Disclaimer: Nope, not yet… still don't own squat.
Authors note: I really don't know how the whole chapter became italicized… another mess up of mine, I suppose. Anyway, it's not a dream sequence or anything, just a glitch. Enjoy the rest, and I hope it doesn't come out in Italics.
P.s. thanks to everyone who's been reviewing regularly. Sorry I've been taking a long time to post, I had exams, but now I'm on summer! :)
Down on the grounds, Rubeus Hagrid was sitting in his cabin, gazing out of the window at the stars. Sighing a deep and grumbly sigh, Hagrid went over to his table and poured some more of a drink into his dirty, rather smudgy glass. The liquid shone like moonlight in his glass, Hagrid remarked. Unable to lift it fully to his tilted head, the great bustly man bent his head down and slurped the liquid from the glass held aloft in his hand.
Suddenly he heard somebody knocking at the door frantically. Getting up to answer the door, Hagrid tripped on his pink umbrella. The aggravated umbrella let out a breath of sparks that caught onto his bedcovers. Hagrid, in his drunken stupor looked at his bed and said'
"What pretty lights…"
Eyes swiveling his head, the gamekeeper moved to the door and opened it with a big "HALLO!" startling the people on the other side.
"Hagrid! We know you missed us but… Hagrid man! Your bed's on fire!"
"What's that?" Hagrid inquired, blearily. He was not going to have some gnatty little first formers ruin his night. "Are ye pulling pranks again, ye little rapscallions?"
"No Hagrid, we're serious. Your bed is on fire. Let us past so we can extinguish it."
"How'd you know me bed was on fire if you didn't cause it, eh?"
"You opened the door and we saw. Please, just let us in!"
"Alri', alri'." Hagrid opened the door wider, but refused to move. Then a wand blast knocked him onto the chair behind and two forms rushed into his house, spurting jets of water out of their wands.
When the thick flames were finally doused, the house smelled like a birthday cake after you blow out the candles. Hagrid's head nodded off and dropped onto his table with a sickening thud. James and Lily flinched and walked as one over to the heaving mass of hair that was Hagrid.
"Hagrid? Hagrid, do wake up. I have to ask you something." Lily whispered in his ear.
Grunting and heaving over, Hagrid looked at his guests and rolled his spit in his mouth. Spitting it onto the floor he asked,
"Wot' chu want then?"
"Hagrid, have either Sirius or Remus come down to your hut tonight?" James asked quietly, not willing to startle the half-giant.
"Well, can't say that I know. You see, Professor Jigger whipped up a batch of some moonshine whiskey and it's awful strong."
"Moonshine whiskey?" Lily looked puzzled.
"Wizard style."
"Wizard style. Professor Jigger really used moonshine then?" James offered, seeing the blank look on Lily's face.
"Yes he did. A good strong batch too. He had to be carried up earlier. He left his bottle.' Hagrid said, clasping the bottle to his chest. "And now it's my whiskey."
"Well, he's obviously no help. Look Lily, I'll find Sirius and Remus, you get to bed." James said, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her gently. "I don't want you falling asleep in class tomorrow."
"How are you going to do that? You can't find them on your own! You'll have a much better chance with me helping me look for them. Now, you can just take me wherever it is you think they are." Lily said smugly, crossing her arms across her chest and smiling.
"Look Lil, it's going to be dangerous. Why don't you stay here with Hagrid and make sure that he doesn't cause too much damage to his hut."
"But—"
"Don't you want to help Hagrid?"
"Stop twisting it around like that James!"
"I'm not! I'm telling you my opinion. Now, I'll pick you up from here when I find them."
"Fine, Fine…" Lily threw her hands up in exasperation. Seeing James' goofy grin, she beckoned him over with her finger and gave a good solid kiss.
"Hurry back now…" she whispered in her best bedroom voice. 'Haha! The sultry siren is in!' she thought with a smile.
