Harry Potter was extremely tired. All he wanted was to go to the Great Hall, eat some delicious, hot food and then go back to sleep. It was a Saturday and he had finished all his homework. There was no Quidditch practice nor were there any impromptu meetings with Dumbledore. Harry had no detentions.
All he wanted was peace.
That was why he was so angry when the Slytherins walked into the Great Hall with furious faces – make that furious gold faces. Their faces were painted gold, robes a bright Gryffindor red and hair… Gold and red striped afros.
James and Sirius did a sneaky high five and Harry glared at them. They winced.
Remus sighed next to Harry. "Really? Did you have to do this?"
"Of course!" Sirius said, as if offended. "They hexed Harry, so we prank them!"
Harry sighed and brought out his wand. The spells were not hard to reverse. The Slytherins just didn't think to use the easy way out. A Finite Incantatem didn't work, but a counter-spell did.
With a wave of his wand, the Slytherins returned to their normal selves and the two boys that did it scowled.
Cheers erupted for Harry – mostly from girls actually. Ginny had once told him that he looked the best in third year – not too young and not too old. He was still shy in third year, which made him endearing. At least, that was what Ginny said.
Harry rubbed his temples as the cheering got louder. It didn't die down. Harry gritted his teeth, but the cheering did not stop.
He stood up. "Please!" he shouted. "I just want peace!"
The Great Hall went silent.
"Thank you!" he shouted exasperatedly before dropping back into his seat and rubbing his temples.
"You alright, Paws?" Sirius asked.
Harry knew how he looked. His skin was a pale, sickly colour and his dark circles probably scared everyone. His usual bright eyes became dull. "I'm just super tired," Harry sighed. "I don't get enough sleep with all the… things we do," Harry said.
James nodded. "Go back upstairs and sleep, Blackie," James said.
"Blackie?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, Sirius has Paws so I get Blackie," James defended.
"I get cub!" Remus added. Cub. Remus had called Harry that before… just not this Remus.
James swore loudly and McGonagall glared at him from the Head Table. "Cub is so much better than Blackie. Can we trade?" James asked.
"Absolutely not," Remus smirked.
James huffed and stuffed some toast into his mouth. Harry got up. "No one disturb me," he said, rubbing his temples. "I'm going to go sleep."
Harry walked away then, many eyes following his retreating back.
…
The Marauders walked into Transfiguration with identical smirks on their faces. That could only mean one thing.
Boom! An explosion went off. That was Sirius'. He had placed several Dungbombs around Filch's office. The moment Filch shut the door to his office, the Dungbombs would have been triggered. And then the door would automatically lock itself, making Filch unable to leave. He would be stuck in that stinky office, gasping for clean air until someone freed him.
Splat! Screams sounded from the Charms corridor. That was James' prank. Slime and goo was currently falling on the third year Slytherins in their Charms class. James had made sure none of it had hit Professor Flitwick and the Hufflepuffs of course, but the Slytherins should have been covered with the green slime that James had set up over the Slytherin side of the class – the left side. James had carefully timed it so that when everyone had gotten into class, the slime would go off. How he loved magic.
AAH! Remus tried not to laugh. The Transfiguration classroom was fairly far from the dungeons, but Remus could still hear Professor Slughorn scream "Where are my pineapples!?"
That was correct. Remus Lupin – the saint of the Marauders had pranked Slughorn. The crystalized pineapples that Slughorn so loved and cherished had been stolen by Remus and replaced by Cockroach Clusters. Inside Remus' head, a timer was going off. 3…2…1.
AAH! Slughorn screamed again. He hated Cockroach Clusters. They would always pinch his fingers and crawl over his skin. That was exactly why Remus had a bucket load of those fall onto Slughorn. His beloved candy had been replaced by his most detested. Remus thought Slughorn deserved it though. He had treated many students unfairly in the past – worshipping some and ignoring others.
Then there was an unbelievable long calm. The Marauders' eyes were on Harry, who was silently smirking.
McGonagall, deciding that the pranks were over, began to start her lesson.
But then the door bursted open. There was Filch, in his stinky glory, a glazed look in his eyes. "Minerva!" Filch shouted. He sounded oddly coherent, but then he began to grunt and he dropped to his knees in front of the baffled Transfiguration professor. "I…" Grunt. "Love…" Grunt. "You!" Grunt.
The class erupted into laughter as McGonagall turned red with anger. "Mr. Filch, please go to Professor Slughorn to retrieve the antidote for Amortentia." Smart McGonagall, Harry thought. She was able to see straight through the love potion. But Filch did not leave, he simply grunted at McGonagall's feet, trying to grab her hands and kiss them.
