The forest floor was blanketed with a thick carpet of leaves that crunched underfoot. The pale November sky was just visible through the tangle of branches overhead, though grey clouds blotted out the last gasps of sunlight. There was a touch of rain in the air: A storm was brewing.
Remus, James, and Peter were all lounging comfortably on the ground in their usual way, a few paces deep into the Forbidden Forest where they could loiter without being spotted. Hagrid had found them a few times over the years and told them off appropriately, but he never had the heart to punish them, so they kept coming back. And now that they had a real reason, the forest forays had only increased in frequency.
Ever since the reveal of their big secret, Remus had been invited along on these outings, which mostly consisted of Sirius chasing squirrels up trees while James and Peter pretended to meditate until they got bored. Presently, James was throwing sticks for Sirius, and Peter was roasting a marshmallow on the levitating fire that Remus had conjured. Remus himself observed the events from underneath a cozy tartan throw he'd brought along for the occasion. Sirius had made fun of him, but it was November, after all.
"Who knew Sirius would be so good at fetch?" said Peter, watching as the big black dog that was their friend bounded back to them with leaf-fluttering joy.
"We'll have to try it some time when he's in human form," said Remus. "See if any animal instincts spill over."
James snickered. "If we can train him to sit on command, I will never bored again."
"You ought to be careful," warned Remus. "We don't know what you are yet. There's the danger of precedence, you know."
James grinned, but then his expression faltered and he let himself fall back onto the ground, arms tucked beneath his head. "It's so frustrating. I'm good at transfiguration. I did all the legwork leading up to this. So why can't I transform already?"
Remus didn't respond right away. He knew James was feeling put out. It had been nearly two weeks since Sirius shocked them all with his sudden canine metamorphosis, and James had remained stalwartly human. Sirius, for his part, had casually told his friend not to sweat it, which of course hadn't helped in the slightest. Being extremely good at things came naturally to Sirius, and sometimes he didn't realize the effect it had on those around him. Remus knew the feeling well. He could study and study and study and just barely match scores with Sirius, who'd woken up in the morning, glanced at his textbook in disdain, and waltzed off to take the exam. It was more than frustrating. It was infuriating.
James was really good at things too, except that Remus knew he secretly put a lot of work into school. He just wanted everyone to think it was as easy for him as it was for Sirius. It took a lot to unsettle James's ever-present good cheer, but Remus had noticed the faint tinge of jealousy tarnishing his friend's mood lately. Remus could of course remind him that becoming an Animagus was an almost unthinkably difficult feat, that it was incredible they'd gotten as far as they had with all their limbs intact, etc, etc…but it wouldn't make any difference to James. Sirius had done it, and so should he.
"Maybe we're trying too hard," offered Peter, philosophically skewering another marshmallow onto a stick. "Maybe we need to get really drunk again and then try."
As James and Peter debated the merits of transfiguring under the influence, Remus watched Sirius caper over to a flock of birds, sending them fluttering skyward to the safety of trees.
It was still surreal to him what they'd done. He couldn't quite process it. Animagi. Every time he thought about it, he felt as though his heart had climbed into his throat and was beating its way out. They wanted to come with him during the full moon. They wanted to 'hang out' with a werewolf. They didn't see the animal in him as something dirty, disgraceful, evil…they were becoming animals themselves. For him.
Of course, said the voice in his head, they haven't met the wolf yet. They only know you…
But he wasn't going to worry about that now.
Next to him, James had shut his eyes again and Peter followed suit. Whether they were meditating or merely napping was unclear. Sirius the dog, finally tiring, padded over and sprawled out beside Remus, basking in the halo of warmth from the fire. Remus, who was always exhausted, decided to join them, reclining into the crisp foliage, closing his eyes, and letting an overwhelming wave of admiration and gratitude envelope him like the tartan blanket under which he huddled. His brilliant, wild, mental friends.
