Sorry this took a while guys, got a terrible cold and it just stole all my energy! Hope to have another chapter up soon and I promise, as soon as the summer months hit in the story (after the next chapter) everything is going to really start rolling along. I'm really excited for you to read the upcoming chapters! Hope you enjoy and keep reading/reviewing!
-Ally
May was upon them faster than they could even imagine, the last couple weeks spent inside the library or the classroom more than their own dorms. The older the student, the more stressed they seemed to be as they searched for books that would help them get ahead or made trial potions of things they'd never be tested on. Adding in apparition lessons at the end of April and the upcoming license test was just piling up on the sixth years.
"Heard McKinnon almost splinched herself last time," Sirius yawned, walking into the Great Hall for another lesson that Saturday. James shrugged next to him, the Marauders going towards the left hand side to sit on a bench and wait. "I didn't see it though."
"Evans said she was bleeding a little but nothing too out of control. Unlike Peter here," James chuckled, slapping Peter on the back, "full on collapsed into a heap on the ground. It was brilliant."
"Yeah, absolutely smashing Prongs. My head still hurts." Peter turned a bit red, rubbing the back of his head as they watched more students walk in.
"If I remember correctly, you went and threw up after class James. I wouldn't act like you're the king of apparating just yet," Remus smiled, pulling on his jumper sleeve as his thumb poked out of a hole in the wool. "You're about as pathetic as the rest of us."
Sirius smirked, puffing out his chest as he stood. "I made it in the hoop, thank you very much. I'm a natural."
"Only took you three weeks, good on ya mate!" James laughed, Sirius glaring at him as he spotted the girls across the room. Yelling out O'Malley's name, she turned and flipped him off with a blush and he smiled goofily before the Ministry wizard came walking in.
The man was short and portly, a big round belly marching in front of him even more so than Slughorn's. Dull blonde hair laid slightly combed over his bald head, trying to act like he was much younger even though no one in that class believed he was a day under fifty. His purple robes floated slightly behind him as Sirius closed his eyes and relaxed against the wall.
"It's good to see you all here again!" Swifton began, getting all of their attention with a few brightly colored sparks popping out the end of his wand. "We'll be doing much the same as were last time. In hoops, please, no one is confident in it enough to try anything different. And remember, the three D's!" Sirius began to mimic him as the Marauders snickered. "Destination! Determination! Deliberation!"
The whole class groaned quietly before finishing it for him. "One must be completely determined to reach one's destination, and move without haste, but with deliberation."
"Right-o children! Now please begin!" He smiled happily with brilliantly cherry round cheeks. Sirius kind of hated him.
"I'm going to show this hoop whose boss." He smirked, the group of them walking over to a golden hoop on the floor.
Closing his eyes and envisioning the hoop that he'd seen only seconds ago, he let his mind go blank, felt the now familiar tug at his belly button, and then pop! When he reopened his eyes slowly, he noted he still had all his limbs and that he was, in fact, inside the hoop. Turning and smirking at his mates, they all clapped for him kindly as he stepped out and gave James the next go.
Watching as people popped in and out and showing up either inside hoops or on top of sconces, it was anybody's guess, he noted O'Malley standing back away from everyone. Heading over, he made his way through unscathed between disappearing people and sat next to her as she kept her gaze down.
"I see you've mastered the art of apparation," she smiled, still not looking at him as Evans successfully apparated and started jumping up and down in her hoop. "Now you can pop up five feet in front of you. Congratulations."
He laughed, nudging her. "What's wrong? Haven't apparated yet?" He wondered, watching as MacDonald tried and missed the hoop by several feet.
"No, I did two weeks ago," she admitted with a laugh, "I'm just not big on feeling like I'm going to vomit or scared that I'm going to lose a limb. I figure I'll be fine walking the old muggle way. Or take the Tube."
"What's a tube?" He asked, Gemma looking at him with an amused grin.
"It's a train that's underground."