"Lily Evans!" McGonagall shouted. Lily stood immediately. McGonagall transfigured Filch into a teacup then. "Take Mr. Filch to Professor Slughorn. I don't really trust anyone else. With another wave of her wand, the teacup became Filch again but before he could proclaim his undying love for McGonagall again, McGonagall shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Mr. Filch froze. Sighing, McGonagall transfigured a pencil on her desk into a stretcher, which Lily began to roll out of the classroom to the dungeons, along with Filch, who was frozen atop it.
"Detention for you four!" McGonagall screeched to the Marauders.
"What?" Sirius shouted, standing up. "That is an outrage!"
"We didn't even do it!" James protested.
"We wouldn't prank Filch like that," Remus added.
"We wouldn't," Harry agreed. But Harry would. How he loved loopholes. "Innocent until proven guilty, Professor!"
And with a huff, McGonagall resumed her lesson as the boys exchanged high-fives underneath the table.
…
Hogwarts was a mess. The Marauders had gone on a pranking spree, pranking every person in the castle – even Gryffindors. The people who didn't anger them or were nice got away with nicer pranks like hair turning into electric blue. But the people who were mean and snotty… they got the brunt of it.
Dumbledore received complaints left and right, which he had all dismissed with a twinkle in his eyes. The boys never got in trouble thanks to Sirius' acting, James' adamant protesting, Remus' clean record and Harry's alibis. Harry was never at the scene of the crime either before, during or after the prank. Thanks to Disillusion charms and the cover ups the boys gave him. 'He was always in the dorm sleeping.' 'He was reading in the common room.' 'Harry had a bad stomach ache.' Those were only some of the excuse the Marauders had come up with.
Those times were so blissfully innocent. Harry didn't have to think of Voldemort or of Horcruxes. He didn't dare touch the Daily Prophet and refused to hear about any deaths. He blocked it out – just for a little while. Just for a little while, he had the childhood he longed for.
It had been a while since he had destroyed that locket. April was already here. Harry took a bite of his toast as he listened to James moan about Lily and how amazing she was. They were dating now – Harry was extremely surprised. Lily had a study session with Snape though, and was in the library with Snape instead of the Great Hall, eating a late breakfast. It was Saturday, so Harry did not have to worry about classes.
"Isn't tonight the night?" Sirius asked Remus. "Your time of month?"
"I didn't know Remus had periods," Harry said nonchalantly, taking another bite of his toast. Remus smacked his head and Harry scowled.
"That's because I don't," Remus rolled his eyes.
"I already got some of it down," James whispered to them.
"Me too," Sirius said. "We're almost there."
Remus looked surprised. "Really? Already?"
"We're not stupid you know," Harry said, chuckling. "You have no idea how much we studied on our animals and meditated. That's why we have you take notes in class, so that we can research our animals more."
Remus scowled again. "Nice to know I'm being used," Remus scoffed.
"You're being used for a good cause," Sirius said, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. "We're doing this for you, Moony. Be grateful," Sirius grinned.
"I am but…"
"Great," James interrupted. "We're almost done with anyways. We should go practice some more back in the dorm and we might just be ready for tonight."
"Tonight?" Remus said incredulously. "No way! You don't even…"
"Oh shut up, Moony," Harry said, stuffing toast into his friend's mouth. "Don't dash our great efforts!"
The Marauders stood up, James, Sirius and Harry in deep discussion. Remus sighed as he listened to their conversation, feeling selfish because he was happy that his friends were doing this for him.
…
They sat in the Room of Requirement. Harry had shown it to them recently and the boys enjoyed the room. They loved that the room brought them every need. When Sirius had asked for a girl though, the room had played a joke on him. They dressed Sirius in a dress and straightened his hair so that it hung below his shoulders.
"You make a very fit woman," James had laughed.
But they were not there for fun and games. They had to perfect their Animagi.
Harry felt his teeth and face elongate into fangs and a muzzle. Dark fur sprouted from his body. His human ears disappeared and in their place, the ears of a black panther. That was as far as he had gotten. Harry focused as hard as he could, aiming for the rest of the body. Harry felt fire in his veins as he fell onto all fours. His clothes had melted away and in their place, the body of the panther.
"Paws! You got it!" Sirius said, eyes wide.
Blackpaws was staring into the mirror. There he was, the great hunter. His extended fangs, his dark fur, his long tail and his sharp claws. His paws were lethal, and he definitely knew it.
"Harry?" James asked behind him. Harry turned around, looking at the fourteen year old boy in front of him with careful eyes. "Can you change back?"
