Chapter 11

Here's the rough version of chapter 11. Sorry about any mistakes, it will be revised soon. Feel free to point out any grammar errors(since I don't have a beta atm). Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, keep them coming. I'd also like to quickly remind you that this is a comedy/parody/crack fic, so if it seems a bit over-the-top, that's why.

Severus Snape furiously stomped into the staffroom, dramatically slamming the door behind him.

"Hello, Severus," Minerva greeted. "What seems to be the reason behind your...extraordinarily wonderful mood today?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"The Potter spawn is insufferable! A carbon copy of his father, he is. It seems as though growing up with Black and Lupin, as well, has made him absolutely unbearable to be around," Severus huffed.

"Yes, yes. He does seem to take after James Potter," Minerva said fondly. "Mr Potter is very adept at Transfiguration. He managed to Transfigure his match stick into a needle both wandlessly and wordlessly. I'd dare say he's even more talented than his father."

"He is also very gifted in Charms," Filius piped up. "I did not believe the speed at which he completed his first spell, I would've thought he'd done it 1000 times before!"

"That isn't what I meant!" Severus glowered at the two teachers. "He's arrogant, foolish, and...do you know what he had the nerve to ask me?"

"Please, tell us," Pomona said curiously. "He did ask a lot of questions in my class, very advanced questions about Herbology! Beyond NEWT level. From your tone of voice though, I'm assuming it was a question not relating to course work?"

"He asked me if I wanted a signed photograph of him...and even went on to offer me a professors' discount!" Snape bellowed, outraged.

Minerva couldn't seem to keep a smile off her face, clearly not sharing Severus's indignation. "Yes, I did notice that he seems a bit...eccentric when dealing with fame. However, despite the public persona he puts on, he appears to be a very kind boy, kinder than James Potter was at that age, anyhow. When the Longbottom boy was struggling in class, he immediately dropped his things to help him. Not to mention, he's even befriended the Malfoy boy, despite being sorted into rival Houses. I couldn't imagine James Potter doing something like that. He's a lot like his mother in many ways, as well," Minerva mentioned.

"Oh, any ounce of Lily in him seems to be overpowered by the Potter disease. As for Malfoy? Trust me when I say, there is no way the Malfoy boy actually likes Potter. He's simply using him for his fame. No Slytherin in their right mind would actually befriend a Gryffindor," Severus scoffed.

"Are you saying we can't be friends, Severus?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that underneath all the rivalry, we tolerated each other to a point where we could be considered, 'friends'. And...what of your friendship with the boy's mother, Lily was a Gryffindor, was she not?"

Severus just grunted in response, not really having a retort to Minverva. He was just upset about being the lone wolf that disliked Potter. Not that it was unexpected, anyway. Just incredibly annoying. Everyone seemed to worship the boy. Potter had everyone fooled, thinking he was such a sweet, innocent saint, but Severus knew the truth.

"Did I mention that he already managed to secure detention with me tonight?" Severus added after a few moments. "Seems as though he's also a troublemaker, just like his father."

"Yes, well, I do expect him to be a handful, he seems to be the leader of his little posse, just like his father and Sirius Black were," Minerva responded, still smiling.

Severus scoffed again, and turned away for a moment, having had enough of the Potter-worshiping.

"I'm excited to see how he fares on a broomstick," Rolanda Hooch chimed in.

Looking up from his pumpkin juice, Severus grumbled, "who cares?" Seeing as no one replied to his comment, they'd either not heard him, or were just straight up ignoring him.

"With how similar he is to his father, he's bound to be a great flier," Minerva replied happily. "I hope he's a good Seeker! The Gryffindor team could use one. Perhaps we could win the Quidditch Cup," Minerva said dreamily.

Severus sneered, still despising all the positive talk about Potter. Seriously, how did no one else have a negative experience with the boy? He was dreadful to be around. "First years aren't allowed brooms, Minerva. Even if Saint Potter were to be a good flier, he'd have to wait until next year," Severus reminded his former Transfiguration teacher.