Smiling even wider, James stumbled out of the hut and walked toward the castle in a daze. Halfway past the lake, James remembered Sirius and Remus. Hailing a lion that was stalking the grounds; James climbed astride it and whispered in its right ear. "To the common room, lion."
"Lion?" It purred, taking James quite aback.
"Yes please."
"No, no, no. My name is Giuseppe. I am a talking beast." It said in a thick Italian accent
"Well Giuseppe, do you think you can deliver me to the common room, post haste?" James said, quite annoyed at having to be delayed because of semantics.
"Certainly." Giuseppe said, taking great bounding leaps towards the castle. Reaching the carpeted area, his paws made no noise as he padded on the red carpets.
Disembarking at the portal, James asked Giuseppe, 'Is there any fare that I have to pay?"
"None. Just find Sirius and Remus and bring them back safely."
"Alright." Ducking into the portal, James did a double take as he realized that he never mentioned that his friends were missing. Rummaging into his trunk, he found the map and scanned it for any sign of his friends. Seeing them in the prefect's bathroom, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and ran out.
"Cosmydor."
"Beware the—"
"Thanks Swan, I get it. The smelly shall not traverse."
Swinging the tapestry over, James stepped inside to find Remus and Sirius fast asleep, clutching their wands.
Whispering "animato!" James woke the both of them up with his magic so they would not be startled.
"James! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you two never came back to the common room, so I got worried."
"Well, we had something to take care of, is all." Remus said, getting up and dusting his robes.
"Something more important than your detention? I asked Malfoy were you could possibly be and he said the two of you were serving detention with Hagrid. We found him drunk, you know." James said as he pulled Sirius up.
"We?" Sirius asked, cocking his head to one side and giving James a sidelong glance.
Blushing noticeably James managed to say "Lily."
"Ah, Lily. Interesting. While you were off having the snog of your life, Remus and I were discussing something very important amongst us. We have a lot of sorcerer's sand, so we have no real trouble there. Now, what had us shacked up in the prefect's bathroom is really very important. Remember, we all have a patron?"
"Yeah, she's right he—" James placed his hand where the statue should be and it ran through air. Looking down, he saw the shards of the statue scattered on the floor.
"Well, not anymore, obviously. What happened to her?" James asked, frowning.
"She escaped, knocked down by something or another."
"Is that such a problem?"
"Well, do you want to become an animagus?"
'Of course!"
"Well she won't give you the chance. You are to be her next stag."
"What?"
"Remember the statue, she had a dead stag at her feet?"
"YEAH, SO?" James bellowed, exasperated with Sirius' cryptic answers.
"You are to become that stag, James unless you can rise up to her challenge."
"What is the challenge?"
"You'll have to find her."
"That's it?"
"No, find her then ask her what you have to do." Walking into the common room, they found Peter crouched in a corner, quaking and shivering. Above him hovered a black smoky shape that resembled the statue. It was brandishing a knife and repeating over and over again, "Rat, rat, rat."
"Stop, you!" James yelled, brandishing his wand. Whirling around, the huntress advanced on him, stopping a few feet away.
"I helped you, my Stag. Now, you must help me. I cannot roam around forever. If my patrons are not named before midnight, I shall dissolve. You shall not be a proper animagus, and you, wolfling, will not survive." She pointed to Remus as she spoke the last few words.
"That's it? That's why you're terrorizing my friends? Because we must be named?"
"Yes. The hour draws near, my stag."
"Um, okay. Peter is Wormtail." Sirius stifled a laugh and Remus poked him in the ribs. 'Befits the little rat.' Sirius whispered to Remus, bringing forth laughter from the serious little boy. Peter swelled up and crossed the room, eager to hear what was being said about him. When he reached the two, Wormtail gave a shrill screech and fell to the floor. Bending down to see to him properly, Remus and Sirius noted that he was taking on the rat characteristics he exhibited in the tower. Upon closer inspection, it was found that Wormtail had not changed outwardly, but was all the more cunning in his choice of actions. He glanced covertly around and quickly got his feet, his face ever twitching, as if scared to miss anything.
