AN: This story is a longer version of a previously published story, now that I'm free from the bonds of tiny word counts! I've also added back in the curse words because there's no one around to stop me.
Please enjoy Lions: Written originally for The Houses Competition - Year 7. Prompt: [Animal]-Lion
"This is the worst fucking idea you've ever had, James," Remus hissed, sprinting silently down the corridor.
"How was I supposed to know the statue was going to come to life?" James hissed back angrily. He pressed himself up against the wall and peered carefully around the corner before urging the other boys on.
"How was I— 'Vivamus Animalis' literally means 'live animal' you absolute—"
Remus's hissed rant was brought to an abrupt halt as Sirius flung an arm in front of him, halting the boys in their tracks.
A dark shadow fell across the end wall of the corridor, prowling around the corner. Remus felt Sirius grab the collar of his shirt and yank him into a tight alcove, hidden from view.
"Intimate."
"Not now, Sirius!"
Across the corridor, Peter and James were crammed into a tiny doorway. James' arm was wedged above his head and Peter's knees were bent at odd angles. Neither looked comfortable, though Remus felt little sympathy for him with Sirius' boney elbow digging into his own waist. He glared at James with all the angry dignity he could muster.
"It was supposed to be the new Gryffindor mascot!" James hissed across the corridor at him.
"It's a live, fucking lion Potter?"
"It'S a LiVe FuCkInG LiOn, PoTtEr," James mocked. "You sound like my mother."
"I'm going to—" Remus lurched from the alcove only to be immediately yanked back by Sirius who slammed a hand over his mouth and pressed them both back against the wall.
"Shut up!"
The beast was passing. Large, golden and almost glittering in the torchlight, the lion prowled slowly up the corridor a mere few feet from where the boys were hidden. It shook out it's main carelessly, his mouth hanging open revealing a row of sharp, pointed teeth, saliva staining the carpet beneath it. Remus could almost feel the hot, heavy breath as it stalked passed.
The boys did not twitch, they did not move. Remus could feel his heart hammering in his chest, like a beating drum so loud he was sure the beast could hear it too. He wondered if this is what the others felt like, when they were in the shack with the Wolf. So very aware of the meat of their muscle, the blood in their veins, the marrow in their bones. So completely exposed and vulnerable; like prey.
The lion, by pure luck, does not spot them and continues his hunt, prowling down towards the end of the corridor.
Remus feels Sirius drop the hand from his mouth and gasps in a gulp of air, unaware he had been holding his breath. Sirius has a thin sheen of sweat plastered to his forehead. He grins playfully up at Remus, though there is a touch of fear in his eyes swimming amidst the adrenaline. Across the hall, Peter and James were also panting in a mix of fear and excitement. They're used to this, Remus thought. Chasing after the monster.
"We have to get rid of it before it mauls someone!" Remus hissed at the others, peering around the alcove.
"We're already in the dungeons, we could lure it to the Slyther—"
"Sirius, you are not helping!"
"We could lure it into a classroom?" Peter whispered, "Stick the door shut?"
"And leave it to die?" James yelped. "I'm not starving the thing, it's gorgeous!"
"What about that room?" Sirius pointed to the gold plaque above Peter's head. Slughorn's Storeroom. It was bound to have some potion to knock the lion out. Then they just had to… drag the unconscious body of a giant african lion through the school without anyone noticing…
Yeah… step two later. Focus on step one…
Remus's lips tightened and he glared straight ahead, refusing to look at Sirius' satisfied smirk at being useful.
"How are we going to lure the lion to come back? We need bait right? Oh… Oh no, no, no!" Peter cowered further back into the door at the sight of the three, gleaming grins staring at him.
"You're time to shine, Wormtail!" Sirius said before throwing his head back into a loud, canine howl that filled the corridor. A rumbling growl churned beneath it and Remus heard the lions claws scratching on the stone floor as it turned back towards them.
Maybe it was their six years of friendship or maybe it was their new pack-like bond from running under the full moon, but the Marauders moved together as though they could read each other's minds.
James shoved Peter, who stumbled into the centre of the corridor, shrinking into Wormtail in seconds. Remus leapt across the hall and into the storeroom, ducking past James who threw the door open for him. Remus rolled into the room and immediately began rifling through the bottles of potions trying to find anything of use.
There was a roar outside the door, followed by a dog's snarl and a clattering of hooves. Out of the corner of his eye, Remus glimpsed a rat darting under one of the cupboards. He paid it no heed and kept searching. Deflating Draught, Laxative Mixture, Polyjuice Potion, none seemed remotely helpful.
There was a crash from the door and Remus leapt back, colliding with the shelves sending hundreds of potions clattering to the floor. A giant stag was rearing back on two legs, kicking wildly at the lion who had his claws bared. There were bites and tufts of hair flying through the air as an enormous black hound bit at the lion's hide. Remus pressed himself back against the cabinet, frozen as the three beasts fought wildly front of him. They were fierce, the stag was ruthless in its kicks. The hound had blood dripping from its jaw from where it had managed to tackle the lion.
Remus couldn't take his eyes from them. They attacked the lion in tandem, knowing when to duck and strike at just the right moments.
As though they had practiced this a dozen times before.
Remus didn't have time to dwell on it. A small bottle rolled into his hand from under the dresser. Remus glanced down, catching sight of the label. He picked it up, and without hesitation, flung the bottle at the beast. It struck the lion in its shoulder. The green liquid stained it's fur for a minute before seeping into its skin. The stag and the hound stood down and watched as the lion began to shrink. It grew smaller and smaller, its auburn mane swallowing its body, covering it in a matted, ginger fur. The stag and the hound stood into two human men who looked down at the small, tabby cat with Gryffindor-red eyes that sat serenely in the centre of the room.
Remus dragged himself off the floor to stand beside them, Peter on his heels.
"Did you know that's what Shrinking Solution did?" he muttered to Sirius.
Sirius shook his head. "Maybe it works differently on animals?"
Remus nodded blankly. "It's a… Should we…?"
Footsteps along the outside corridor snapped them back to reality.
"Shit, it's Filch!" James hissed, pulling the others into a large cupboard and out of sight.
"What is all that racket!? Lousy good-for-nothing— Oh, hello."
Remus peered out the crack in the door. The caretaker had bent down, scooped the cat into his arms and was petting it with a fondness Remus had never seen on the wizened man before.
"What are you doing here? Did you get lost? Well… you can come to my quarters little Mrs and get some food. How about that then?"
Filch tottered out of the room cradling the tiny once-lion in his arms, completely blind to the spilled potions and cracked shelves that littered Slughorn's ruined storeroom.
The four boys tumbled from the cupboard.
"Well, that was a stroke of luck!" James smirked, righting his crooked glasses.
"That was a goddamn miracle," Remus muttered. His heart was still hammering in his chest.
Sirius was grinning wildly. His hair was ruffled, his uniform littered with claw marks and there was a small trickle of blood running down the corner of his forehead. But his eyes were on fire, shining with excitement and adventure and danger. He looked more alive than Remus had ever seen him.
"That. Was. BRILLIANT! Hey, maybe we can let loose one of the Slytherin snakes next!"
"Sirius, NO."