Chapter 6: The Fun Begins

"Wake up!" I heard someone shout. I heard the curtains around my bed being pulled back. I moaned.

"Get up, Remus!" Sirius shouted. James grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at me.

"Okay, okay, I'm up," I mumbled, still not moving.

"This will wake him up!" I heard Peter saying as James and Sirius laughed. I rolled over to find him holding a glass of water above my head.

"No!" I shouted. "I'm up!" I jumped out of bed and everyone laughed. I looked out the window. No wonder I was so tired. It was still dark.

"Why are we up so early?" I asked. "Breakfast doesn't start for almost two hours."

"Because," James grinned as he held up several firecrackers.

"Old Dumbledore's gonna be in for a surprise this morning," said Sirius.

"I say they're crazy!" said Peter. "Don't you think they're crazy?"

"Hey! I've never claimed not to be!" exclaimed Sirius. "And as for James, he just wants to impress Lily."

"I do not!" James shouted. "I don't like her!"

"Sure," I said. "We saw you yesterday! So anyway, where did you get those?" I pointed to the firecrackers.

"I found them at my house before we left," explained James. "I figured we have to have some fun while we're here."

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Now we'd better get down to the great hall before everyone else wakes up."

"But how?" I demanded. "What if we get caught?" James pulled out a shiny, silvery piece of cloth.

"Is that-" I began to ask.

"Yep, it's an invisibility cloak," said James, proudly. "My dad gave it to me."

"I don't know, you guys," I said. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Of course we shouldn't," said Sirius. "That's why it's fun!" Peter shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked James, who was partially covered by the cloak so that all we could see were his legs.

"How are all of us supposed to fit under here?" complained Peter as we tried to all fit under the cloak. I was wondering the same thing, but some how we all managed to. As we left the common room, I thought of something.

"Do you guys even remember how to get to the Great Hall?" I asked, doubtfully.

"We'll figure it out," said James. "Besides, why do you think we're leaving so early?"

"Quiet now," said Sirius. "People can still hear us under this thing." We began walking down a hallway.

"I think we were supposed to go the other way."

"Yeah this doesn't look right."

"We did go right."

"So we should have gone left?"

"Right."

"We did go right!"

"No! I mean right go left."

"Ouch! That was my foot!"

"Sorry."

"Is this my arm?"

"No it's mine! Get off!"

"Look! Stairs!"

"Let's go."

"Everyone step together or we'll fall."

"Aaggghh!" Needless to say, we fell, and tumbled to the bottom of the staircase.

"Ouch, my leg," Peter wined.

"It's your fault," said Sirius.

"Knock it off, guys," said James. "I think I remember the way from here. Get up." After another three minutes, we were finally all on our feet and well hidden under the cloak. I guess James knew where he was going, because I certainly didn't, but several minutes later, we arrived in the Great Hall, which was dark and empty.

"All right," said James. "Let's do this fast." We went to the front of the room and found the chair that Dumbledore usually sat in. Sirius handed James the firecrackers, all of us still hidden under the invisibility cloak, and James fastened them to the chair.

"All right, all set," said Sirius. "We better get back to the dorm now." We headed back. Once, we almost thought we were going to get caught when we saw Mrs. Norris wandering a corridor. But we stayed silent and she didn't show the slightest signs of knowing we were there. Finally, we arrived back at the common room.

"We did it!" James shouted as soon as we were in the safety of our dorm room.

"Yeah!" shouted Sirius. "Dumbledore is gonna be in for a big surprise at breakfast!"

"I don't know if it was such a good idea," I said, doubtfully. "What if he finds out that we did it?"

"How would he find out?" asked James. "We had the cloak. No one could see us."

"I guess," I agreed.

We could hear noise from the common room as the other Gryffindor students began to awake. We dressed and got ready to go to breakfast. I was really worried that Dumbledore would find out that it was us. What would he do? What if he expelled us?

"Let's go," said Sirius, as we left the dorm room. We didn't have to worry about getting lost finding our way to the common room this time. We just followed everyone else. When we arrived in the Great Hall, we took the same seats we had taken the night before. James was pleased when Lily took the same seat across from him, and Sirius didn't seem too disappointed when Erin sat across from him again either. Peter still found it hilarious how James stared at Lily. He sat cracking up until finally I had to ask him to be quiet.