"Next, um… Sirius shall be…"
"James!" Sirius warned, his voice rising.
"Sirius Black, I dub thee Padfoot."
Laughing Sirius stood his ground and his face because broader and less complex, but when he reverted to his original state, Remus and James noticed that he had a twinkle in his eye that he didn't have before.
"Lastly, I dub myself—"
"—Prongs!" Remus and Sirius yelled in unison, smiling widely.
"Prongs." James confirmed, turning to the shadow before him. His appearance did not change, but his demeanor did. He exuded an air of majesty, giving off the feeling like you were in a strict library. Acting serious however, was not his forte, so he quickly stifled the majesty that arose, and asked very loosely, "Is that all?"
"Name the one you must save, or forever overlook his face!"
"I name him Moony, for his—"
"Really big arse!" Sirius yelled, poking Remus in the ribs.
"That is sufficient." The shadow smiled and bowed, leaving stardust in her wake.
"That was so cliché." Wormtail piped up.
"Hush Peter. Nobody asked you what you thought." Remus reprimanded sharply.
"Well, now I'm a Marauder, all of you are entitled to listen to me."
"Not when we don't want to. Now, Sirius, Remus, I have a problem concerning the Marauder's map."
"The what?" asked Remus, at al loss as to what James was talking about.
"The map that we found in the cave under the common room. Since the general public calls us the marauders, this is our marauders map. We have to enchant it so that teachers don't find it and use it against us."
"Catchy title." Sirius remarked, laughing slightly.
"I know! It just clicked! So, how do we enchant?"
"Well, as far as I'm sure, we have to put a concealment spell on it."
"How? We haven't learned it any of our classes, and I don't want to spend the rest of my sixth year looking through a book to help me along. We've already wasted too much time."
"I know how," said Peter, glancing at them one by one.
"It figures," Sirius said under his breath "you'd need something like it to save your sorry little rat's ass. Forgive the pun, Remus."
"I can hear you, Sirius. I don't mean any harm, I hope you had forgotten that I used to be a weakling. Now I have a special talent, just like you. I'm on par with everyone else in this room now, so I have no need to be scared. Please, accept my friendship?"
"You were always our friend, Peter. We just didn't trust you too much." James smiled, extending his hand. Shaking it firmly, Peter smiled back saying that he bore no ill will.
"Yes Peter. I suppose that's it." Remus smiled, still reserved, he did not extend his hand.
"Well Sirius? Are you willing to make peace with me?"
"I was never at war with you, Peter. I just didn't like you too much." Sirius gave him a tight grin and walked over to the fireplace. Staring into the dying embers, he asked James, "so, do you think we should do the spell now? Or wait until we can really call ourselves Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"
"I think that the map is too valuable to leave unguarded. We should trust Peter on this, we really should." James bowed his head in thought, unable to say otherwise.
"Why don't we ask Arthur?" Sirius asked, his eyes lighting up. "He's a very competent intern, and we can readily find him, with help from our map."
"That's a whole lot safer than what you're proposing, Peter." Remus mentioned.
"Then I agree to help find him." Peter said amiably, smiling.
Pulling out the map, James scanned the classrooms and offices, looking for a sign of Arthur Weasley. Seeing him in the infirmary, James dashed off towards Arthur.
"Arthur, Arthur, Arthur! We need your help!" he called breathlessly, coming to the infirmary. Seeing Arthur cradling an eight-year-old boy in his arms and being yelled at by a very attractive woman who looked remarkably like a sabre-toothed tiger, James did a quick tailspin and withdrawing to the waiting area, just to collide with his friends who ran after him in a clump.
"Family moment, mustn't disturb." James said jovially.
"But we have a problem!" Sirius whined, unable to accept the fact that he was not the most important thing at hand.
"I'm sure Arthur has one of his own. He was being yelled at by somebody."
"Who?" Sirius asked, suspiciously.
"Wife, sister, girlfriend, neighbor. Could be anyone, really." Remus offered, his hand on his chin.
