The Marauders/The Maraudettes
In
Animagi
Maraudettes:
October of 1970,
"Not one of us shall ever join the dark side." Sara started the vow.
"We shall use our powers for good." Lily added.
"To rid the world of evil and dieses." Melissa said.
"And to be best friends forever." Spica finished.
After the girls broke off, Lily's face brightened.
"Uh oh." Melissa said. "I know that look."
"I just thought of something." Lily said. "You see, I've had the werewolf theory for a month now, and I was reading up on it. Werewolves don't affect animals."
"Lily. We're humans." Sara reminded her.
"What's McGonagall?" Lily asked. "And it's something that Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew would never think about doing. Well, Lupin wouldn't be able to do it. It's extremely risky. Even for them."
The rest of the girls' faces brightened when they realized where she was going.
0000
Early June 1974,
"Okay. I think we have it." Lily said.
"I'm so excited!" Spica exclaimed.
"Stop jumping." Melissa said. "I'm starting to think your animal's a kangaroo."
"At least they can fight." Spica defended holding up two fists in the boxing position.
"We don't get to choose." Sara reminded them. "Now, on the count of three."
"One…" Spica and Lily counted
"…Two…" Melissa and Sara continued
"THREE!" all girls yelled as they closed their eyes.
POP
When they all opened their eyes, they found that it worked. Instead of the four girls standing in the center of the 4th year girl's dorm, there stood a fox, a wolf, a squirrel, and a rabbit.
"LILY EVANS! SPICA JENKINS! MELISSA OXFORD! SARA MONTGOMERY! IF YOU DON'T UNLOCK THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW…I'LL TELL POTTER, BLACK, LUPIN, AND NEWTON THAT YOU FOUR HAVE CRUSHES ON THEM!"
Each girl quickly transformed back and unlocked the door so Alice (soon to be Longbottom) could enter the room.
"Why was it locked?" Alice asked.
"Maraudette meeting." Spica told her. "Are you SURE you don't want to join."
"NO thank you." Alice said.
0000
Earlier that afternoon in the library,
"Spica is going to want nicknames." Melissa said to herself as she looked for a book. "I've got to pick one before they come up with something stupid."
"What are you looking for?" Remus asked Melissa as he walked up to her.
"A book of names for pets. You can usually find them in muggle libraries."
"Why do you need the book?" Remus asked.
"Because. That's why." Melissa told him.
"What kind of pet?" Remus asked.
"Actually, it's more of a wolf."
"Male or female?"
"Female."
"I've heard of this one name." Remus told her. "It means "noble she-wolf". How does that sound?"
"I like the meaning." Melissa said. "What's the name?"
"Adolpha."
"Adolpha?" Melissa repeated. "I like it. Thanks Remus."
Then she did something that shocked both werewolf and wolf animagus. She kissed him on the cheek.
When they realized what had happened, they stared at each other for a minute.
"Uh." Melissa hesitated.
"That…" Remus started just as nervous.
"Never happened." She said.
"Right." Remus agreed. Both of them knew (or thought they knew) how Lily, Sara, and Spica felt about Remus' group of friends.
0000
Later that afternoon at the lake,
"We need names." Spica blurted out.
"Our parents have already fixed that problem." Lily joked. "I'm Lily; you're Spica; and these two are Melissa and Sara."
"I meant NICKnames." Spica clarified.
"True." Melissa agreed with the squirrel animagi. "That way we can sign what pranks we do pull without getting caught."
"And the boys won't take the credit." Sara added as she wrote in the Maraudette Journal. "I think McGonagall had fun during our last prank."
"Remember how she blamed the boys?" Spica laughed.
"That was funny." Lily said before mimicking James. " 'But Professor! WE were victims! When WE prank, we're left alone!' I ALMOST felt sorry for Potter."
"But did we HAVE to be victims of our own prank?" Melissa asked.
"If we weren't, then we'd stand out, and it would be obvious who pulled it." Lily informed her.
"True." Spica said. "Four clean girls in the midst of the Great Hall after a food fight seems suspicious."
"There." Sara said after writing down some goals for the future. "What do you three think of my future?"
Melissa took the book and read it out loud. "Find the cure for lycanthropy; beat Snape in any Potions competition, find the counter for…Sara, you shoot high."
"It's called reaching for the stars." Sara said.
Lily looked at the goal. "More like reaching for the edge of the universe. The counter for the Killing Curse?"
"THAT will make the books." Spica said. "I can see it now: Sara Newton finds the counter for Avada Kedavra!"
Sara whacked her friend upside the head.
"My name's Montgomery. NOT Newton."
"By the time this happens," Spica said pointing to the book. "It will be. Hey! I've got it! Easter!"
"Easter?" the other girls asked.
"Yeah. Like the Easter rabbit. AND you want to bring people back from the dead."
"That so stupid, it's brilliant." Sara said as she wrote her new nickname in the Journal.
