure it out yourself," Remus muttered, but he realised that he was blushing anyway.
Nobody noticed, though, because the dessert had started to appear.
Sirius instantly dived for the chocolate cake - every dinner time, without fail, he and James would fight over it. Today, however, James didn't seem interested at all. He reached instead for the salad.
"James, what are you doing?" Peter was the first to notice the change as his friend piled a mountain of leaves onto his plate.
"Uh... I'm eating," James replied, as if nothing was abnormal.
"Yes, but what are you eating?" Sirius interjected, disgusted at the amount of healthy food his friend was about to consume.
"I just felt like having some salad. Is there a problem with that?" He put some of the leaves into his mouth and began to eat. He didn't chew so much as grind his teeth together like some kind of-
"Herbivore," Remus whispered to himself as he realised.
"Ok, so I was totally planning a prank yesterday," Sirius told his friends while they sat outside under a tree the next day. The ground was still damp after yesterday's downpour and the chilly autumn weather was starting, but the Marauders loved to sit outdoors. At least, James and Sirius did. Remus Looked as if he wished he was in the warm library with a dust-covered book.
"We know." Remus glanced up from his transfiguration textbook to look levelly at Sirius. "Everyone whobwas in the Great Hall knows."
Sirius ignored him. "So, I was thinking we should use the movement charms we've been learning recently. Moony's good enough at those. But I've got big plans. Huge plans. It's go big or go home this year, so I think we'll need some help from-"
James had been lying back lazily against the tree trunk, but he sat up suddenly. "Look over there," He muttered, coldly. The sudden change in his posture was enough to set off alarm bells in Sirius' head and make him stop talking, his head snapping quickly around to follow James' gaze.
"Snivellus." Sirius muttered, as he saw the greasy-haired figure. Anger flared in his chest as a low growl emanated from the back of his throat.
Remus recognised it. It was the sound a wolf would make if they saw an enemy. Someone they might attack. It was normally a way of telling another wolf to back off, but now it served as a warning for Remus. "Sirius, don't," he pleaded, grabbing the arm of Sirius' cloak.
Sirius relaxed a little, the tension visibly leaving his shoulders. "I wasn't going to do anything to him," he said, leaning back against the tree.
"What was that growl for? You sounded like some kind of wolf." James said, also calming down.
Sirius shrugged. "I was just angry."
"Maybe not a wolf," Remus wondered quietly, "but some kind of dog? An animal like that."
"What was that, Moony?" James asked.
"He didn't sound exactly like a wolf. Trust me, I know." Remus hesitated before plowing on. "I think I know what's happening."
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, his voice tinted with worry.
"Something's happening to all of you. Your behaviour is changing, your actions, your tendencies. Surely you've noticed. You're becoming more... animalistic."
"What does that mean?" Peter yelped, though he could guess.
Sirius and James, however, looked at each other with glee.
"The animagus potion."
"It's working." Sirius grinned.
"Exactly." Remus said. "I read about this. Each of you will develop the characteristics of the animal you will turn into."
"Sweet!" James yelled. "I hope I'm something cool, like a lion or a dragon!"
Remus smirked a little. "I hate to break it to you, but you were eating salad for dessert yesterday. You'll probably be some kind of herbivore."
"Like a sheep," Sirius put in, laughing at the mental image.
James glared at him, but then saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him forget all about what Sirius had said. "Snivellus. He's going near the Whomping Willow."
"It's probably nothing" Remus began, but Snape had noticed James and Sirius glaring.
"What are you looking at? Potter? Black?" He yelled. "Not too busy playing with your pets today?"
Peter made a noise like pigmepuff that had been stepped on and dived behind the tree.
Sirius snarled, curling his lips back aggressively until Remus nudged him.
"Don't let him see you do that," Remus muttered. He hadn't told the Marauders about what Snape had said to him, and he didn't plan to.
"Should we go and mess him up?" James asked Sirius without looking at him.
Without even the need for eye contact, the two dark-haired Marauders were on their feet with their wands drawn, marching towards Snape. Snape seemed to have got the message, and was already pointing his wand at James.
"Stupefy!"
James only just managed to dive out of the way as the spell sailed past him.
"Incendio!" Sirius countered.
"Protego!" Snape yelled, throwing the magical shield up just in time to stop his robes from being set alight.
James readied another spell, but Snape noticed too soon. "Expelliarmus!"
The wand flew out of James' hand, landing uselessly on the grass meters away. He barely hesitated before charging at Snape armed with nothing but his bare hands. He headbutted Snape in the chest, knocking the other boy to the ground. Snape fired a stray blast from his wand, which caught Sirius square in the chest, knocking him back and caused him to let out a whimper.
Remus, who had been sitting watching the fight until then, rushed forward to Sirius.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Sirius waved away his concern. He stood up, and Remus saw that he wasn't injured; the blast had just knocked the wind out of him.
"Snape! Potter!" McGonnagal strode across the grass and pulled the boys apart, who had resorted to brawling on the floor. She hauled them to their feet and began reprimanding them about setting an example for first years and responsible behaviour, ignoring James comment that he had the responsibility to put slimy gits in their place, and Snape's remarks about first years being better off if they knew how to deal with arrogant pricks.
"You really did sound like a dog just then," Remus told Sirius, unable to keep the fondness out of his voice.
Sirius smirked. "I hope I didn't say anything embarrassing in wolf language."
Remus grimaced. "That's... not exactly how wolf communication works. Merlin, you all have so much to learn about transformation."
"Does this mean you're not mad anymore?" Sirius asked, hopefully.
Remus hesitated. "I... I'm still annoyed. But it's been over a week now. I can never stay mad at you guys for long. Besides, there's no going back now." He sighed. "I suppose the best thing I can do is to make sure you don't get hurt doing it."
Then his face brightened mischievously. "Now, about this prank you mentioned..."