"Be quiet, you!" Sirius yelled
"Just offering some help!"
"Ah boys, so sorry to keep you waiting. This is Molly, my wife. We heard you debating about us and we decided you were quite distressed. Oh and this is my son, Drake. Bill for short."
"Bill? We didn't follow that…"
"Well, a drake is a form of duck, correct?"
"Well yes, but how did you arrive at Bill from Drake?" asked Sirius, quite interested.
"A duck's bill." Remus said, amused immensely by the name. "How cryptic of you Arthur!"
"Well, it was Molly's idea." He blushed, hugging his son tighter.
"Any more children with names that we should know about?"
"Well, there's one on the way, apparently. Molly came to Hogwarts to tell me."
"Yes. Another boy." She beamed, quite proud of her husband.
"Oh congratulations!" the four of them intoned. Sirius asked then,
"What are you going to call him?"
"We decided on Chaplain." Molly said proudly.
"Hey! You could call him Charlie for short!" Sirius said, leaning in to pat Molly's rather nonexistent tummy.
"How'd you arrive there?" asked Arthur, quite puzzled.
"Chaplain is a homonym for Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin? Ring a bell?" Sirius asked, looking at Arthur like he had asked something stupid. Considering it was Sirius he was talking to, Arthur deemed he had.
"Alright it's settled. Charlie Sirius Weasley." Molly smiled.
"Anyway, Arthur, we have a problem we think you can solve." James said, offering his arm to Molly to help her sit down. "Thank you dear." She said as she took a seat and looked up at the five of them.
"Go on, I'm listening."
"Well Sirius and I found this map of Hogwarts and it tells us the location of everybody and the passwords of things."
"Oh boys, that's not something you should be toying with. Never trust something that can think for itself if you can't see its brain."
"But we don't want to give it to just anybody. We need a concealment spell so that only we can use it, therefore not getting anybody else into trouble." Peter said, trying to convince Arthur.
"That seems rather small minded, considering what this map shows." Arthur said, carefully.
"But we don' want to endanger anybody. We know its threats, so we can't be pulled in by its threat."
"What threat?"
"It tells students how to get out of the Hogwarts vicinity."
"Are you sure that's all?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, I'm giving this to you on strict confidence that you don't use this map for commercial gain or to endanger the lives of any here in Hogwarts."
Nodding solemnly, the four swore they wouldn't. Arthur held out a piece of parchment with miniscule writing on it.
"this is a concealment spell. Place it on what you wish to hide and say whom it must open for. Say the password while touching your wands to it."
"thank you Arthur." They all said.
In the library, Remus had put the finishing touches on the spell, making it impossible to enter without the appropriate password.
"Sirius, keep your wand to yourself, its not wanted here!"
"but I solemnley swear I am up to no good!" Sirius said, as his wand touched the map. Suddenly, the map glowed and said, "Mr. Padfoot is welcome."
"Wicked!"
James did the same thing, so did Remus and Peter. The map welcomed them and let them view the grounds once more.
"wipe it clean, Remus! I want to see if it works for other people."
"I don't know how!"
"I have an idea!" James chirruped, glad to help. "mischief managed." He said, and the map was wiped clean.
"how did you do that?"
"Well, I improvised, just like Padfoot here."
"well Prongs, shall we get on with the ceremony then?"
"what?"
"We need to transform soon."
"lets test it first."
Bringing the parchment to Lily, James asked her.
"what do you see?"
"parchment."
"I know, but we all have a feeling that it's hiding something."
"Well, we'll soon find that out."
Whipping her wand out, Lily tapped it on the parchment and said,
" I, Lily Evans, a student at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry command you to show yourself."
Writing appeared on the parchment, saying,
"Mr. Prongs greets Lily and thanks her for last night."
"Mr. Padfoot wishes he had partaken in the festivities observed by Mr. Prongs and Ms Evans."
"Mr. Moony wishes not to offend the pretty lady with a very nice wand."
"Mr. Wormtail hopes that Mr. Prongs will agree to share the lady's company with him."