He wasn't sure if he'd drifted off to sleep or if he'd just let himself be hypnotized by the soft susurration of leaves and forest noises, but eventually, Remus felt a soft splash of something wet hit his forehead. A raindrop? It was awfully nice, lying there nestled under the blanket, the warmth of the fire beside him. With the reluctant air of one waking up from a nice dream, Remus opened his eyes.
Hovering above him was the massive muzzle of a — a horse or something? Its nose was quivering inches from Remus's own and two warm eyes blinked intently back at him. It cocked its head to the side, and as it did so great twisting prongs of antlers swung into view. The beast gave a curious snort, a whiffle of air puffing against Remus's cheek.
This was a lot of new information for Remus's sleepy mind to take in so quickly, and his reaction was straightforward, if inelegant.
"Aaarrrrghhh!" he hollered, scrambling backwards and away in alarm.
This was perhaps not the best course of action. The great beast, startled by the sudden movement and noise, reared its head back and took off in a frenetic splay of limbs and antlers.
A stag, Remus thought.
"Whassamatter?" said Peter, sitting up jerkily beside him. Sirius, still in dog form, was on his feet, ears pricked forward, alert and growling.
The stag was still bounding away…or trying to. It was an enormous thing, all muscles and meat, covered in a buff-brown coat. It looked as though it might be something really impressive, except that presently it was moving as though it had just discovered it had limbs. A full-grown fawn in the woods. Eventually, a misplaced hoof sent its massive weight sprawling to the ground.
"Where's James?" said Peter suddenly, looking about.
Something clicked in Remus's mind, and he stood up quickly, gazing at the great stag in awe. "James?"
The stag leapt to its feet at once, wobbling a little and giving Remus a look not at all unlike a cat who's just fallen off something and wants very much for you to believe it was intentional. Definitely James.
Remus began to laugh, a bit hysterically.
"That's James?" said Peter, gaping. "Are you sure?"
Sirius the dog went to investigate. He trotted over, tail twitching, and sniffed around the stag's hoofs, its hocks, its arse. The stag gave a disgruntled little snort, and Sirius the dog barked with glee, taking off and running circles around the gigantic beast.
James the stag — for Remus was certain it was him — watched this performance a little resentfully, then took a few tottering steps on his slender, spindly legs.
"Unbelievable," Remus breathed. He walked carefully towards the stag, Peter a few paces behind him. The stag tilted his head interestedly and took another step forward. Then they were face to face, and Remus tentatively reached his hand out and placed it on the large muzzle. The stag stood stock still, blinking those large, doleful eyes at him. Up close, Remus noticed faint markings around his eyes, reminiscent of a pair of square specs.
"He's enormous," said Peter.
"He's amazing," said Remus.
Then, with a small shiver, the stag twisted his head away, and suddenly antlers were shrinking into nothing, the great hulking body diminished, and James stood before them, all muss-haired, gangle-legged and grinning. Remus quickly snatched his hand away.
"Amazing, eh?" said James with a smug grin.
"Well," Remus deflected, "you're much more impressive when you stand still, just so you know."
"You looked like you were running on ice," snickered Peter.
"Hey, those legs are hard to get used to, all right?"
Just then, Sirius came scampering back, still a dog, and, recognizing James in human form, he promptly knocked him to the ground.
"Get off!" James laughed, struggling to push the massive dog off his chest. "Get off, Sirius." There followed a confusing tangle of limbs as Sirius transformed back into human form, collapsing onto the thick carpet of leaves with breathless laughter.
"I can't believe we didn't guess you'd be a stag, with those stupid knobs on your head!"
"I must say, I'm a little disappointed I'm not a rhinoceros," said James, but he didn't look disappointed at all. He looked thrilled. "Bloody hell, that was incredible. I want to go again."
A great crackle of thunder reverberated across the sky and a handful of heavy droplets landed on Remus's head. "I think," he said, glancing skyward and then back at the now hissing fire, "we might want to get inside."
"Bugger," said James.