Saturday, 11 December 1976
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Zoë asked as she, Maggie, and Ava walked out their shared room to leave for Hogsmeade.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I just need a bit of a lie-in and then I'll feel fine later.
"Alright, feel better, Lena," Zoë said.
"Thanks, Zo. Have fun!" Lena called as her roommates closed the door behind them.
Contrary to what she told her roommates, Lena was feeling perfectly fine. Lena loved a lot of things about Hogwarts— the people, the rooms, the grounds. One thing that she didn't love about Hogwarts was the lack of privacy. With roommates and shared bathrooms, there was not a lot of time for privacy and all Lena wanted at the moment was some privacy. She was in need of some self-love.
Lena locked the door and placed a silencing charm on the room. She walked over to her bed and pulled back the covers to the end of the bed. Lena took off her shirt and shimmied out of her pajama pants. She was left standing in just her panties.
Laying flat on her back, Lena rested her head on her pillow. Lena slowed her breathing to relax herself. Lena closed her eyes and began to graze her stomach and hips with her fingertips, sending chills throughout her body. She let out a breath as she moved her fingertips over the sides of her body. Lena inched her hands up her body, placing her hands on her breasts, feeling their warmth. Lena waited for her nipples to pebble under her palms before she began to knead her breasts. Lena lightly ran her fingers over her nipples and flicked them. She let out a moan as she began tweaking and pinching her nipples, making them harder.
Lena kept touching her nipples with her right hand as her left hand traveled down her stomach to rest on her panty-covered mound. Her panties were already slightly damp from touching her breasts. Lena squeezed her thighs together and moved her hand up and down over her pussy. She stopped moving her hand and began to trace her middle and index fingers over her covered folds. Lena lifted her legs and removed her now soaked panties and tossed them to the floor. Lena continued running her two fingers through her folds until she couldn't take it anymore and started to rub her clit slowly. Her breathing got shakier as she started rubbing faster and more aggressively. She slid her right hand down her body and began to rub her clit with that hand. Her left hand traveled further down her pussy so her fingers could play her entrance. Lena slightly curled her index finger and pushed it into her slowly. She began to ease her finger in and out of her as she continued rubbing her clit. She arched her back and lifted her hips as she moved her fingers faster. Her breathing got heavier and she began to moan. Remus' name fell from her lips as she moaned. Lena completely stilled. She pulled her fingers out of her. She did not mean to say his name, or think of him, while she was fingering herself. She felt so guilty, like she was violating him somehow.
Lena needed a cold shower.
Lena looked at her roommates, who were all fast asleep even though it was only eleven o'clock on a Saturday. They were absolutely knackered from their day in Hogsmeade. Lena rose from her bed and plaited her hair. She slipped into her trainers as she pulled a blue jumper over her night-shirt. Lena quietly made her way out of the room and tiptoed down the stairs. Lena internally groaned as she scanned the common room. Nearly all seventh years were in the common room playing drink games, no doubt celebrating their last Saturday ever at Hogwarts before winter break. She really did not want them to see her sneaking out and assuming she was about to meet someone for a midnight tryst. Sighing, Lena got on all fours and crawled behind the couches, shielding herself from the seventh-years view as she made her way to the common room's exit.
Lena opened the door and crawled outside, letting the door close behind her. She rose to her feet and looked around the empty corridor. Lena was about to scream when she felt her body being pulled forward by her wrist by some invisible force. She didn't scream though, as she found her mouth covered by Sirius's hand.
Lena swatted it away. "What the hell!" she whispered-shouted. "That was so creepy!"
"Sorry! Craven's about to head down the hall and we didn't want to see any of us. See!" James said as he gestured to the map in front of him.
Lena peered down at it. She could see three footsteps the names of her, James, and Sirius huddled together. Footsteps labeled Carina Craven were swiftly approaching them. This must have been the Marauders' Map that Peter had been telling her about that they finished making the year before.
The trio remained silent until Craven had safely passed them.
"Why were you crawling on the floor?" Sirius asked.
"Channeling my inner James Bond. Being stealthy," Lena said.
"Who?"
Lena groaned. "Nevermind."
"So, this is the Invisibility Cloak I've heard so much about," Lena continued.
James grinned proudly. "It's been passed down for generations. Now c'mon."
"Now, in order to become an Animagus, you need to be brilliant," James began.
"And strong," Sirius continued.
"And dedicated."
"And brave."
"Like us," James finished.
Lena looked at them as the moon lit their faces in the owlery. "It kinda sounds like you're bragging."