Authors note: I really don't know how the whole chapter became italicized… another mess up of mine, I suppose. Anyway, it's not a dream sequence or anything, just a glitch. Enjoy the rest, and I hope it doesn't come out in Italics.
P.s. thanks to everyone who's been reviewing regularly. Sorry I've been taking a long time to post, I had exams, but now I'm on summer! :)
Down on the grounds, Rubeus Hagrid was sitting in his cabin, gazing out of the window at the stars. Sighing a deep and grumbly sigh, Hagrid went over to his table and poured some more of a drink into his dirty, rather smudgy glass. The liquid shone like moonlight in his glass, Hagrid remarked. Unable to lift it fully to his tilted head, the great bustly man bent his head down and slurped the liquid from the glass held aloft in his hand.
Suddenly he heard somebody knocking at the door frantically. Getting up to answer the door, Hagrid tripped on his pink umbrella. The aggravated umbrella let out a breath of sparks that caught onto his bedcovers. Hagrid, in his drunken stupor looked at his bed and said'
"What pretty lights…"
Eyes swiveling his head, the gamekeeper moved to the door and opened it with a big "HALLO!" startling the people on the other side.
"Hagrid! We know you missed us but… Hagrid man! Your bed's on fire!"
"What's that?" Hagrid inquired, blearily. He was not going to have some gnatty little first formers ruin his night. "Are ye pulling pranks again, ye little rapscallions?"
"No Hagrid, we're serious. Your bed is on fire. Let us past so we can extinguish it."
"How'd you know me bed was on fire if you didn't cause it, eh?"
"You opened the door and we saw. Please, just let us in!"
"Alri', alri'." Hagrid opened the door wider, but refused to move. Then a wand blast knocked him onto the chair behind and two forms rushed into his house, spurting jets of water out of their wands.
When the thick flames were finally doused, the house smelled like a birthday cake after you blow out the candles. Hagrid's head nodded off and dropped onto his table with a sickening thud. James and Lily flinched and walked as one over to the heaving mass of hair that was Hagrid.
"Hagrid? Hagrid, do wake up. I have to ask you something." Lily whispered in his ear.
Grunting and heaving over, Hagrid looked at his guests and rolled his spit in his mouth. Spitting it onto the floor he asked,
"Wot' chu want then?"
"Hagrid, have either Sirius or Remus come down to your hut tonight?" James asked quietly, not willing to startle the half-giant.
"Well, can't say that I know. You see, Professor Jigger whipped up a batch of some moonshine whiskey and it's awful strong."
"Moonshine whiskey?" Lily looked puzzled.
"Wizard style."
"Wizard style. Professor Jigger really used moonshine then?" James offered, seeing the blank look on Lily's face.
"Yes he did. A good strong batch too. He had to be carried up earlier. He left his bottle.' Hagrid said, clasping the bottle to his chest. "And now it's my whiskey."
"Well, he's obviously no help. Look Lily, I'll find Sirius and Remus, you get to bed." James said, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her gently. "I don't want you falling asleep in class tomorrow."
"How are you going to do that? You can't find them on your own! You'll have a much better chance with me helping me look for them. Now, you can just take me wherever it is you think they are." Lily said smugly, crossing her arms across her chest and smiling.
"Look Lil, it's going to be dangerous. Why don't you stay here with Hagrid and make sure that he doesn't cause too much damage to his hut."
"But—"
"Don't you want to help Hagrid?"
"Stop twisting it around like that James!"
"I'm not! I'm telling you my opinion. Now, I'll pick you up from here when I find them."
"Fine, Fine…" Lily threw her hands up in exasperation. Seeing James' goofy grin, she beckoned him over with her finger and gave a good solid kiss.
"Hurry back now…" she whispered in her best bedroom voice. 'Haha! The sultry siren is in!' she thought with a smile.
Smiling even wider, James stumbled out of the hut and walked toward the castle in a daze. Halfway past the lake, James remembered Sirius and Remus. Hailing a lion that was stalking the grounds; James climbed astride it and whispered in its right ear. "To the common room, lion."