"Yes, of course," Minerva responded, looking thoughtful. "We shall see, however..."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry made his way to the dungeons for his detention with Snape, opening the door and running in, only with one minute to spare. He'd gotten caught up planning a prank with the twins, and had nearly forgotten about his detention.

"You're late, Potter," Snape snapped.

"Actually, Professor, you told me to be here by seven, so I'm a whole minute early," Harry corrected.

Clearly, Snape hadn't wanted a response from Harry, if his death glare was anything to go by. "Get to work, Potter!"

"Ummm...Professor? I would 'get to work', but you haven't actually told me what you need me to do," Harry pointed out reasonably.

"Filch has a pile of detention records he needs reorganized and filed away. I believe you'll find your saintly father and his friends have their names involved in a large number of misdemeanors. For any slips that have been damaged, or the ink has faded, making it hard to read, I want you to copy down the crimes and punishments afresh. You then need to place them all in alphabetical order, before returning them into the correct boxes," Snape said tersely. "Well, don't just sit there staring at me, get on it!"

Interesting… Harry hadn't gotten this punishment until his sixth year back in the previous timeline, after he had nearly killed Draco Malfoy. Though he'd been annoyed with the punishment the previous time, he could now see that comparatively, organizing detention slips was a lot better than say, polishing trophies. Also, since his father and Sirius weren't dead this time around, some of their wrongdoings could potentially be amusing to him (as long as they didn't involve bullying), rather than fill him with guilt (as he'd felt responsible for their deaths before).

Harry got to work right away, reading through the petty misdemeanors of the Marauders, and occasionally having a giggle.

There was a slip about how the Marauders had turned the great hall into a giant chocolate fountain, but had dosed the chocolate with laxative potions, leaving a bunch of brown stains for poor Filch to clean up. Of course, they'd gotten two weeks of detention in the Forbidden Forest, but seeing as the four of them frequently explored the area at night, it wasn't exactly much of a punishment. Harry couldn't help himself. He laughed uncontrollably, nearly falling out of his chair in the process. Perhaps being in his 11 year old body made him act like a prepubescent boy in some ways, resulting in him finding poop jokes especially funny.

"Is something amusing to you, Potter?" Snape hissed. "Seems about right that a hooligan, like yourself, would find criminal acts comical."

"Not at all, Professor," Harry coughed, trying to conceal another chuckle. "I've been feeling a bit under the weather...had a bad coughing fit, you see."

"Hmmmph," Snape grunted. "A bit under the weather, you say?" he added, clearly not believing Harry.

"It's another way of saying, 'I'm feeling a bit sick'," Harry replied.

"I know what it means, Potter!" Snape snarled.

Deciding that maybe he ought to at least try to make their relationship a bit more amicable, Harry changed the subject. "Mum says you were the one who told her she was a witch. She also said that you were her best friend growing up. What was she like back then?"

Snape's eyes softened for a moment, and as he talked about Lily, he almost...smiled. "Lily was kind, and had a great deal of empathy for others, especially for those who were considered 'underdogs'." Just as quickly as the slight smile appeared on his face, his signature sneer returned. "Regrettably, you seem to take after your arrogant father and his friends, rather than your mother…such a shame…"

Harry automatically rolled his eyes in response. Even in the previous timeline, when he hadn't gone out of his way to act like James in front of Snape, Snape still stubbornly believed that Harry was just like his father. Harry believed he was a lot like his mother in some aspects now, and had definitely taken more after his mother in the first timeline. Alas, Snape had been too stubborn to let himself see their similarities back then.

"Now, get back to work!" Snape barked.

"Yes," Harry answered tersely.

"Yes, sir," Snape snapped.

Remembering a line he'd used during his sixth year in the other timeline, the words left Harry's mouth before he could stop them. "There's no need to call me sir, Professor," Harry said sarcastically.

"You'll be serving detention with me every night for all of next week, Potter. I don't tolerate any cheek, though I'm sure your perfect father never taught you any manners," Snape flared.