"Oh, we are. Because it's hard to do. Because it's easy to mess up. Because it took us ages to do it," Sirius elaborated.
"Alright, so the next full moon is on the fifth of January. It's on a Wednesday. On that day, you are going to put a Mandrake leaf in your month until the next full moon which is on Friday, the fourth of February. And you can't talk it out! Otherwise you've got to wait until the next full moon and start all over again."
"Okay. What does the Mandrake leaf taste like?"
James and Sirius looked at each other, grimacing. "You get used to it after a week," James said.
Lena frowned.
"Oh, and if the next full moon isn't visible, you have to start the process over again," Sirius added. "So, assuming that you keep the Mandrake leaf in your mouth the entire time and the next full moon, you can start the next step."
"Which is….," Lena prompted.
"So before the end of the month, you have to make sure you have dew from a place that sunlight or human feet haven't touched for seven full days," Sirius continued.
"But, don't worry we've got that and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth for you already," James informed her.
"Anyways, so when the month is up, you're gonna spit the Mandrake leaf into a crystal vial. Then, you add one of your own hairs and put in a silver teaspoon of dew into the vial. And you put the chrysalis in too."
"Okay…"
"So, then you put the vial into a dark, quiet place and leave it alone until the next electrical storm," James said.
"We recommend putting it in your trunk and placing a silencing charm over it," Sirius said.
"Got it," Lena nodded.
"Until the electrical storm, you have to point your wand over your heart and say Amato Animo Animato Animagus at every sunrise and sundown. And you can't skip ever or you have to start the entire process over," James said
"And you'll eventually feel a second heartbeat when you touch your heart with your wand. But don't freak out, it's normal," Sirius said.
"Wait, what?" Lena asked worriedly.
"It's the animal inside you," James explained.
"Okay…"
"Back to the process," Sirius said. "So as soon as the lightning strikes, go get your crystal vial and go to a place where you'll be alone. You'll chant Amato Animo Animato Animagus again and then you drink the potion. And then you transform. it'll hurt a bit the first time"
"And you should hide your wand after you transform. And to go back into human form, just imagine your human form. It may take a while the first few times, though. And don't panic when you transform. If you do, you may do something stupid in your Animagus form," James added
The group of three remained silent for a while as Lena took in everything they said and the pair of Gryffindors examined her facial expressions.
"So, do you still want to go through with this?" Sirius asked.
"Without a doubt."
James looked at her. "Alright, any questions?"
"Yeah, if I can't start the process until January, why are we meeting now?"
"So you can practice having a Mandrake leaf in your mouth," Sirius said.
"I spat it out three times," James explained.
"Ahhhh."
Sunday, 12 December 1976
"I ran into Ava and Marlene yesterday in Hogsmeade," Remus said as he sat down next to her in the library for one of their study sessions. "She said you weren't feeling well."
"Oh, well, I'm feeling better now. I just needed a lie-in," Lena said as her pinks turned red.
"Are you sure? You like a bit flushed," Remus observed.
Of course I'm flushed. I'm sitting next to the guy I like who I accidentally masturbated to.
"I'm sure," Lena replied quietly.
"Alright, now let me take a look at your essay for Binns while you start going over these notes for Herbology," Remus said as he passed her his set of Herbology notes.
"Here you go," Lena said, plopping her six page essay about major goblin rebellion leaders who fought against discrimination.
"Sorry for all the mistakes," she said sheepishly.
Remus gave her a smile. "I don't mind."
Remus peered over Lena's shoulder as she made corrections to her paper. To her delight, all of her errors were related to spelling and none were related to concepts.
Lena turned her head to face Remus, leaving their faces only an inch or two apart. She figured it was the lighting that made Remus look a little pink. "You should be a professor."
"What?"
"After Hogwarts. You should be a professor. I would have never understood half this stuff if you hadn't started tutoring me. You're so good at explaining things. And you're so patient and understanding. I just think you'd make a wonderful professor."
Remus was both honored and embarrassed by Lena's praise. He scratched his neck as he struggled to find the words to reply to her. "Thank you, Lena. And you definitely would have understood this without me. You're brilliant. And I don't think any school is going to hire a werewolf to be a professor since werewolves are, ya know, dangerous."
Lena frowned. "You are not dangerous. And things may change."
"Maybe."
"They will."
I know that, in the novels, ink dots are used to mark where people are on Marauders' Map, but I really liked the footprints steps from the films so I went with that.