"Lion?" It purred, taking James quite aback.
"Yes please."
"No, no, no. My name is Giuseppe. I am a talking beast." It said in a thick Italian accent
"Well Giuseppe, do you think you can deliver me to the common room, post haste?" James said, quite annoyed at having to be delayed because of semantics.
"Certainly." Giuseppe said, taking great bounding leaps towards the castle. Reaching the carpeted area, his paws made no noise as he padded on the red carpets.
Disembarking at the portal, James asked Giuseppe, 'Is there any fare that I have to pay?"
"None. Just find Sirius and Remus and bring them back safely."
"Alright." Ducking into the portal, James did a double take as he realized that he never mentioned that his friends were missing. Rummaging into his trunk, he found the map and scanned it for any sign of his friends. Seeing them in the prefect's bathroom, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and ran out.
"Cosmydor."
"Beware the—"
"Thanks Swan, I get it. The smelly shall not traverse."
Swinging the tapestry over, James stepped inside to find Remus and Sirius fast asleep, clutching their wands.
Whispering "animato!" James woke the both of them up with his magic so they would not be startled.
"James! What are you doing here?"
"Well, you two never came back to the common room, so I got worried."
"Well, we had something to take care of, is all." Remus said, getting up and dusting his robes.
"Something more important than your detention? I asked Malfoy were you could possibly be and he said the two of you were serving detention with Hagrid. We found him drunk, you know." James said as he pulled Sirius up.
"We?" Sirius asked, cocking his head to one side and giving James a sidelong glance.
Blushing noticeably James managed to say "Lily."
"Ah, Lily. Interesting. While you were off having the snog of your life, Remus and I were discussing something very important amongst us. We have a lot of sorcerer's sand, so we have no real trouble there. Now, what had us shacked up in the prefect's bathroom is really very important. Remember, we all have a patron?"
"Yeah, she's right he—" James placed his hand where the statue should be and it ran through air. Looking down, he saw the shards of the statue scattered on the floor.
"Well, not anymore, obviously. What happened to her?" James asked, frowning.
"She escaped, knocked down by something or another."
"Is that such a problem?"
"Well, do you want to become an animagus?"
'Of course!"
"Well she won't give you the chance. You are to be her next stag."
"What?"
"Remember the statue, she had a dead stag at her feet?"
"YEAH, SO?" James bellowed, exasperated with Sirius' cryptic answers.
"You are to become that stag, James unless you can rise up to her challenge."
"What is the challenge?"
"You'll have to find her."
"That's it?"
"No, find her then ask her what you have to do." Walking into the common room, they found Peter crouched in a corner, quaking and shivering. Above him hovered a black smoky shape that resembled the statue. It was brandishing a knife and repeating over and over again, "Rat, rat, rat."
"Stop, you!" James yelled, brandishing his wand. Whirling around, the huntress advanced on him, stopping a few feet away.
"I helped you, my Stag. Now, you must help me. I cannot roam around forever. If my patrons are not named before midnight, I shall dissolve. You shall not be a proper animagus, and you, wolfling, will not survive." She pointed to Remus as she spoke the last few words.
"That's it? That's why you're terrorizing my friends? Because we must be named?"
"Yes. The hour draws near, my stag."
"Um, okay. Peter is Wormtail." Sirius stifled a laugh and Remus poked him in the ribs. 'Befits the little rat.' Sirius whispered to Remus, bringing forth laughter from the serious little boy. Peter swelled up and crossed the room, eager to hear what was being said about him. When he reached the two, Wormtail gave a shrill screech and fell to the floor. Bending down to see to him properly, Remus and Sirius noted that he was taking on the rat characteristics he exhibited in the tower. Upon closer inspection, it was found that Wormtail had not changed outwardly, but was all the more cunning in his choice of actions. He glanced covertly around and quickly got his feet, his face ever twitching, as if scared to miss anything.