Concluding that he probably shouldn't push the man any further over the edge, Harry quietly finished the files Snape had assigned him to organize for the night, and after receiving his detention slip for the next week, he walked towards the door without another word.

As he was about to open the door, Snape spoke up again. "By the end of next week, I expect that all the files are finished."

Harry turned back around and nodded.

"Why are you still here?! Get out!"

Yikes. Evidently, Harry still had a talent for putting Snape in a foul mood.

XXXXXXXXX

The next week, Harry served detention with Snape every night, tediously organizing all of the Marauders' detention slips. Somehow, it seemed as though Snape had exclusively given him the years the Marauders had been in school to organize, while the rest of the files had been done by Fred and George Weasley, who'd been serving detention at a separate time. Apparently, they'd magically glued Snape's potions cupboards shut over the weekend, and the spell they'd use was irreversible until it wore out (three days later). Of course, this prank was separate from the one Harry had been planning with the twins for about a week now. The scheme they were putting together against Quirrell was to be executed Friday morning.

When Thursday afternoon came around, it was time for their first Quidditch lesson. Harry made sure he was by Neville's side, while Draco was on Harry's other side, and Ron and Hermione stood next to each other on Neville's other side. Harry had already done his best to try and calm Neville down in hopes that he wouldn't lose control of his broom, but it seemed that Neville was still more nervous than ever.

"These school brooms are ghastly!" Draco moaned. "I wish I could bring my Nimbus 2000 down from my dorm room."

"Quit whining, Draco. Remember what I said before? We'll both be Seekers soon enough," Harry replied.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"What's the point of that?" Harry wondered. "You do realize that we can just pick the brooms up and fly them. It isn't like saying the word 'up' makes flying any easier. When we fly on Quidditch teams, we aren't going to all lay our brooms down and say 'up' before we fly out to the pitch. Overall, this seems like a waste of time," Harry pointed out.

"It's tradition, Mr Potter. Every flying lesson starts with this exercise," Madam Hooch replied, clearly not having a better answer.

"Eh, whatever. It seems like wizards have a bunch of pointless traditions. Not that Muggles don't, of course." Harry shrugged.

"Up!" Harry and the rest of the class yelled.

Harry grinned as his broom was one of the first ones to come flying right into his hand. He and Draco had a laugh at Ron's expense when the redheaded boy's broom smacked him in the face on its way up. Fortunately for Ron, he was also able to laugh right back at Draco when Madam Hooch corrected his mounting technique.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —"

Unfortunately, it seemed that Neville's nerves had gotten the better of him again, as he slowly began rising in the air, losing control of his broom. This time, it appeared as though Neville was rising higher and faster than he had before. The poor kid was around 50 feet in the air already!

"Boy! Get back down here, right now!" Madam Hooch yelled.

Yes, because screaming at a boy who's lost control of his broom will help him get down safely… After noticing that Neville's Remembrall had fallen on the ground while Neville had been thrown in the air, Harry picked it up. "If you want to make the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Seeker, do as I say," Harry whispered to Draco. "Now, get up in the air with me, and I'll tell you what to do next."

Draco gave him an odd look, before shrugging and taking off into the air with Harry.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where do you two think you're going?! Everyone, on the ground! Now!" Madam Hooch screeched.

Ignoring Madam Hooch, Harry raced towards Neville, with Draco following close behind. Harry and Draco stopped a few yards below where Neville was barely hanging onto his broom. The three of them appeared to be near the window of the Transfiguration classroom.

"Nev! I need you to let go! I'm going to catch you!" Harry yelled.

"W-What?" Neville looked even more terrified.

"Just let go!" Harry tried again.

Neville reluctantly let go of his broom, and as he began falling through the air, Harry grabbed his friend's hand, and tried to help Neville onto his broomstick. The two struggled for a bit, and Harry soon realized that he had overestimated his strength. When he'd impulsively made his plan, he'd forgotten that he was a scrawny 11 year old with absolutely no upper-body strength.

