Planning over Christmas
Over the next week, James and Sirius accompanied Peter to the passage behind the mirror to read over Transfiguration textbooks. When they peeked through the mirror, they would occasionally spot the blonde girl who had first led James and Sirius to the secret passage, but she would only giggle shyly at their greetings before flitting out of the frame. In the passage itself, the boys were able to read uninhibited in the self-sustained lighting. When chasing James and Sirius a year ago, Filch had passed right by the tunnel without discovering its presence, so they had no fear of being caught.
Eventually, they started reading their regular textbooks as well, since their classes had grown too difficult to ignore for the hours they would spend in the passage. But despite the piles of homework that Flitwick and Vector set on them, James had his mind on more than just Animagi: Christmas.
"I'll lie and say that I'm staying at Hogwarts for the holidays," Sirius told James and Peter one day in early December. "My parents can't exactly force me to come home, even with my grandfather standing over my shoulder. But that's where your Invisibility Cloak comes in, James. Once I put that on, I'm just one train ride away from Godric's Hollow!"
"I've got permission to spend the whole break with your family," Peter added, bouncing up and down as he talked to James. "We'll pick up the Animagus Potion together, and then we can finally tell Remus!"
James made Peter promise not to tell Remus that the three of them were spending Christmas at the Potters' without him. With Sirius, it was a simple enough matter—he always went to James' house for the holidays, and not even Remus would object to him sneaking away from the castle without his family's permission. The only problem that James could foresee was breaking away from Remus at King's Cross Station. However, it was Remus himself that solved the issue a week before their departure.
"I'm staying at Hogwarts over Christmas."
"You're staying?" James, Sirius, and Peter exclaimed in unison.
"A few prefects have to stay over the holidays, and I volunteered," Remus explained. "It's not a big deal, really."
"But everyone here thinks that you love it at home!" James quipped. "You go back every month, don't you?"
"But that's just it," Remus said, looking away. "It's getting harder to hide that I'm a werewolf. Now that I'm older, I've been getting more and more dangerous—my family had to move towns twice over the summer. I'll be transforming over the break, and I'd rather not bother my parents with having to contain me. Besides, no one misses me when I'm in the Shrieking Shack. It'll be better for everyone this way."
Despite Remus' assurances, the others shared meaningful glances. Although Remus said nothing to confirm his suspicions, James wondered if everything was alright in the Lupin household. At the beginning of the summer, Mr. Lupin had confessed that he was responsible for angering Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf that had bitten Remus as a child, and although Remus had seemed to take the news well, his feelings might have changed over the summer. Since Remus had spent the train ride to Hogwarts in the prefects' car, James had missed the chance to hear about his summer, and he wondered how Mrs. Lupin had reacted to her husband's confession.
When the day of the return journey came, Remus bid his roommates goodbye before heading off for patrol duty in the west wing, and the others hid Sirius in James' Invisibility Cloak before exiting to the grounds. Thankfully, they stepped past Filch without any problems, and Pollux was nowhere to be seen in the lower hallways. Only a few days before, he had cornered Sirius during a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson and forced a response out of him concerning his holiday plans. Although he had not pressed for any more information after Sirius declared that he would be staying at Hogwarts, Pollux gave one of his usual scowls and turned a dark look on James as he stalked past him.
Once Sirius had safely accompanied the others onto the Hogwarts Express, he was less careful about concealing himself under the Invisibility Cloak, and passing students would occasionally do a double-take at Sirius' disembodied hand reaching for another pumpkin pasty. For his part, Peter suggested hesitantly to the others that they should take greater care with keeping Sirius hidden, and James agreed to sandwich their friend between them when moving off the train.
Together, the three of them stepped onto the platform, but they collided unceremoniously when Peter suddenly froze in front of the others. Having uttered an inhuman squeak, Peter stared unblinkingly up at Mrs. Black, who was standing near the compartment door and had turned her cold gaze on him. For a moment, James thought that she would just walk on, but her eyes flashed when she spotted James standing behind Peter.
"Just when I thought that I wouldn't be hearing from my son," she spoke, placing her hands on her hips. "You two can tell me why he decided to stay away for the holidays, can't you?"
"Er . . ." Stalling as he tried to come up with a response, James reached out his hand to pull Sirius back, but he froze again when Mrs. Black followed his movement. Snapping his hand back to his side, he met her eyes and fought the urge to flee. "I dunno, he didn't seem too keen on coming back," he finally replied, adopting a more aggressive pose. "Maybe you should ask him yourself."
"I would if he paid any attention to the Howlers," she sighed, glancing off into the interior of the train station. Using the moment to move forward, James tried to push Sirius away, but his hands ran up against empty air. For a split second, he panicked and thought that Mrs. Black had spotted her son farther off, but he soon relaxed when she turned to face him without a word. Maybe Sirius had safely gotten away.
"You'll understand if I blame you and your family for his sudden change of character," Mrs. Black continued, narrowing her black eyes. "Sirius was much more mild-mannered before meeting you."