"You muggles are weird, what is the point of an underground train? Anyway, don't you want to take the test with the lot of us?" He yawned, McKinnon flicking him on the forehead as she walked past and he stuck his tongue out in response.
"I can't, if you remember correctly by birthday is July 2nd so I won't be old enough. Forever sixteen," she smiled, twisting one long tendril of hair around her wand.
"I forget you're the baby," he joked, making her laugh a little, "should be obvious with you being a midget."
"Har har, you're so very funny."
He grinned toothily. "Hell yes I am."
Rolling her eyes, she stood up and stretched in front of him as the Ministry wizard came around to check on them. She simply smiled and said she was doing brilliantly, lying to the older man as he told her she was doing fine and then left. "I just don't get the point of it." She continued when she turned back to look at him.
"The point, O'Malley, is that if you're ever stuck in a horrible place, or you're being attacked, or you're just lost," he stood up and placed both hands on her shoulders, "you can easily just pop off to where you need to be."
"I don't want to apparate."
"Why not? It's not hard or anything, you've already done it once."
She held up her hand and stood on her tip toes, hands on his shoulders now bringing him down. "I'm scared." She whispered, the chill that threatened to run down his spine made him stand back up straight pretty quickly.
"Scared?" He asked quietly back, looking down into her nervous eyes. "What is there to be afraid of?"
"Oh, I don't know, losing my head accidentally, which is completely possible. Or ending up somewhere I'm not supposed to be with neither of my legs!" She huffed, turning back around to look at everyone. "I just wish there was something simpler, something that guaranteed that I'd still be in one piece if I suddenly forget something mid-go."
As he thought about it, it sort of made sense. It wouldn't take much to accidentally splinch yourself or end up miles away from where you needed to be, but the risk was worth it. And the added risk just dialed up the fun in the adventure anyway. Though, O'Malley wasn't really the risk taking adventurer that he was so the nerves she was harboring wasn't that big of a shock.
"You'll be fine, yeah?" He smiled, rubbing her arm for comfort. "I doubt you'll lose any limbs and if you do, big deal, Madam Twombly will have your legs reconnected in no time!" She laughed, nudging him hard in the side as MacDonald told her it was her turn again.
He watched as she took a deep, steady breath and walked to her spot. She closed her eyes slowly after one more look at him, her teeth still nibbling away like mad at her lip and her hands balled up into fists. He watched as she disappeared and then reappeared inside the proper hoop, the Ministry wizard running over to tell her to try and go into another hoop that was across the room.
"But, I don't think—" she started, Swifton waving her off with a brilliantly white smile.
"You were the first to apparate correctly two weeks ago Miss O'Malley, I have all the confidence that you can do it swiftly and perfectly." He boosted up her ego, something Sirius knew she liked stroked from time to time. He watched as she repeated what she'd done moments before and apparated into the hoop across the room. "Excellent, excellent! Now, everyone who has successfully apparated, please, come form a line and we shall keep doing this."
Sirius walked over and gave O'Malley a high five, her body trembling a little as he pulled her into a fast hug and let her cling to him. "I feel like I'm going to vomit."
"Not on this jumper please, I'm quite fond of it." She laughed against his chest, his chin resting atop her head as he noted Remus and James staring over at them but he didn't care. "You'll be fine Gemma, I promise you'll be fine."
Later that night the group of sixth year Gryffindors, minus Dubois, were up late in the common room surrounded by so many books they looked as if they could start their own library. Sirius was trying not to doze off while he read over what was assigned for Transfiguration as O'Malley complained from her spot on the floor about how she wished she'd opted out of Arithmancy. She soon got over it though and went back to studying as she chewed on the end of a sugar quill Remus had given her. Sitting up straight again, Sirius began to write more of his essay as yawns sounded like bell chimes around the group.
"Is it really already one a.m.?" McKinnon said tiredly, looking at her watch as half of them groaned. "Thank Merlin it's Sunday, I think I'd end up skipping all my morning classes if it wasn't."