"Good morning, students," Dumbledore greeted us. "Enjoy your breakfast, then you will go to your first class." Dumbledore sat down and the food began to pile up on the plates as it had the night before.

"If the timer's right, they should go off right about…" said James. "Now!" There was a loud boom and a flash of light. Dumbledore, surprised, jumped off of his chair. The other teachers looked startled as well. The students laughed.

"Well done guys!" said Sirius.

"You guys did that?" Lily stared at us in disbelief.

"Yeah," James nodded, smiling. She only shook her head in disgust and his face fell. Erin, however, seemed to find it funny. She laughed.

"James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew," we froze as Dumbledore said each of our names. We'd been caught, just what I had feared. "I'd like to see the four of you after breakfast," he said. He didn't sound entirely angry, and we continued eating.

"Well, what do you think he'll do to us?" I asked, worriedly.

"I don't know," James shrugged. "It can't be that bad." We went back to eating in silence. I think we were all more worried than we'd admit. Even Sirius, who thought the whole thing was great. Finally, after what seemed like hours, breakfast was over. Reluctantly, we approached the teachers' table, where Dumbledore awaited us.

"Well, you four were responsible for the little incident this morning, correct?" he asked. We nodded. Peter seemed to find a sudden fascination with his feet, I stared at my hands, James had his eyes fixed on the wall behind Dumbledore, and Sirius looked as though he was used to this sort of thing. I glanced up at Dumbledore. He didn't look angry.

"Let's not let that happen again," he said. We nodded again.

"Okay, Professor," said James.

"Now run along to class, or you'll be late," he told us. "And by the way," he added as we were walking away. "Thanks for that! I needed it. You're some clever kids." He chuckled.

"Thanks," said Sirius.

"Just don't let it happen again," said Dumbledore.

"Don't worry, we won't," James made his most innocent face. As soon as we were out of earshot, we began talking frantically.

"Can you believe he let us off like that?" asked James.

"He thought it was funny," said Sirius. "You could tell."

"Well, that certainly won't be the last time we do anything like that," said James, grinning.

"You're telling me this?" questioned Sirius. I laughed. It had been fun now that we weren't in trouble. And everyone thought it was funny. Well with the exception of most of the teachers who hadn't looked pleased, and maybe Lily, who'd looked a bit annoyed with us.

"Oh, man," said Sirius looking at our schedules. "We have potions class first. It's with Slytherin in the dungeon."

"Great," said James sarcastically. "Another encounter with greasy boy." Meaning Snape, of course. We all laughed. By the time we found the dungeon, which wasn't difficult, of course, you just kept on going down, we were late. We slipped into the back of the classroom, attempting to be unnoticed, but an old man with severe eyes and balding gray hair noticed us.

"You four are late," he said to us. We stared at him. "What are your names?" he demanded.

"Remus," I muttered.

"James," said James.

"Peter," said Peter.

And I'm Sirius," said Sirius.

"I'd like to know your name, not how truthful you are," said the teacher, sternly.

"But I'm Sirius!" said Sirius. We were all laughing and the professor gave us evil glares. I didn't like him, even then.

"My name is Sirius," Sirius insisted. "Check your roster." He did and sure enough, there was Sirius's name.

"Four points from Gryffindor," said the professor. "That'll teach you to be on time from now on." Snape sniggered from across the room and Sirius shot him a dirty look. Lily grumbled something about irresponsible people affecting the good of everyone. She also didn't look exactly pleased that James had selected the table next to hers and Erin's for him and Sirius to sit. Peter and I sat behind them.

"Hello class. My name is Professor Beaker and I am the potions teacher here at Hogwarts," Professor Beaker began. "I want to make you all aware that this class is not a time for jokes. Potions is a very important subject and should be taken seriously."

"I'll be good at that!" Sirius called out. Several people laughed. I guess Professor Beaker didn't get the pun, because he just scrunched up his face and scolded Sirius for speaking out in class. Then he continued on about the certain types of potions we'd learn to make. He did nothing more than talk the entire class period, and I don't think I'd ever been so anxious for forty minutes to be over in my life. When it finally was, we were the first ones out the door.

"I don't like him," said Sirius when we were walking down the hallway. The rest of us agreed.

"I think we should blow something up the next time we have his class," said James. I, of course, thought he was joking. Sirius, on the other hand, apparently didn't.

"Yeah!" he said. "Good idea, James!"

"You can't be serious," I moaned.