"Next, um… Sirius shall be…"
"James!" Sirius warned, his voice rising.
"Sirius Black, I dub thee Padfoot."
Laughing Sirius stood his ground and his face because broader and less complex, but when he reverted to his original state, Remus and James noticed that he had a twinkle in his eye that he didn't have before.
"Lastly, I dub myself—"
"—Prongs!" Remus and Sirius yelled in unison, smiling widely.
"Prongs." James confirmed, turning to the shadow before him. His appearance did not change, but his demeanor did. He exuded an air of majesty, giving off the feeling like you were in a strict library. Acting serious however, was not his forte, so he quickly stifled the majesty that arose, and asked very loosely, "Is that all?"
"Name the one you must save, or forever overlook his face!"
"I name him Moony, for his—"
"Really big arse!" Sirius yelled, poking Remus in the ribs.
"That is sufficient." The shadow smiled and bowed, leaving stardust in her wake.
"That was so cliché." Wormtail piped up.
"Hush Peter. Nobody asked you what you thought." Remus reprimanded sharply.
"Well, now I'm a Marauder, all of you are entitled to listen to me."
"Not when we don't want to. Now, Sirius, Remus, I have a problem concerning the Marauder's map."
"The what?" asked Remus, at al loss as to what James was talking about.
"The map that we found in the cave under the common room. Since the general public calls us the marauders, this is our marauders map. We have to enchant it so that teachers don't find it and use it against us."
"Catchy title." Sirius remarked, laughing slightly.
"I know! It just clicked! So, how do we enchant?"
"Well, as far as I'm sure, we have to put a concealment spell on it."
"How? We haven't learned it any of our classes, and I don't want to spend the rest of my sixth year looking through a book to help me along. We've already wasted too much time."
"I know how," said Peter, glancing at them one by one.
"It figures," Sirius said under his breath "you'd need something like it to save your sorry little rat's ass. Forgive the pun, Remus."
"I can hear you, Sirius. I don't mean any harm, I hope you had forgotten that I used to be a weakling. Now I have a special talent, just like you. I'm on par with everyone else in this room now, so I have no need to be scared. Please, accept my friendship?"
"You were always our friend, Peter. We just didn't trust you too much." James smiled, extending his hand. Shaking it firmly, Peter smiled back saying that he bore no ill will.
"Yes Peter. I suppose that's it." Remus smiled, still reserved, he did not extend his hand.
"Well Sirius? Are you willing to make peace with me?"
"I was never at war with you, Peter. I just didn't like you too much." Sirius gave him a tight grin and walked over to the fireplace. Staring into the dying embers, he asked James, "so, do you think we should do the spell now? Or wait until we can really call ourselves Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?"
"I think that the map is too valuable to leave unguarded. We should trust Peter on this, we really should." James bowed his head in thought, unable to say otherwise.
"Why don't we ask Arthur?" Sirius asked, his eyes lighting up. "He's a very competent intern, and we can readily find him, with help from our map."
"That's a whole lot safer than what you're proposing, Peter." Remus mentioned.
"Then I agree to help find him." Peter said amiably, smiling.
Pulling out the map, James scanned the classrooms and offices, looking for a sign of Arthur Weasley. Seeing him in the infirmary, James dashed off towards Arthur.
"Arthur, Arthur, Arthur! We need your help!" he called breathlessly, coming to the infirmary. Seeing Arthur cradling an eight-year-old boy in his arms and being yelled at by a very attractive woman who looked remarkably like a sabre-toothed tiger, James did a quick tailspin and withdrawing to the waiting area, just to collide with his friends who ran after him in a clump.
"Family moment, mustn't disturb." James said jovially.
"But we have a problem!" Sirius whined, unable to accept the fact that he was not the most important thing at hand.
"I'm sure Arthur has one of his own. He was being yelled at by somebody."
"Who?" Sirius asked, suspiciously.
"Wife, sister, girlfriend, neighbor. Could be anyone, really." Remus offered, his hand on his chin.
"Be quiet, you!" Sirius yelled
"Just offering some help!"