"Do you think Dumbledore would let me drop Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and use them as free periods like you lot?" O'Malley joked, writing some complicated problem with ease on her parchment that never seemed to stop impressing Sirius. "Do I even dare doing Advanced Arithmancy next year? Maybe I'll just drop out of school and become a gypsy."
"Sounds brilliant to me, I think I'll join you." James groaned, slamming his Potions book and then threw it on the ground towards the fireplace. Sirius half wondered if he was actually trying to make it into the fire but he was just too tired to throw it hard enough.
"You all are such pathetic little people, I love studying," Sirius joked, cursing as he misspelled another word and crossed it out harshly a few dozen times. McGonagall was going to just adore reading this sloppy piece of work when he turned it in. "Never mind I hate it. I hate it and I wish I could kill it."
Everyone laughed, a few finally dwindling off and heading up to bed until it was just James, O'Malley, Evans, and him lounging around barely writing anything down. O'Malley was next to him on the ground, occasionally ticking the back of his hand with her quill when she got restless and he'd flick her behind the ear in return. Evans and James were practically sharing a chair as they tried to figure something out together, Evans sitting on the arm and leaning over him.
"What's five plus three?" O'Malley asked, clock chiming and signaling that it was now three a.m.
"Fourteen?" James yawned.
"No, it's eight you dolt." Evans laughed, Sirius smiling as he rolled over on his back and abandoned his books finally.
"Are you sure?" James teased, pinching her hip as she smacked him back. "I prefer fourteen."
"I prefer the correct answer but if fourteen pleases you so much I'll tattoo it to your forehead later," O'Malley said, sounding half asleep as she too ended up on her back, looking up at Sirius with a small grin and heavy lidded eyes. "I feel like I'm drowning."
"It's called May in Hogwarts, appreciate the feeling and then remember we only have to do this one more time." He sympathized, his head pounding as one hand dropped off the couch lazily and she grabbed it.
"First off, you should really clean under your nails more Black. Secondly, you have a very long health line, I think that means you won't be dying of an illness or anything," she said goofily, Sirius's hand feeling warm from her touch. "And your heart line is strong."
"You read palms now, O'Malley?"
"Well I am dropping out to be a gypsy, might as well bullshit my way into palm reading and fortune telling." She teased, her eyes slowly closing though her hand was still holding onto his loosely.
"What about your palm, hm?" He picked it up and leaned over to look at it as she smiled with her eyes still firmly closed. "Ah yes, I see that you'll be falling head over heels for a mysterious man clouded in black."
"It's my hand, Sirius, not a crystal ball." She laughed.
"Shh, you're ruining it. Ah, yes, and here, here you have flight in your future as well as adventure."
"Quiet you duffer, I'm exhausted." He smiled as her hand closed around his, purple sparkly nail varnish bright against his pale skin as he ran a finger over her nails. "Drop my hand or I'll come up there and thump you on the head."
"So vicious, I'm so scared I might wet myself."
"I honestly don't know why I even like you."
There was a part of him that wanted to venture more into that train of thought, how exactly did she like him? But he looked down and noticed she'd fallen asleep, her hand now completely slack in his as he slowly set it down next to her and brushed her hair back from her face. Settling back onto the sofa, he noticed James was passed out in his chair and Evans had fallen asleep against one of his legs on the floor. Smiling as he turned over, he hoped their lives would always be this simplistic.
"One, two, three. One, two three." Sirius guided Peter around the room later in the week, teaching him how to dance as James looked on with a smirk as he tossed his snitch around.
"Why are we doing this again?" Peter squeaked, staring down at his feet as they moved and Sirius barked out a loud laugh. "You probably can't even feel your toes anymore Padfoot."
"Who needs toes? One day you'll need to know how to dance, Wormtail, so you best be prepared." He warned, twirling him about after they'd finished with their classes that afternoon.