To Harry's surprise, Draco grabbed Neville's other hand, and helped Harry prop Neville on Harry's broom. Harry supposed that other than Harry himself, the only other person in their group that Draco didn't hate on principle (or personality wise) was Neville. While the boy was shy and awkward, he was also from a wizarding family, unlike Hermione, and didn't argue with Draco incessantly the way Ron did (or have a father with a longstanding feud with Lucius). Some would probably even classify Draco and Neville as almost...friends. So maybe it wasn't that strange that Draco was willing to help Neville. It was just that Harry was still getting used to seeing Draco as an ally, and not an evil prick.

"Draco, catch this!" Harry shouted, "accidentally" dropping the Remembrall before flying towards the ground with Neville. The landing was a bit rough, since racing brooms were rather difficult to balance with two people.

Not too long after, Draco landed beside them, Remembrall in hand. "Longb...Neville, here's your Remembrall."

Neville gratefully stuck the Remembrall back in his pocket. "T-Thanks, guys, I don't know-"

"You foolish boys!" Hooch exclaimed as she ran towards them, interrupting Neville. "You could've gotten yourselves killed-"

"HARRY POTTER AND DRACO MALFOY!" McGonagall cut in. She was heading their way, and looked absolutely furious. "I'll take care of this, Rolanda," McGonagall said, before walking closer to the two boys, glowering at them.

"As noble as your intentions were, boys, you could've broken your necks! You two should've waited for a teacher to handle it-"

"With all due respect, Professor, no one was doing anything to help Neville, and he would've broken his wrist, or worse, if Draco and I hadn't stepped in," Harry replied.

"Be that as it may, Potter," McGonagall acknowledged, "it was still a very reckless thing to do."

"So...you're saying I should've let my friend die or be seriously injured?" Harry retorted.

"No, of course not, Potter. All right, that's enough out of you. Potter, Malfoy, come with me," McGonagall said sternly.

"I thought you said we'd be Seekers!" Draco hissed in Harry's ear. "Now, it looks like we're about to be expelled! All because I followed an idiot Gryffindor to help save one of his stupid friends! Oh, when my father hears about this, he'll ground me until I'm 17!"

Harry noted that this was the first time he'd ever heard Draco use the phrase 'my father will hear about this' in a negative way. It seemed as though being friends with Draco allowed Harry to see a side of him that Harry had never seen before.

"Oh, don't fret, Draco! We are going to be Seekers, trust me. And even if she wasn't going to reward us for our awesome, heroic flying, we wouldn't get a worse punishment than detention. Dumbledore would never let the 'famous Boy-Who-Lived get expelled, especially for something as dumb as riding a broom," Harry reassured him.

"Maybe Dumbledore won't expel you, but he won't think twice about expelling me! Dumbledore is the one person that doesn't listen to my father!" Draco looked even paler than usual.

"First of all, in order for Dumbledore to expel you, your Head of House would have to file an official request for expulsion. Snape wouldn't do that because he likes you, and also because he's not stupid enough to expel someone over a broomstick. Secondly, if they expelled you, but didn't punish me, it would look like favoritism, so they wouldn't dare do that. Trust me, we're fine," Harry said.

Draco breathed out a sigh of relief.

McGonagall led them to the dungeons, where Snape was currently brewing some atrocious smelling potion. "Severus, I need to speak with you."

Using the Extendable Ears spell that George Weasley had invented after the war (based on the twins' earlier invention), Harry and Draco were able to listen in on the conversation taking place inside the Potions classroom.

McGonagall started out by explaining what she'd seen through the window of her classroom. When she first suggested that Harry and Draco be made members of their Quidditch House teams, Snape threw a fit (though he didn't seem all too opposed to the idea of Draco making the Slytherin team).

"Of course, bend the rules for Harry Potter. And teach him, what? That the rules don't apply to celebrities?" Snape snapped.