At this, she began to advance, and James rooted himself to the spot so she would not have the pleasure of seeing him flee. Peter, on the other hand, backed behind James and left him standing in the front, craning his head back to stare into Mrs. Black's sparking eyes. At such a close range, he was finally able to appreciate just how tall she was.
"It's you I blame more than your parents," she spoke again through her teeth. "You're just the sort of boy to encourage his irregular tendencies."
"I don't think that he needed any help," James responded on instinct, and the sudden glint in Mrs. Black's eyes warned him of his mistake. Taking a preemptive half-step back, he lowered his hand to his wand and kept his eyes locked on hers.
"Don't be a fool. What would I do to you in the middle of this repugnant hovel?" Mrs. Black sneered, glancing once again over the train station. Breaking her stare to look back at James, she lifted one corner of her bright red lips. "At least you're smarter than Sirius. He never knew when to stop."
Although James opened his mouth to respond, his retort never made it past a first peep, because in that moment, Mrs. Black's skirt was viciously yanked from behind. Crying out, Sirius' mother hit the pavement where James and Peter had just been standing before leaping backwards, and they stared at her with open mouths.
"Run!" Sirius' disembodied voice cried, jerking the others into action before Mrs. Black could fully rise to her feet. Dashing through the crowd behind Peter, James threw one last glance over his shoulder at Mrs. Black, who had propped herself up to a kneeling position.
"YOU'LL REGRET THIS!" she screeched amid the staring passersby, but the boys soon sprinted from her view.
Finally coming to a stop a minute or so later, James and Peter panted while Sirius ripped off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it away.
"Why are all of your family members so terrifying?" Peter asked Sirius in between gasps.
"I wish I knew," he huffed before beginning the search for James' parents.
The welcome to Potter Cottage was swift and warm, and the boys spent the next few days touring their favorite stops in Godric's Hollow. Unfortunately, they had a bit of trouble getting away from James' parents long enough to pick up the Animagus Potion, mostly because they refused to leave the boys on their own. Whenever James mentioned that they were going out to town, one of his parents would inevitably suggest that they all go together, which ended with many an unrewarding day trip. Eventually, a few days into Christmas break, James' parents announced their need for a private shopping trip, and James took the opportunity to round up his friends before they could return.
"We should only be gone for a couple of hours," James' mother announced before stepping into the fireplace. "Winthrop will be here if you need someone, and help yourselves to anything in the kitchen! There are still leftover crumpets from last night."
"Thanks, Mum!" James called before taking off down the hall, allowing his parents to successfully disappear through the Floo Network. Near the front door, he met Sirius and Peter with their winter coats already on, and he yelled to Winthrop as he stepped onto the porch. "We're going out, Winthrop! We'll be back soon!"
Without waiting for Winthrop's objection, the boys tromped down the front steps and onto the street, quickly following their usual path to Ms. Xu's apothecary. Their crunching footsteps in the thin layer of snow made it easy for anyone to follow them, but no one so much as glanced their way as they wound through the streets. Since Peter had never met Ms. Xu before, James and Sirius led the way to the front door of the unassuming flower shop near the center of town.
At the ringing of the bell when they entered, Ms. Xu glanced up from where she was tending to a nearby bouquet. "Who's this?"
"He's our third man," James assured her, nodding at Peter. "He's all right."
Nodding succinctly, the dark-haired witch allowed herself a small smile and beckoned them forward. "To the back, now. You know your way around."
Joining her behind the periwinkle curtain in the back of the shop, James rummaged around his pockets while Peter stared at the bottled herbs with poorly concealed awe. After a moment, James fished out the bag of Galleons he had hidden away and bounced it in his palm before giving it to Ms. Xu, knowing that she would want to be paid before letting them see her results.
"Where's the potion?" he asked.
In response, the witch drew out her wand and tapped the top of a small cabinet. A lock clicked open, and four bottles levitated to a nearby table. One of them was filled with a shiny, silvery liquid, and the other three held a single Mandrake leaf.
"Er . . . they are finished, aren't they?" Peter spoke up, leaning closer to the vials.
"I've done the hardest part for you boys, but the rest lies up to you," Ms. Xu explained. "All the ingredients are gathered, but the timing of adding each part is critical. As you well know, the process starts with holding a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month—"
"Wait, what?" Peter yelped, and James and Sirius silenced him with a shove while Ms. Xu kept on.
"—but you have to make sure that the termination of the month-long period ends during the full moon. If the light of the full moon doesn't hit the leaf as soon as you place it in the vial, the whole process will have to be started again. This stage is especially critical. If the sky is cloudy, find a spell to change the weather. Do whatever it takes to complete the first part successfully."
"And then?" James prodded.
"Once the Mandrake leaves are prepared, add a strand of your hair to your bottle, then a teaspoon of this dew," Ms. Xu instructed, picking up the bottle of silvery liquid and shaking it. "It's already been prepared to fit the potion's specific needs. All you need to do is measure out the portions with a silver teaspoon, otherwise you could end up with permanent half-animal characteristics."
