And another one! i had actually started this before i started ch26 and that's why I'm uploading two chapters in one day, i guess I could keep you waiting so that my uploads have some sort of a regular time schedule, but I think that's just mean. also I just cant wait to get MORE REVIEWS! (siriusly though i love reviewers- not in a creepy way) also i keep forgetting to disclaim, but you all know I'm not JK Rowling anyway and with the current technology that's not likely to change.
"That's awesome! I mean, not as awesome as mine but still pretty damn cool!"
"It's kind of scary, you look like the Grim!"
"You do actually! Oh please come to Divination with me like that tomorrow, you'll scare the living daylights out of everyone. But anyway Peter if you think he's scary you're going to in for a shock when you see me transform, you can still back down if you're having second thoughts."
"No! I want to do it! James and Sirius are doing it so I'm going to too."
"Well thanks Pete, this means so much to me you know. But I should probably tell you that I'm about a billion times scarier than that."
The large black dog standing in the middle of the boys' dormitory gave Remus a look that said 'oh you think so do you?' and a moment later launched itself at Peter.
"Ah! Sirius! Get off me! James! Remus! Help! Tell him to stop!"
"Get off him you eegit," said Remus, James was too busy rolling on his bed, doubled up with laughter to say anything.
The dog stop play fighting the plump boy and instead started licking his face."
"Urgh Sirius that's gross! Gerroff!" Peter protested, trying in vain to push the animagus off of him.
"You do realise that what you're actually doing is kissing him don't you?" said Remus, at those words the dog leapt back and immediately transformed back into a human.
"Urgh, that's disgusting! Blegh! How could you let me kiss Peter Remus?!"
"It's your tongue not mine, how am I supposed to control where it goes?"
"Yeah yeah... Oi Prongs, are you going stop laughing like an idiot and think of a nickname for me then?"
"In a bit, it's going to take me a while to stop finding that funny."
"Well that galleon will be mine if you have to forfeit due to uncontrollable hysterics."
"Hey I don't have to think of one until you do, and you don't need to think of one until Peter manages to transform and that will be in about six hundred billion years."
"Hey! I think I'm almost there actually."
"You probably are Peter, you just need one final push," said Remus kindly.
"I'll be able to do it really soon, I promise."
"If you lot come round to my house over the summer we can work on it," said James, "when's good for you?"
"Whenever my parents let me out of the house," said Sirius, "or at least take their eye off me for long enough so that I can get away."
"I'm going to Germany for the first two weeks to see my big cousin Jack and his kid," said Peter, "but I'm free after that."
"Well I'm not going away anywhere, but it's the full moon on the Wednesday of the third week into the holidays so I won't be able to come over for a couple of days after that, it depends on how much my mum's fussing."
"And how many bones you break of course," said Sirius with all the tact of a bludger.
"And that," said Remus.
"Okay so fourth week in then? You can stay for as long as you want because we're staying in England this summer, my dad's got a load of work to do with all this Death Eater activity."
"Well I'll have to go home for the August full moon, but I can stay until then if your parents won't mind."
"They won't mind, I've told them all about you, they think you're a good influence on me."
"I wish, the only way I could ever have any sort of influence over you is by putting you under the Imperius curse."
"Too right, but I wasn't going to let my mum and dad know that was I? They think I'm hanging out with the intellectual crowd."
"I take it you haven't told them about me and Pete then," laughed Sirius.
"Oh I've told them about you two as well, I just haven't told them all about you, but there are certain things you just never tell your parents right?"
"James, you are talking to the King of lying to parents right here."
"D'you reckon you'll be able to convince them to let you come over?"
"Hmm, it depends, if nobody's coming over then they'll probably be delighted to get rid of me, but if the Lestranges and the Malfoys and everyone are coming round again they'll want me to be there so they can show off their son and heir."
"What even though you're a filthy blood traitor?" asked James.
"Especially because I'm a filthy blood traitor, they have to put on some sort of a show that they're keeping me on the straight and narrow, they wish," Sirius scoffed.
"Well at least you've got a bargaining chip then," said Remus, "I mean, you could act like a good little prejudiced so and so in front of your parents' guests for a couple of weeks, on the condition that you get to go round to James's afterwards."
"That's not a bad idea Moony," said James.
"What so you expect me to make pleasant conversation with my cousin in laws about how muggle hunting should be legalised for three whole weeks?! I couldn't do that Remus."
"It's not like you'd mean it or anything, you'd just have to go along with it for a couple of weeks and then you'd come over to James's with and you could forget all about it."
"Well obviously I wouldn't mean it! But that's exactly the point, I'd be going against everything I've ever said or done since starting Hogwarts if I start shooting my mouth off with their blood purist crap."
"You wouldn't really though, you'd just be pretending," said James.
"Do you even understand what you're asking me to do?! You try sitting there and agreeing with Abraxas Malfoy as he rants on about how werewolves should be rounded up and put to death! If you can honestly tell me that you could sit through that without wanting to punch the bastard in the face then I'll give you all the gold in Gringotts."
"Yes, I'd want to punch him in the face Sirius," said James, "but you'll just have to repress that urge if you want to be able to come round. And the whole point of you coming round is to help Peter so that we can all help Remus. So so what if you have to nod along to the ramblings of Abraxas Malfoy if you're doing it to help a friend?"
"Oh get off your high hippogriff James! As if you could do what you're asking me to do? Come on Remus back me up here, you can't expect me to stand by and do nothing while my father's planning to get more anti-werewolf legislation passed?"
"I understand that it will be difficult for you Sirius, and if you would rather not go through with this plan then that's fine, we won't think any less of you. But know that we won't think any less of you for paying lip service to your parents' ideologies for a couple of weeks either. You've got to choose your battles Sirius, I'm not going to make the choice for you but I advise you to think carefully before you choose."
Sirius looked at Remus, the honesty and goodness in his brown eyes cutting through him like a knife. He would never understand Remus, if he had to take as much bigoted claptrap as he did he would have exploded by now, and yet Remus just took everything lying down. Sirius could never do that, 'choose your battles' Remus had said, but to Sirius every battle had to be fought, because if you don't fight, you can't win, and Sirius never lost at anything without putting up a good fight.
"You want me to be like you," muttered Sirius.
"No, just want you to consider all your options, I know that this will go against your principles but isn't it the lesser of two evils?"
Sirius was strangely flattered by this comment, it was the first time anyone had ever recognised that he had principles. Finally he felt as if someone understood, and whilst that didn't make him feel better about going through with this at least he knew now he'd have someone somewhere that would understand what he was putting himself through and why he had to do it... he had to do it.
"Okay," he said.
"You'll do it?" asked James, "cool so everyone can come then! Oh it's going to be so much fun, we can play Quidditch, two a side or penalties obviously, we can camp out in the woods, we can..."
Sirius nodded along as James planned their entire month together, but really his talk of all the fun stuff they'd get up to just made him feel guilty about giving into him and Remus. Was he just being selfish? Was he doing this for all the wrong reasons? He looked over to Peter, he was supposed to be doing this so that he could help the boy become an animagus, but Peter didn't see him looking, he was too busy drinking in James's word with rapture, awe and excitement sparkling in his watery blue eyes. Then he looked to Remus, who he was surprised to find was staring back at him, as they mad eye contact his friend's concerned face broke into a small smile.
"Thank you," he said quietly, and that was all Sirius needed to hear.