Then Harry focused on James' face, the face that looked so much like his own. Harry focused on green eyes and white skin. He thought of his knobby knees and thin frame and imagined his school robes, back on his body.
But Harry was still the same panther and he stared hopelessly into the mirror.
Harry tried again and again, but he only got bits of his human body back. Finally – two hours later, actually – Harry, the thirty-two year old man in a thirteen year old body, sat on the floor.
He didn't pay attention to James or Sirius, who were trying for their transformations again.
This time, it was much easier for Harry to become the black panther, but it was still difficult to change back into his human form. The Marauders continued to work on it, as Remus silently watched them while doing his homework.
Harry changed back over and over again – until his fastest time was fifteen minutes and seven seconds. They ate in the Room, wanting to finish their transformations in time for Remus. But it was so difficult. The magic was taking a toll on James, Sirius and Harry and they collapsed into a tired heap.
"You okay?" Remus asked.
"Perfect," said Harry, though his voice was far from it.
"Glorious," Sirius said tiredly.
"Absolute wonderful," James said, using the same sleepy voice as Harry and Sirius.
"It's time for dinner," Remus said.
Harry sighed, standing. "We have to practice more then."
"What?" Remus asked, bewildered. "You're dead tired!"
"But the full moon is tonight," Sirius argued, though his voice lacked it's usual conviction.
"No," Remus shook his head.
"He's right," James said. "We should rest for the night."
And James collapsed back onto the floor, eyes closed and already snoring. Sirius shook his head.
"How he is my best friend is beyond me," Sirius said, but then he lied down as well, assuming the fetal position.
But Harry did not listen. He shifted into his panther form and struggled to shift back again. Remus sighed.
Remus crouched down to Harry's level, who tried to switch back. "Cub," Remus said, assuming a rather fatherly voice. "You can't over exert yourself," Remus said. "Let's just go eat dinner and we can try again tomorrow."
Cub. Remus sounded so much like the Remus Harry knew in the future.
Harry stared at the boy in front of him and slowly, but surely, Harry transformed back into a human – without a hitch.
"Did you just…" Remus stared.
"I think I just…" Harry said, eyes wide.
"What did you do?" Sirius asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.
Harry transformed back into his panther, the now familiar fire running through his veins. Focusing on his human form, he felt his teeth retract and muzzle disappear. His tail, fur, ears – every panther part of himself melted away, revealing the thirteen year old Harry underneath.
He did it.
…
And he was completely exhausted. All of them were. The Marauders fell asleep at the Great Hall, heads slumping over into their mashed potatoes. Remus had refused to let them go and for once, the boys didn't protest. They were too tired to spend a night with a werewolf.
"Harry? James? Sirius?" came a voice.
Harry looked up, mashed potato falling from his forehead. Concerned green eyes stared at Harry and Harry rubbed his eyes twice.
"Jamie… your girlfriend," Harry said, shaking his brother's arm. Lily wiped away the food from Harry and James' face, and struggled to get Sirius up.
"Hey Lily-flower," Sirius said. Lily sat down next to James then.
"What were you all doing?" Lily asked. "Why are you so tired?"
"We were practicing magic," Harry said. "Took a lot out of us." Sirius shot a questioning look at Harry. Half-truths, Harry mouthed to Sirius. Luckily, Lily was too focused on James, who had rested his head in the crook of her neck, eyes shut.
"James," Lily said. James did not move. "James," Lily said.
"I'm comfortable here," James sighed. "And you smell nice."
Lily turned pink.
"I still don't understand why you decided to date him," came another voice. Severus Snape walked to them, robes flying behind him. Harry couldn't help but think that he looked like an overgrown bat.
"Come on, Sev," Lily said. "James is nice."
Snape only scowled.
"We should go back," Sirius said. Everyone else had already left the Great Hall, a few teachers, who were chatting at the Head Table.
"Lily, you shouldn't date people like him," Snape insisted. James was now wide awake, hovering protectively in front of his girlfriend.
"You can't dictate what she does," James said coldly. Lily bit her lip, struggling to choose which side to take.
"Lily, let's go," Snape sneered. "Don't associate yourself with people like them. They are immature and arrogant. You know that."
"Sev, don't do this," Lily shook her head. "People can change!"
"Enough," Harry said, standing. "Lily, can I speak to you for a second?"
Lily stood, glancing at Snape and James, unsure if she should leave them alone. "Sirius please," Harry said, looking over to him. Sirius nodded. "There are teachers, Lily. Don't worry," Harry said and he led her to entrance of the Great Hall, out of earshot from the others.
"Yes, Harry?" Lily asked, taking glances at the other boys.
"You like my brother, don't you?" Harry asked bluntly.
Lily shyly nodded. "That's why I'm dating him."