Gulping, the three boys listened intently while she paused. "Do you still have the hawkmoth chrysalises?"
"All three of them," James affirmed. "They're at my house."
"That's the last ingredient," she said. "Add one of the chrysalises, and store the potions in a dark, quiet place. When the next lightning storm hits, the potion should turn blood red. Make sure you drink the potion before the storm ends, or it could lose its potency. Have you got that?"
Silently, the boys turned to each other, and the aging witch sighed. "Look, if the Animagus Potion was any less detailed to brew, I would finish it for you. But the fact is, most of it lies up to the drinker. If you want to become Animagi, you'll have to complete the potion at Hogwarts."
"We understand," James told her. "You've done all you can. We'll take the ingredients."
Nodding, Ms. Xu handed each of the boys a bottle, giving James the extra vial of dew. After stepping back, she studied the three of them with her thin lips pressed together.
"You take care now, all right?" she spoke in a gravelly voice, but it had softened more than usual.
"Thanks for everything," Sirius replied, and Ms. Xu turned her back to the boys as they filed from her shop.
Once outside, Peter rounded on the others. "How are we going to hold the Mandrake leaves in our mouths for a whole month? Somebody is sure to find us out!"
"That's what I can't figure out, either," Sirius added. "Hiding the potion is simple enough—we can just use the secret passage behind the mirror or put it somewhere in our room—but how will we get away with keeping the Mandrake leaves in our mouth for that long? Professor McGonagall will sniff us out faster than Mrs. Norris can catch a student out of bed, seeing as she's an Animagus herself."
"We'll just have to keep our mouths shut," James suggested. "That's not too hard, is it?"
"What if we're called on in class?" Peter objected.
"He's got a point, James," Sirius agreed. "Keeping quiet might work for Remus or Peter here, but you and I aren't exactly the quietest students."
Considering this, James ran a hand through his hair and whistled through his teeth. "I guess we'll just have to keep thinking," he finally said. "Do any of you know when we're supposed to start? When's the next full moon, anyway?"
"It should be in a week or so," Sirius said. "It was pretty bright out last night."
"Then we'll need to start preparing the Mandrake leaves soon," James pointed out. "Hopefully, we won't have to start while we're still at my parents'."
"We can look over a moon chart when we get back," Sirius suggested, and the others voiced their agreement.
James' parents were still gone by the time they returned, so they hurried straight to the reading room. Fortunately, James knew where his parents kept the moon charts, but it would take some time to go through them. Remus always had a few charts on hand at Hogwarts and could read them quite easily, but James found them difficult to decipher without a Lunascope as an aide.
"If I'm reading this correctly," Sirius said after a few minutes' silence, "the first full moon in January is on the 71st . . ."
"I think that says the 17th," Peter corrected, leaning over.
"Oh. Yeah, that makes more sense," Sirius agreed, squinting. "That's only a week or so after we get back to school, and we don't have a month before then to prepare the Mandrake leaves."
"When's the next full moon?" James questioned, having given up with his own moon chart. For a few long moments, all three peered at Sirius' chart, and Sirius finally laid a finger on a diagram of a white orb.
"There," he said. "The fifteenth of February."
"It looks like we'll have to wait until the middle of January to start," James decided. "I guess we can't spend Christmas without talking, anyway. If my parents suspected that we were trying to become Animagi, I don't know what they'd—"
Suddenly, the opening of a door from downstairs cut him off, and James motioned for the others to put away the moon charts as his father yelled from below.
"James? Sirius, Peter? We're back! Did you want to help set up the pixie lights?"
"Coming!" James called back before hissing to his friends. "I'll take care of them! Just make sure that everything gets put away where you fou—"
He jerked open the door to the reading room, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Winthrop on the other side with a duster. The house-elf's eyes had grown to twice their usual size, and from the sudden silence, James could tell that Sirius and Peter had frozen with their arms around the incriminating rolls of parchment.
"How much did you hear?" James finally managed to hiss, but he already knew the answer. At the sound of pattering footsteps from downstairs, Winthrop turned his bright eyes over his shoulder.
"James, are you coming?" James' father called again, and Winthrop's gaze turned back to James. James' throat started to lock up, and he stared at Winthrop pleadingly.
After what seemed like ages, Winthrop glanced away. "Master Fleamont must not worry," he yelled. "Master James and his friends are on their way."
"Tell them to hurry, or I'll do it all without them!" James' father answered, and James, Sirius, and Peter gaped at Winthrop as he turned back around.
"Master James had better go down quickly," the house-elf advised, narrowing his eyes.
Unfreezing, Sirius and Peter launched back into action, hurriedly returning the moon charts to their places. When they had finished, they brushed past James and headed down the hallway, but James stopped before leaving the room.
"Thanks, Winthrop," he whispered.
"Master James ought to tread carefully," Winthrop warned. "Winthrop will be watching for any mischief."
Without another word, he turned and waddled into the reading room to begin his dusting. Backing away slowly, James waited until the door had closed before turning and running after his friends.