"Ah boys, so sorry to keep you waiting. This is Molly, my wife. We heard you debating about us and we decided you were quite distressed. Oh and this is my son, Drake. Bill for short."
"Bill? We didn't follow that…"
"Well, a drake is a form of duck, correct?"
"Well yes, but how did you arrive at Bill from Drake?" asked Sirius, quite interested.
"A duck's bill." Remus said, amused immensely by the name. "How cryptic of you Arthur!"
"Well, it was Molly's idea." He blushed, hugging his son tighter.
"Any more children with names that we should know about?"
"Well, there's one on the way, apparently. Molly came to Hogwarts to tell me."
"Yes. Another boy." She beamed, quite proud of her husband.
"Oh congratulations!" the four of them intoned. Sirius asked then,
"What are you going to call him?"
"We decided on Chaplain." Molly said proudly.
"Hey! You could call him Charlie for short!" Sirius said, leaning in to pat Molly's rather nonexistent tummy.
"How'd you arrive there?" asked Arthur, quite puzzled.
"Chaplain is a homonym for Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin? Ring a bell?" Sirius asked, looking at Arthur like he had asked something stupid. Considering it was Sirius he was talking to, Arthur deemed he had.
"Alright it's settled. Charlie Sirius Weasley." Molly smiled.
"Anyway, Arthur, we have a problem we think you can solve." James said, offering his arm to Molly to help her sit down. "Thank you dear." She said as she took a seat and looked up at the five of them.
"Go on, I'm listening."
"Well Sirius and I found this map of Hogwarts and it tells us the location of everybody and the passwords of things."
"Oh boys, that's not something you should be toying with. Never trust something that can think for itself if you can't see its brain."
"But we don't want to give it to just anybody. We need a concealment spell so that only we can use it, therefore not getting anybody else into trouble." Peter said, trying to convince Arthur.
"That seems rather small minded, considering what this map shows." Arthur said, carefully.
"But we don' want to endanger anybody. We know its threats, so we can't be pulled in by its threat."
"What threat?"
"It tells students how to get out of the Hogwarts vicinity."
"Are you sure that's all?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, I'm giving this to you on strict confidence that you don't use this map for commercial gain or to endanger the lives of any here in Hogwarts."
Nodding solemnly, the four swore they wouldn't. Arthur held out a piece of parchment with miniscule writing on it.
"this is a concealment spell. Place it on what you wish to hide and say whom it must open for. Say the password while touching your wands to it."
"thank you Arthur." They all said.
In the library, Remus had put the finishing touches on the spell, making it impossible to enter without the appropriate password.
"Sirius, keep your wand to yourself, its not wanted here!"
"but I solemnley swear I am up to no good!" Sirius said, as his wand touched the map. Suddenly, the map glowed and said, "Mr. Padfoot is welcome."
"Wicked!"
James did the same thing, so did Remus and Peter. The map welcomed them and let them view the grounds once more.
"wipe it clean, Remus! I want to see if it works for other people."
"I don't know how!"
"I have an idea!" James chirruped, glad to help. "mischief managed." He said, and the map was wiped clean.
"how did you do that?"
"Well, I improvised, just like Padfoot here."
"well Prongs, shall we get on with the ceremony then?"
"what?"
"We need to transform soon."
"lets test it first."
Bringing the parchment to Lily, James asked her.
"what do you see?"
"parchment."
"I know, but we all have a feeling that it's hiding something."
"Well, we'll soon find that out."
Whipping her wand out, Lily tapped it on the parchment and said,
" I, Lily Evans, a student at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry command you to show yourself."
Writing appeared on the parchment, saying,
"Mr. Prongs greets Lily and thanks her for last night."
"Mr. Padfoot wishes he had partaken in the festivities observed by Mr. Prongs and Ms Evans."
"Mr. Moony wishes not to offend the pretty lady with a very nice wand."
"Mr. Wormtail hopes that Mr. Prongs will agree to share the lady's company with him."