They'd just gotten back from visiting Remus in the hospital wing as the full moon began to make him ill. Sirius was bored and wanted to take his mind off of his current worrying of his mate and yet another transformation so before Peter could sit down again, he swept him into his arms and began parading him around the room.
"I probably don't need to know that badly."
Sirius scoffed, dipping him back. "What if Voldemort came knocking at your door and demanded a dance from you. Not just a dance, but a perfect dance," Peter was turning red from the blood rushing up to his face, "and if you did not dance this perfect dance, he'd kill you right on the spot. What then my dear little ratty friend?"
"I'd most certainly die."
"Not with a few lessons from me! Voldemort will think of you as the most beautiful dancer in the world, he'll want you to teach his Death Eaters how to waltz and you'll refuse. You'll break his nonexistent heart and he'll go off, sad and alone and the war will finally be over!"
"The bullshit that comes out of your mouth, honestly." James laughed from his bed.
"All because of this dance lesson Pete, this lesson will help you destroy Voldemort!" He brought him back up and then continued happily dancing about the room.
Peter bumped them into a bed and swiftly apologized. "I'd be more likely to kill him by dancing with him than destroying him because I'm so light on my feet." He groaned, crushing Sirius's foot beneath his again. Sirius did his best to smile and not think about the pain his toes were in.
"You need more confidence mate. What if Catchlove ever wants to go dancing or something? You need to be a man of many talents." He finally stopped them, walking over to his bed and collapsing on it to rub at his poor feet.
"I guess that's more likely than Voldemort challenging you to a dance off," James chuckled, getting under his blankets as they all settled in for a nap. "Remus would have enjoyed adding a few remarks into that story I bet."
"Oh I'm sure something along the lines of tap dancing and Death Eaters with canes would have come up," Sirius smirked, resting back on his pillow. "Maybe I'll replay it for him in the morning. We're heading out around nine, right? That gives up about a six hour nap?"
Peter yawned, ruffling his hair before he closed his curtains around his bed. "Right."
"I'll see you then," Sirius curled up comfortably and thought of dancing Death Eaters as he drifted off to sleep.
Gathering up all their needed supplies for the full moon, James stacked the blanket, map, and Remus's clothes underneath the invisibility cloak so he could carry them down without suspicion. Sirius was itching to run tonight, he could feel the grass beneath his paws already as he led the werewolf through the forest and chased birds and unicorns around for fun. It was a want and need he'd never forget, he knew he was always meant to be an animagus.
"You three up to trouble?" O'Malley stopped them outside the portrait as they left, her brown hair messy and her shirt a bit crooked. He kept back a scowl knowing she'd just come back from snogging Bones.
"What, us? How dare you think such a thing! We are nothing but upstanding young men on our way to the library!" Sirius feigned shock, a hand on his chest as she raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
"Whatever you say crazy boy, just be careful. Without Remus around to keep you lot in order I fear one of you will come back worse for wear." She stepped out of the way to let them pass, her hand reaching out to squeeze his arm for only a second before dropping it again.
"Remus isn't the only one with a working brain, G," James smiled, turning back to look at her before tripping slightly on one of his feet.
"Oh, yes I see that. I stand corrected," she snorted, watching them all go as Sirius turned back to look at her and gave a small wave.
If only she knew what they were going to do. What would she think then?
They headed down without anyone else stopping them, the warm spring air brushing over them as they walked outside. The moon was rising in the sky, round and white reflected in the Great Lake as they headed towards the Whomping Willow. Looking over at his mates, they were both laughing and joking about something he'd missed as he thought about things. They both looked happy, so different from the first time they ever did this.
He could hardly believe they'd been doing this for two years now, walking down and becoming animals to help their mate who just happened to be a werewolf. It had been four years since they found out Remus was a werewolf to begin with, the beginning of their second year was when they finally broke him. Sirius was the first one to bring up that him missing all the time seemed off, Remus eventually breaking down and telling them in a fit of tears.
