The Marauders: In the Beginning
Chapter Seven: Sirius and James Have Formed a Plan
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize from HP is the creation of the wonderful J. K. Rowling, not me.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone. They really encourage me to write more. Butterbeers for all of you! ^_^ Lady Norbert pointed out a couple of things I'd like to mention - first off, thanks for telling me about the cloak being a family heirloom. I feel much better about it now! Do you remember where you read it? Second, I should probably mention that I've read a lot of fics that exclude Peter, and this isn't going to be one of them for too much longer... I have something planned! Hehe ^_- I was hoping to illustrate the initial awkwardness I imagined in him, and how he sometimes felt like a third wheel during school. But while he isn't really in the picture now, I can assure you he IS coming! Now, enough from me. On to the fic! =)
Remus narrowed his eyes slightly at his friends, staring from one to the other. "Transfiguration? Shapeshifting?" he asked, pointing at the old book Sirius held. "And just why would a couple of first years need a book about all that? And - and from the restricted section of the library, no less!?"
"We've been doing our homework," stated James simply.
"Yes, yes, that's all very nice, except that advanced transfiguration doesn't come til seventh year," said Remus. "Don't change the subject--"
"We're not," Sirius said quietly. "We've been researching werewolves. We couldn't find much in the regular library books, just the basics - like the full moon bit, and how silver can kill--" He stopped, scolding himself for saying something so stupid without thinking. "Yes, well, it was all just baby stuff, basically," he said, regaining his composure.
James continued for him. "We couldn't find anything useful with that librarian lady breathing down our necks. God, she gets suspicious. But anyhow, that's when we thought to look in the restricted section." Seeing his friend's confusion, he turned to Sirius and said, "D'you reckon it's time we explained about the cloak?"
Sirius gave a brief nod. James walked over to his bedside, opened his school trunk, and removed what looked like a large, shimmering blanket. "It's been in my family for years," he said. Remus stared, awe-struck. "This is the invisibility cloak?" he asked. For a moment he forgot the seriousness of the situation. Most of the time, Remus was incredibly mature for his age, but at the moment, he found his eleven-year old self unable to contain his excitement.
James nodded, throwing the cloak around his shoulders and closing it in the front. His body vanished, leaving only his head suspended in the air. "Cool!" Remus thought. He shook his head to clear the thought. "What does all this have to do with my being a werewolf?" he said, unusually forward.
"Well," said James, removing the invisibility cloak. "This is how we got into the resticted section of the library. And we found loads..."
He was getting to the part of the conversation Remus had been most curious about all day long. James took a deep breath and said dramatically, "You wouldn't believe it." He spoke softly, but Remus caught every word. "For example, did you know that werewolves only have a taste for human blood?"
Remus couldn't hide a frown. Not because his friends seemed to think they knew more little-known facts about werewolves than he did - no, he was busy thinking about something else. Tell me I'm not going to regret asking this, he thought to himself as everything slowly began to fall into place. "So you were thinking of... becoming... something not human?" he said dully.
"The work of a genius, isn't it?" said Sirius. "The two of us came up with it on our own, piece by piece, armed only with our skills of, er, meta... met- metaphysical reasoning," he finished, reading straight from the page of the book. Remus ignored the fact that his friend wasn't making sense. His expression was impossible to read.
"I don't know what to say," he stated.
Sirius looked up at him. "Have you ever heard of a wizard that was able to change form? You know... shapeshift?"
Remus, at a loss for words, nodded.
"There's a small group of wizards and witches, usually only so many per century, and they've got the power to turn themselves into an animal at will. They're called Animagi. The thing is, you've got to be registered at the Ministry of Magic, but we think we've figured out a way past it, and--"
Remus had found his voice again. "No," he interjected.
James and Sirius stared. "...What?"
"Like I said, no one's ever tried to do something like that for me before... but don't." Remus squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them his two friends were looking equally confused and a little upset. Remus continued. "Don't you see?" he pleaded. "This is very advanced magic, even for qualified wizards! Any number of things can go wrong!"
James opened his mouth angrily, about to say something, but Remus stopped him. "Please, please understand," he begged. "You could never know how much this means to me. Words couldn't explain it. It's just that..." He shook his head, looking at James and Sirius desperately. "If anything ever happened, if you only half-transformed, or - or if you weren't able to transform at all, and you were trapped in there - I'd never be able to forgive myself..." He forced himself to stop, biting his lip with a little too much force.
"We're not going to let anything like that happen," said Sirius. "James and I... we've read about this, Remus, we know it's a big thing to try to do. But we've got to at least try. We know it's going to take years of studying, but just think, if we could actually accomplish it..." His dark eyes burned with determination. "If we could really do it, you'd never have to go through all that by yourself again. Think of it! We'd be able to keep you company... oh, come on, we have to try!"
Remus couldn't believe he was even considering it. "You said you have to be registered," he said, giving himself some more time to think. "There's no way the Ministry of Magic would ever agree to it."
"Yeah," said James gleefully, "but there are unregistered Animagi out there too!"
"That's breaking the law!"
"Only bending it."
"ONLY BENDING IT!?"
"Shh!" Sirius exclaimed as Remus began to raise his voice.
"Yes," James said quietly. "This is more important."
Remus shook his head in disbelief. There was a prolonged silence. He couldn't believe two people he had only known for a few weeks were willing to go through so much at his expense. If someday, when they were older, the plan was revealed, would they be thrown into Azkaban, the wizard prison? "Why are you doing all this for me?" he asked finally.
Sirius shrugged uncomfortably, not sure what to say. "Because... I dunno... what're friends for?"
Finally, the three boys went back downstairs to the Gryffindor common room. Lily had fallen asleep waiting for them, her pretty red hair falling over her face as she slept. Other than that, the room was totally deserted, for all the boys knew.
"Do you really think this will work?" Remus asked again as they settled into three big, squashy armchairs toward the back of the room. "You realize what it could mean if we're ever caught?"
James nodded. "Yeah. But the day Sirius and I finally learn how to become Animagi," he said, keeping his voice low, "it'll be worth it."
Suddenly, a face appeared over the top of the couch. "What on earth are you talking about?"
Peter Pettigrew, who had been resting out of sight on the sofa, had heard every word.