"You know as well as I do that the first year rule isn't a big deal. I'm sure Albus will make an exception-"

"Yes, perhaps he will. Because perfect Harry Potter can do no wrong. But what of Draco Malfoy? You don't suppose that Albus will make an exception for a Malfoy, do you?" Snape argued.

"Well, he can hardly allow Potter to play while denying Malfoy, without it seeming like favoritism. Why do you think I brought Malfoy to your attention? I hardly want Slytherin to have an increased chance at winning the Quidditch Cup, however, I pride myself in being fair to all students. Besides, I'm sure Albus would make an exception for a friend of Harry Potter, nonetheless," McGonagall said. "Of course, you don't have to allow the Malfoy boy to play. I'm just merely informing you that if you'd like a decent Seeker, Malfoy's not a bad choice. He caught Longbottom's Remembrall in a 50 foot dive. I was quite impressed."

"Seeing as it was Malfoy that caught the Longbottom boy's lost...toy, what makes you think Potter will be a good Seeker?" Snape questioned.

"Potter is an incredible flier, I saw it with my own eyes. Besides, if he can catch a falling boy, I'm sure he can catch the Snitch. He's also got the perfect build for a Seeker," McGonagall answered.

After Snape muttered some insults about Harry, he finally agreed to let both boys on their teams.

Harry grinned, turning to an ecstatic Draco Malfoy. "See? This is just proof that you should never doubt me again," Harry said smugly.

Draco just smiled back giddily, clearly too excited to riposte with a snarky comment.

When McGonagall and Snape finally exited the classroom, Harry and McGonagall went to go find Wood, while Snape and Draco left to go fetch Flint.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry vaguely remembered that the Golden Trio and Neville had discovered the Cerebrus, Fluffy, the night after their first flying lesson. However, they'd ended up in the forbidden corridor because Draco had challenged Ron and him to a duel. Since Draco no longer had a vendetta against Harry, that obviously wasn't going to happen again.

While the group had been a bit curious about the hidden package while they'd been at Hagrid's, by now, they seemed to have forgotten about it. Harry figured that if he wanted to get his friends excited about the 'Philosopher's Stone mystery', he'd have to do some improvising.

When dinnertime came around, Harry figured it was the perfect time to put his plan in motion. "So...I was planning on using my Invisibility Cloak to sneak out tonight. Would any of you care to join me?" Harry invited.

"Sneak out? That's against the rules! You could be expelled!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I...I don't know, Harry. Gryffindor could get in trouble, we could lose points," Neville said hesitantly. "I don't think you should do it."

"You have an Invisibility Cloak? Wicked! Why didn't you tell us about it before? That's so cool, we could've sneaked around ages ago if you'd told me about it!" Ron practically shouted.

"Keep your voice down, Weaselbee," Draco hissed. "You Gryffindors really don't know how to be discreet." Draco turned to Harry, "how did you get an Invisibility Cloak? They're extremely rare!"

"Family heirloom," Harry answered. "So...are you all in, or are you out?"

"In!" Ron declared. "Does he have to come?" Ron asked, glaring at Draco.

"While I am equally revolted at the idea of going anywhere with you, I will come, just so Harry doesn't manage to get himself killed. Merlin knows that you idiot Gryffindors need a sane-minded person to keep you in line," Draco replied, glowering at Ron.

"Aren't you both in enough trouble for disobeying Madam Hooch?" Hermione questioned disapprovingly.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Draco and I are the new Seekers for Slytherin and Gryffindor!" Harry announced.

"Harry! We were supposed to keep that a secret!" Draco reminded him.

Shrugging, Harry said, "what's the point? They'll find out soon enough."

While Ron and Neville looked impressed, Hermione was clearly horrified. "I suppose you guys think this is your reward for breaking the rules?"

"Hey, if you've got a problem with it, take it up with McGonagall and Snape. I'm sure they'd love to hear your complaints," Harry suggested.

That shut Hermione up, at least about the flying issue, anyway. "Well, like I said before, I believe what you're planning on doing is wrong, and I will not be going. Neville agrees with me, right, Neville?"