"HEY EVANS!" a familiar male voice called to Lily
Lily groaned while her friends giggled as James Potter and his group came up to the girls.
"Do you want to go to the last Hogsmeade weekend with me?" James asked.
"Like I said at lunch, Transfiguration, Charms, History, breakfast, and all day yesterday, NO!"
"Why do you even bother James?" Remus Lupin asked his best friend as they left.
"Yeah." Sirius added. "She's NOT going to go with you EVER."
"I have my reasons." James told his friends. "She can be such a vixen at times."
"Vixen?" Spica repeated interested.
Lily stiffened at this. Spica was considering what Potter called her as her nickname.
"No" Spica said dejectedly.
Lily relaxed.
"VIXY!" Spica exclaimed.
"Yes!" Sara agreed. "You're a fox!"
"AND," Melissa added as Spica wrote Lily's new nickname in the journal. "As a name that represents fox, it can mean that you're sly."
"I am NOT sly!" Lily lied.
"Sure." Sara said sarcastically. "Whose idea was it to blame the boys when she and her friends charmed the Great Hall during the Christmas dinner to actually snow?"
"And whose idea was it to charm the hats to fly to Potter's antlers last month?" Melissa added with a laugh. "He looked like a hat rack."
"And whose idea was it to lock you and Potter in the Room of Requirement last year?" Spica continued.
"Spica." Melissa warned before whispering to Spica "that was you."
"Oops. Scratch that. Okay. I have one. Whose idea was it to brew Polyjuice Potion in Mrytle's bathroom so we could prank the boys?"
"I GET IT!" Lily sighed. "Me, me, I'm still trying to decide if it was you or Black, and Me! By the way, how IS the potion coming?"
"Perfectly. By this time next month, Hogwarts will be seeing double for an hour." Sara said.
"We'll let Spica get the DNA."
"And damage my bushy tail?" Spica argued.
"Bushtail?" Lily thought out loud. "Perfect."
"Me and my big mouth." Spica said as Lily wrote the name next to Spica's name in the journal. "All we have left is Mel."
"I've already done my research." Melissa said. "Adolpha."
"Adolpha?" the girls asked.
"I heard the name and the meaning and I liked it."
"Hmm." The girls eyed her suspiciously.
"It's true." Melissa defended. She wasn't going to tell them who told her.
"We believe you." Spica said.
"So, we have Easter, Vixy, Adolpha, and Bushtail." Sara confirmed
"It's official." Lily announced. "We have done something the boys will never do."
Little did she know, that by next October, she would be proven wrong.
00000000000000000000000
Marauders:
Fifth year Remus Lupin laid upon his bed deep in thought. He felt so stupid at the moment. He knew Melissa Oxford for four years, going on five now, and he JUST now realized his feelings for her. Now that he really thought hard about it, he realized he has had those feelings for three years.
"Hey Moon!" Sirius yelled. "C'mon! We're going to prank…"
"Shhh." James teased. "Don't tell him. He's a PREFECT."
Remus rolled his eyes.
"Oops." Sirius said as he joined in the teasing. "Sorry. Forget I said that Prefect Lupin."
"Remus wouldn't tell." Peter told his friends. "Would you?"
Remus sat up in the bed and looked at the three. They had kept his secret.
"No Peter." Remus sighed. "I won't tell."
Three grins were pasted on the three troublemakers.
"Thanks Moony!" Sirius said. "We're going to…"
"Sirius!" James warned before whispering something in Sirius' ear.
"Right." Sirius said like he remembered something. "You rest Moony. Tomorrow night is the Full Moon."
0000
A few minutes later in the Room of Requirement,
"Why didn't we tell Remus?" Peter asked.
"Because we're not going to prank. That was just a story Sirius cooked up. We're really going to finish that little surprise we have for him." James told him.
"Do you think he suspects after last year's mistakes?" Sirius asked.
Last year, the three had tried to transform but there were still some glitches. For an entire week, Peter had whiskers, Sirius had a tail, and James had antlers. They had told Remus that those were merely the results of a prank gone wrong.
"He might." James stated. "But it's too late now. On the count of four. One…"
"Why four?" Peter interrupted.
"One for each Marauder." James said. "One…"
"…Two…" Sirius added
"…Three…" Peter squeaked
"FOUR!" The boys yelled.
0000
A tired Remus was slowly nibbling on his breakfast when his friends came down from sleeping in.
"I am NOT!" Sirius was arguing with James. "Moony? Do I look like a mutt?"
Remus looked confused about this question.
"Ixnay." James warned. "Are you ready for tonight Remus?"
"As I'll ever be." Remus told him.
0000
That night,
Remus waited patiently in the Shireking Shack for the moon to rise. He heard the faint scratch of a rodent scurrying across the floor in the hall. Then, he heard the squeaking of the trap door.
Before Remus could do anything, the full moon rose and bathed him in moonlight. Remus went ridged as he felt the searing pain of his body changing. Within the minute, Remus Lupin had become a full-fledge werewolf.