Peter had been the first to say that it was okay, that him being a werewolf didn't change him. Sirius laughed and agreed, nothing would ever take away from his sweater vests and obnoxious studying habits. And of course James was quick to hug him and tell him they'd find a way to help, even if it was just bringing him his favorite foods after a hard night. Because back then that's all they thought they could do, just talk to him and be supportive.
And then O'Malley was talking to James about animagi one day, telling him how brilliant it would be to be like McGonagall and somehow it sparked the idea in his mates head. That and their lessons on werewolves in third year led to them all studying and learning how they could go about changing into animals. It was the only way to control and help a fearful Remus, a boy whose biggest fear was hurting someone else and didn't care about hurting himself. They wanted him to know that they'd shoulder as much of his pain that they could. That's what they were for.
And that's when Remus called them the Marauders.
"We ready then blokes?" He smiled, cracking his neck and stretching his arms out as if that'd help him somehow.
"As ready as I will be!" James smiled and waited until he turned into a dog.
As soon as his four feet hit the ground, he instantly began to roll around in the cool grass and pant like a fool. There was really no better feeling than rolling around and acting like a dog, it made you feel free of everything and there were no worries. Sirius jumped up again, running around James's legs a few times before standing still long enough to watch Wormtail run towards the tree and jump to hit the knot.
Grabbing his mate's pants leg as if telling him to hurry up, he ran off ahead of him and down into the tunnel. He was always the first to Remus, running through all the fallen branches and debris and then up into the Shrieking Shack. He carefully maneuvered up the stairs, jumping over the missing steps and then straight up into the room where Remus was waiting. Almost always asleep, the pain of transforming always knocked him out. Pacing the room, soon followed in Wormtail and Prongs and they all waited.
Peter scurried around for a bit, looking under things and bringing out little things they might want to see. James idly scratched his antlers on the wall, Sirius always wondered if that meant his head itched or what that would be if he were still human. Hopping up on his back legs, he looked out a window that overlooked down on Hogsmeade and saw a few random people out walking around and knew they needed to stray far away from town tonight.
Once Remus woke up it was time to work, to push and pull him towards the tunnel, to chase him out, to keep him hidden in the woods and away from the castle. It was always fun, it never felt like a chore because he was out there with friends, being themselves even as animals as they moved about the forest like they owned it.
No part of his life was going to be as brilliant as his years at Hogwarts.
"Sit your arse down, Lupin," Sirius was huffing, trying to catch his breath as sunlight broke over the grounds. "I'm tired and you look like shit."
"You always make me feel better Sirius," Remus groaned, falling down on his hands and knees and vomiting all over the grass. Sirius grabbed the blanket from James when he came back, wrapping his naked friend in it once he was done being sick.
"It's my job." He smirked, pulling out his wand and fixing most of his bleeding wounds the best he could. Remus grimaced a few times but he took it the best he could, not a single complaint before they began to lead him back to the Shrieking Shack so Madam Twombly could come and get him.
"Does she ever ask you how you got blankets and clothes?" James wondered, walking behind them as Peter kept lookout. "I mean, Twombly isn't an idiot, she had to have realized and wondered where these magical supplies were coming from."
"I assume she just thinks I plan ahead. She knows I know how to get in, and there's storage in the Shack, maybe she just figures I put it in there." Remus coughed a few times, his messy hair sticking up in funny directions covered in mud. "I don't care as long as she doesn't poke around. I don't need you lot getting arrested."
"I look pretty good in stripes." James joked, throwing a rock perfectly at the knot in the tree and successfully clearing the way.
Sirius smirked, letting Remus lean against him as they walked down. "And I look good in everything, so prison wouldn't hurt me much."
"You're both idiots." He laughed, getting up the stairs carefully.
"But where would you be without us? Naked and staring at a perverted badger." Sirius sat him down on the bed, stretching quickly as he tried to crack as many bones as possible.