"Umm...yeah," Neille said softly. "Sorry, Harry."

"That's alright," Harry said nonchalantly before turning to Draco and Ron. "Okay, here's the plan. While I have detention with Snape at seven, afterwards, we'll sneak Draco into the Gryffindor tower tonight before lights out, and when everyone is asleep, we'll go out…"

XXXXXXXXXX

"It's eleven," Harry whispered to Ron and Draco. "We should go."

"Hey, where's Neville?" Ron asked. Harry looked over at where Neville should've been sleeping, and noticed that his bed was empty.

"I'm sure he's fine," Harry replied, having an inkling about where both Neville and Hermione were.

Harry grabbed his cloak and wand, and the three of them crept down the spiral staircase. When they were about to reach the portrait hole, a voice spoke up from the chair by the fireplace.

A light flicked on. "You guys can't do this, Neville and I won't allow it," Hermione said bossily. Neville sat in the chair across from her, staring at them in disapproval.

"Mind your own business, Mud...Granger!" Draco replied angrily.

"Go back to bed!" Ron demanded. "Just because you're a stick in the mud who doesn't want to have fun, doesn't mean other people can't!"

"You guys could lose points for Gryffindor," Neville finally spoke up. "I don't think you should do this."

"Look, we're going to go, whether you like it or not," Harry said. "So you guys can either come with us, or sit back here until sunrise."

"Fine! I'm coming with!" Hermione said shrilly. "Come on, Neville," she said, grabbing the boy by the arm.

It was a bit of a tight fit to get a cloak around five people, but they managed, though it was a bit uncomfortable.

"Where are we going?" Draco asked.

"To the third floor corridor," Harry said. "Dumbledore's hiding something there, so I thought it'd be fun to find out more about it."

"Are you mental?" Ron said incredulously. "Dumbledore said we could die a painful death if we go down there!"

"I'm sure he was exaggerating. I mean, think about it! Putting something harmful in a school full of children? That's just irresponsible, Dumbledore wouldn't do something like that," Harry reassured them. Actually, he totally would, but they don't know that…

Harry continued leading the group of apprehensive children towards the third corridor, when suddenly, a loud voice made them all jump.

"WHAT'S THAT I HEAR? ARE THERE STUDENTS OUT OF BED?" Peeves yelled, bumping straight into the group, knocking them over. Shit.

"Ooooh! No longer invisible, are we? FILCH! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves called out. "COME AND CATCH THEM! QUICKLY, BEFORE THEY GET AWAY!"

"Shut up, Peeves. Look, we're heading to the third floor corridor, which will result in havoc and danger. We could potentially get ourselves killed doing this," Harry informed him. "Would you like to help us out?"

Peeves looked thoughtful. "Fine, I suppose this is a worthwhile cause. Just know that I hope you all come back maimed or seriously injured. It would be even better if you guys didn't get out of there alive."

"Thank you, Peeves," Harry said gratefully.

"GOT YOUR CONK! FILCHY! I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU! I'M COMING FOR YOU," the poltergeist screamed as he bolted out.

When they arrived at the third floor corridor, Harry performed a silent unlocking spell, before ushering the group in.

"Oh, look! It's a three-headed dog," Harry said casually, pointing at Fluffy.

Harry watched as his friends looked up fearfully, before screaming their heads off, and zooming out.

"You guys are so dramatic," Harry rolled his eyes as he followed them out the door. While the rest of them desperately tried to slam the door shut behind them, Harry casually stood there watching him, completely unbothered. He'd faced much worse before, after all. Besides, even if Fluffy really started attacking them, it wasn't like Harry didn't know enough magic to handle the situation. He wouldn't actually let anyone get hurt.

The other four didn't bother getting back under the Invisibility Cloak, and rushed to the Gryffindor common room. Harry just shrugged and went after them.

"Where on earth have you all been?" the Fat Lady asked dubiously. "Hey, he's not in this House...what's he doing here?" she narrowed her eyes at Draco.