"Well I know that he's probably in love with you," Harry said. Lily's cheeks turned red. "And I know that Severus is as well."
Lily froze. "What? That's not even possible!" Lily said, whispering furiously to Harry. Harry continued in his normal speaking voice, unabashed.
"It's true. You know it is. Why else would he be jealous of James? Don't choose between your best friend and your boyfriend if you aren't ready for it yet. Stay with both of them and observe. Who's the one that is willing to make the sacrifice of being friends with the other for you? Don't be indecisive or just pick Severus because you've known him the longest. Don't ever hurt my brother," Harry said, voice stern. "Who is the better one for you, Lily? Who makes you feel… more?" Harry asked, thinking back to Ginny. "Who makes your heart pound… who makes you jealous when you see them conversing with the opposite gender…" Harry shook her head. "That is the person you should date. If you want to remain friends with either of them, just tell them. But if they hold a grudge against you because you didn't date them… then they aren't worthy of even being your friend."
Harry left Lily mulling over his words and he returned back to the two Marauders and Snape. Snape was glaring at James coldly and James was pointedly ignoring him. Harry sat down next to James, eating some treacle tarts.
Lily came back then, sitting next to James and lacing her fingers with his. James' face lit up immediately, his face softening at the sight of her.
"Whipped," Sirius sang, ruining the moment. Harry chuckled.
But Snape's face was turning an ugly shade of red. "Lily!" Snape protested. "I told you that you shouldn't be associating with this… this… riff raff!"
"Riff raff?" Sirius asked, shooting a questioning glance at Harry.
"I don't even know," Harry shrugged and he placed a finger on his lips, asking silently for Sirius to stay quiet. Harry moved so that he was next to Sirius, watching the battle between Lily and Snape.
"Sev, he's my boyfriend," Lily insisted. Harry felt oddly out of place. He did not belong in that time zone, he wasn't fourteen like the rest of them and he still felt like he was in his thirties.
Snape sneered. "Him? Lily, you can do so much better." Their voices were getting steadily louder.
James looked like he was about to protest, but Harry casted a silent silencio. James glared at Harry, but Harry shook his head.
"Sev, stop," Lily said sternly. "I can choose for myself who to date!"
"Yeah, of course," Sev said sarcastically, fists clenched tightly. "You choose the wrong choice, like all Mudbloods do!"
And Harry stood up, rage in his features. Sirius began cussing at Snape and there was no teachers in the Great Hall left to berate him. Harry released his silencing charm on James.
"No one touch him," Harry growled at Sirius and James, who were reaching for their wands.
Lily was frozen. Regret was already flashing over Snape's face.
"Wait… Lily," Snape said, reaching for her, but Lily moved out of reach. Tears were glistening in her eyes.
"Let's go," Lily said coldly and James led her out of the Great Hall, wrapping his arm around Lily's and kissing her temple. James whispered reassuring words to his girlfriend as they left, leaving Sirius and Harry alone with Snape.
"Go first," Harry said, gesturing to the exit. Sirius nodded stiffly, glaring at Snape before following his best friend.
Snape sat down then, eyes wide. He buried his head in his hands. Harry awkwardly patted Snape's shoulder but Snape jerked away. He looked back up at Harry, glaring at him. "Stay away from me, blood traitor!"
"I'm not the one you're angry at," Harry said, trying to soothe the rage inside himself. As much as he wanted to slap Snape, he didn't. Again, this happened way too early. James and Lily didn't start dating until seventh year and Snape and Lily's friendship didn't break until fifth.
"She was already slightly mad at me," Snape said miserably.
"Because of your jealousy and because you hung out with Death Eaters, right?" Harry asked, no judgement in his tone. "Avery? Mulciber? You hung out with Lucius Malfoy before as well."
Snape shot another glare at Harry.
"You don't have to become a Death Eater," Harry said gently. "Your knowledge of the Dark Arts can be used for good."
"It's too late now," Snape said bitterly. "Lily is gone."
"You can always get her back," Harry said firmly. "Perhaps not as your girlfriend, but as a friend. Change your ways, Severus. There's always a second chance for those who try hard enough."
And Harry walked away, leaving Snape alone with his demons. He sighed. It was hard to go one day without drama in his life.
And that completely sucked.
So. Yeah. Gonna fly through third year and summer in next chapter! Into fourth! Then fly through fourth and into FIFTH AND THAT'S WHERE THE DRAMA HAPPENS! WOOOOOOT.
Prepare you all. And for those who are longing for some HarryxGinny... well Ginny's not going to come back. Sorry. But Harry WILL end up with her.. just in the future.
Kays. Well. There.