"Your brain is a strange and scary place." Remus joked, lying back in the bed to try and get comfortable for a nap before Twombly came to retrieve him.
They all walked back up the castle, planning on a nap of their own before classes. Sirius scratched at his stomach on the way up stairs, noting there was mud caked on him everywhere as he laughed. Walking into the common room, only a few people were up and O'Malley and McKinnon were two of them. Sirius gave them a sheepish smile, O'Malley standing up and coming over to him as James and Peter ran for it.
So much for not abandoning your mates.
"You don't come back all night and when you do come back you're covered in mud?" She looked up and down him like she couldn't believe someone could get so disgusting. "What in God's name were you doing? Taking an all night mud bath?"
"If I said that was right, would you believe me?" He grinned, O'Malley rolling her eyes.
"Not likely."
"How did you know I was gone all night?"
He watched as she turned bright red, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to come up with something. "She was worried as hell you lot went and got yourselves killed, that's what." McKinnon spoke up, walking over to them. "You cost her a good night of sleep."
"You stayed up all night?" He wondered, smirking as O'Malley looked about ready to slap him.
"No, I didn't stay up all night," she scoffed, picking at a leaf that was on the front of his jumper.
McKinnon laughed. "Yeah, she passed out about half an hour ago. She thought you all were attacked by Slytherin's or something."
"Which isn't insane, it could have happened! You all hate each other enough to go have a big fight somewhere in the castle. What was I supposed to think?" She was still blushing, not looking at him in the eye as she yawned.
"I'm touched you were so worried about me. You really love me." He grabbed her quickly before she realized what he was doing and hugged her tightly to him all covered in mud.
"Sirius! Stop!" She screeched, everyone in the common room looking over at them as he rubbed as much mud as possible on her.
"You really care!" He squeezed her hard one last time and then sat her back down to see her delightfully brown and muddy.
"One of these days I'm going to get you back so bad Black. Just you wait, you won't know what's hit you." She spat, wiping at the mud on her face and looking down at her uniform.
"I will wait happily to see what you come up with."
O'Malley groaned and pushed him hard on the chest, leaving him there to go get cleaned up before class. McKinnon laughed as she watched her mate go, turning back to Sirius with a silly grin on her face. "You both are mad."
"You know, that's the best compliment you could give me."
Waving her off and running up the stairs, he ripped off his shirt and balled it up before throwing it in the corner. James and Peter were both already passed out, Peter only half on the bed, bending over it with his arse in the air. Sirius just laughed, walking into the bathroom and filling up a tub with hot water. Peeling off the rest of his clothes he sank in and didn't care as the water turned murky.
He eventually fell asleep, James rushing in and shaking him awake after realizing they'd already missed one class. Jumping out and pulling on his uniform as quickly as he could, the three of them rushed as fast as they could to Defense against the Dark Arts. Sliding in just as the bell rang, Sirius flopped in a seat next to O'Malley who quickly handed him a stack of papers.
"These are my notes from Potions, I told Slughorn the three of you were passing around some illness and he seemed to have bought it. I copied them with a spell so you all can have a copy and make sure to give one to Remus too. Yeah?"
She looked exhausted, black bags under her eyes as she slowly dragged out her things for another long class of note taking. He handed his mates the papers turning back and grabbing the quill out of her hand. She reached back for it but he swatted her hand away and dipped it in his inkwell.
"Let me do this for you, okay? Just rest, you look about ready to fall off your chair and die." She snorted, her eyes already closing and he was happy they were in the back of the room.
"My notes aren't going to make any sense and I won't learn anything, but okay. You go for it Sirius." She smiled as she rested her head in front of her on the desk, Evans looking over at her shocked. He was pretty sure he'd rarely seen her take a nap during class either but sometimes everyone needed to break the rules.
"You sleep up, I'll write notes on how whatshisface did that thing in the 1700's with the creature guy." He joked, O'Malley laughing quietly and he knew she was dozing off.
"I'm going to fail."