"Never mind that! Pig snout!" Ron panted out.

They all ran in, and collapsed on the common room chairs. "Wasn't that fun?" Harry asked calmly.

"Do you know how absolutely psychotic you are, Harry?" Draco exclaimed. "We almost died!"

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic. We survived, didn't we? What are you fussing about?" Harry replied blithely.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with Malfoy. You are mad," Ron acknowledged as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quirinus walked to his classroom Friday morning, extremely annoyed and exhausted. The Dark Lord had been pestering him all night about the Philosopher's Stone, and it was rather difficult to sleep when one had another person on the back of their head.

When Quirinus finally stepped foot in his classroom, he felt something...wet. When he glanced down, he was horrified to discover that he was knee deep in muddy water. Quirinus nervously looked around, and noted that his entire classroom had been turned into a swamp.

Just as Quirinus began running into the hallway for help, he felt a jinx of some sort hit him. At first, he didn't notice anything different until he felt something hit the back of his head. It seemed as though somebody had charmed a couple handfuls of mud to repeatedly hit his turban.

"What are you doing, Quirrell!" the Dark Lord hissed angrily. "Make it stop!"

Quirinus desperately tried to figure out a counter-curse of some sort, but nothing he did made the mud stop hitting his master. As the Dark Lord grew increasingly irritated, Quirinus became a nervous wreck. Once the hex wore off, the Dark Lord was going to make him pay for this…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

September 23, 1991 (Full Moon)

Harry arrived at the Shrieking Shack that night, and found out that he was the last to arrive. Remus, Sirius, and James stood there chatting happily. It seemed as though this place brought back a lot of memories of their school days.

"Sorry it took so long for me to get here! Ron and Neville wanted to know where I was going, and when I told them I was sneaking out for the night, they insisted they come with, believing that I was going out to do something dangerous. I had to reassure them that I wasn't," Harry explained.

"Well, you are doing something dangerous," Remus pointed out. "Harry, are you sure you want to do this? Even as an Animagus, there are risks when being around a Werewolf. This is your first time, so I wouldn't blame you if-"

"Moony!" Harry interrupted. "I would've joined you guys as soon as I'd become an Animagus if you had allowed it. Hell, with the Wolfsbane potion, it probably would've been okay for me to be around you in my human form, so I could've been with you even earlier than that. Trust me, it'll be fun."

After some more convincing from Harry, Remus finally stopped rambling on about how dangerous he was. They still had about half an hour before Remus would begin to transform. Harry took the time to tell the Marauders all about his first month of school, including the detentions and his epic prank on Quirrell.

"I can't believe you stole a prank idea from the Weasley twins! The swamp? The snowballs, well, I guess in this case, the mud balls...but still! That's blatant plagiarism!" Sirius whispered. "A true Marauder would be much more original than that!"

"Hey, I had them help me with the prank, so they still got partial credit for it. Besides, what's the point in having future knowledge, if you don't bother to use it?" Harry hissed back.

Five minutes before Remus would begin transforming, the Marauders got into their Animagus forms. Though the Wolfsbane potion lessened the effects of the transformation, it still seemed quite painful for Remus. The Animagi did their best to comfort Remus until the pain was over, and then the fun began.

Harry jumped on Remus, and they play-wrestled a bit (with Harry losing badly). James and Sirius were busy chasing each other around in circles, so when Remus and Harry were done wrestling, they joined in, the four of them having the time of their lives. Eventually, the four Animagi began jumping on each other, tussling each other to the ground. While Harry found that he quite enjoyed the rough-housing, he couldn't help but be annoyed about being the runt of the group. At least when he grew up, his stag form would grow as well.

When early morning came around, the Marauders bid Harry farewell, as they had to get back to Godric's Hollow before Lily found out they'd left. She was under the impression that they were transforming in the cellar downstairs, not at Hogwarts.

Harry smiled as he walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He'd had an incredible night with his family, which was more than he'd ever dreamed of as a child. Life was good, and Harry would stop at nothing to keep it that way.