The werewolf sniffed the air and smelt a smell that was different. It broke the door to the room down and explored the hallways. When it got down the stairs, it saw a large white stag, a big black dog, and a brown rat. The wolf sniffed the animals. Suddenly, the dog tackled the werewolf playfully. The stag joined in the playing while the rat just stood to the side.
During the play-fight, something happened to the werewolf. Memories of its moments as a human came flooding back to him. This probably had something to do with the scents of these animals. He KNEW them from somewhere. He just couldn't place them at the moment.
0000
The next morning,
Remus woke up squished between a stag and a dog. A rat was curled up next to the dog. It had not been a dream.
"Could it…no!" Remus said quietly. "No way. They may be idiots, but they're not THAT stupid."
Remus looked at the three sleeping animals.
"No." Remus repeated to himself as he left the animals and headed for the Hospital Wing. "It can't be. It's ridiculous."
0000
The next day,
Remus was confused. His friends had not come to visit him the previous day like they always do. Madame Pomfrey told Remus it was because they had detention for sleeping in class. Remus found his friends at breakfast.
"What's wrong with Padfoot?" Sirius asked James.
"Because it sounds like you're quiet." James told him. "That is a complete lie."
"But my feet have pads!" Sirius argued before giving James the puppy dog pout.
"Fine." James sighed. "You can be Padfoot."
"Yes!" Sirius said sticking his arm out and bringing it back in. "Thanks Bambi."
James glared at his friend before smirking. "No problem…Snuffles."
"WHAT are you idiots talking about?" Remus asked them as he joined his friends.
"Nicknames." Peter told his werewolf friend.
"I'm Padfoot, Pete is Wormtail, and James is Bambi." Sirius added.
James whacked Sirius upside the head. "I TOLD you before. It's PRONGS!"
"Whatever you say, Antler-boy." Sirius teased. "Say "Hi" to Father Christmas for me."
"I'll make sure he gives you coal." James replied before turning to Remus. "Did you have fun the other night?"
"I sure did." Sirius answered.
"I wasn't talking to you Snuffles." James said.
"It was okay, I guess." Remus replied still in denial about those animals. "Where are you guys getting these nicknames?"
"From our animammmph." Peter started to reply before James covered his mouth.
"Not out loud." James whispered. "We'll get in bigger trouble than that time we dared Gudgeon to go near the Whomping Willow first year."
Remus' worst fear had become a reality as he finally placed those scents.
"You didn't." Remus groaned. "PLEASE tell me you didn't."
"Depends." Sirius said with a smirk. "What didn't we do?"
Remus stood up and led his friends to an abandoned classroom. When they got there,
"You could get in HUGE TROUBLE!" Remus scolded.
"What IS he talking about Prongs?" Sirius asked James jokingly
"It's too late Moony." James told his friend. "What's done is done. We did it so you wouldn't be alone on those nights. NOBODY should have to go through that alone. Wormtail described your transformation."
Remus looked at Peter in horror. Peter could have been killed. Or worse.
"I was in my form." Peter whispered. "You won't tell. Will you?"
The wheels in Remus' head were turning. His friends had become animagi…illegally. Not to mention that Remus could have killed any of them that night. And what if something had gone wrong and one, if not all, of them couldn't transform. He could have bitten them.
Then, Remus remembered something about that night. The wolf part had backed off. Just a bit, but still backed off just the same. His friends had helped him.
"Moony?" James asked worried about his silent friend.
POP
Remus snapped out of his thoughts to find Sirius replaced by the black dog.
The dog looked at Remus with huge gray eyes and whimpered.
Remus sighed with a soft laugh at Sirius' antics. His friend had perfected the puppy-dog pout.
"Fine." Remus sighed "I won't tell."
"Thanks Moony." James and Peter said.
Padfoot jumped on Remus and started licking the werewolf's face.
"Stop that!" Remus said laughing. "That tickles!"
"Not to mention it's disgusting." James added with a face.
Padfoot changed back to his human form.
"Just getting the full experience." Sirius said.
"You guys are idiots." Remus said as he wiped the slobber off his face.
"But we're your idiots." James said.
"And I couldn't ask for better." Remus added.
"Idiots?" Peter asked confused.
"Friends." Remus corrected.
"GROUP HUG!" Sirius yelled
During the hug, the door opened.
"I'd hate to break this up, but you better get to class before you four get a detention." Professor McGonagall told them. She had heard Sirius yell.
"Okay Minnie." James said.
"Don't call me that." McGonagall told him as she left to go to her own classroom.
"Who's stupid idea was it for you three to do it?" Remus asked as they started to leave the classroom to go to Potions.
"James." Sirius and Peter said as James bowed.
Remus shook his head then remembered something.
Flashback
"I am NOT!" Sirius was arguing with James. "Moony? Do I look like a mutt?"
End Flashback
"By the way," Remus said to Sirius. "You DO look like a mutt."
"I TOLD you." James said to Sirius.
"Shut up Bambi." Sirius said.
The End