"But I am," Sirius said grinning. "Remember?" Peter began the hysterical laughter again.

"Well, what class do we have next?" I asked. James looked at the schedule.

"Transfiguration. With that McGonagall lady."

"No greaseball, right?" asked Sirius.

"Nope, we have it with Ravenclaw," replied James. We were actually on time for class this time, although that could have been because James was sure not to let Lily out of his sight since we left potions. It was getting ridiculous, really, but none of us said anything. There was no teacher in the room when we got there. A cat sat on top of the teacher's desk, but it wasn't Mrs. Norris. Eventually, the whole class arrived. There was a small pop and the lady that we recognized as Professor McGonagall appeared sitting on top of the desk where the cat had just been. The class instantly began asking questions.

"How did you do that?" asked Sirius, incredulously.

"She must be an animagus," James was telling me quietly.

"I always like to surprise my students by doing that on the first day," explained Professor McGonagall. "Welcome to Transfigurations class. What I just showed you is a form of transfiguration known as an animagus. Through complex spells, a human being can form the ability to change into an animal. You all, however, are no where near as advanced as you need to be in order to perform such spells. That is, of course, why you are here. I expect respect, attentiveness, and cooperation in this class at all times." She glanced at the four of us. "There will be no pranks or disruptions. Well, with those things in mind, let's begin." We opened our Simple Transfiguration Spells books to page thirty and began discussing changing porcupines into pincushions. There was a knock on the classroom door. Professor McGonagall walked over and opened it. It was Professor Dumbledore.

"May I speak to Remus Lupin for a few moments?" he asked. Professor McGonagall looked a bit annoyed, but nodded. I knew what he wanted to speak to me about, but James, Sirius and Peter didn't. They thought I was getting in more trouble for the firecrackers. They gave me sorry looks as I left the classroom. Once I was in the doorway, Dumbledore spoke.

"Remus," he said gently. "I know about your condition." He looked at me, sympathy showing in his sparkling blue eyes. I nodded. "Now, I'm going to show you what to do when it's full moon. Do you remember the tree I made an announcement about last night?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied quietly. I was nervous. What would I have to do?

"That tree," he said as we headed for the large wooden door at the front entrance of the school. "Is really a secret passageway to a place where you will be safe to stay. I am going to take you there now so you can see." He pushed open the front door and pointed in the direction of a large willow tree. As we neared it, the branches began swaying violently.

"Now, watch carefully," said Dumbledore as he selected a large stick on the ground and pushed a knot on the tree. It stopped moving and revealed a passageway. Dumbledore jumped down and I followed. We were underground.

"Keep on going this way," said Dumbledore. "It's a rather long walk. You'll have to leave well before sundown." The passageway was damp, dark, and scary for an eleven-year-old. Finally, I could feel us walking upward, towards the surface.

"Here we are," said Dumbledore finally. We emerged into an old, rundown house. The windows were broken and boarded up, and thick layers of dust covered the few pieces of furniture; a bed, and several couches and chairs.

"It's not much," said Dumbledore. "But you'll only be here for one night. And we had to make it look haunted enough that no one would want to come near it." I nodded. I didn't like it. It scared even me, with the dim shadows cast across the dark room through the cracks in the boards that covered the windows.

"Now, Remus, when you come here, it is extremely important that you stay in the house. Lock all the doors. The next morning, when you return, please go to the hospital wing. I'm sure you'll need some rest before going back to classes." I nodded, not wanting to think about it.

"Well, I suppose you should be getting back to class now," said Dumbledore. "Do you have any questions before we go back?" I shook my head. We went back through the passageway and back to Hogwarts. By that time, Transfiguration class had ended, and we had a free period before lunch. I headed back to the Gryffindor common room, where I found James, Peter and Sirius. I was instantly flocked with questions.

"Where were you, Remus?"

"What happened?"

"Did you get in trouble?" I sighed. What could I tell them?

"Dumbledore, uh- he had a letter to show me," I said.

"Really? From who?" James asked curiously. I thought fast.

"My mum," I replied. "She's ill."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Peter.

"Do you think she'll be all right?" asked Sirius.

"Oh, yeah, she'll be fine," I answered. They'd bought it. Although James did look a little doubtful.

"Well, Remus, we've already been assigned homework for McGonagall," said James, handing me the assignment. I looked at it. We had to read pages 32-45 in Simple Transfiguration Spells, then write the steps to changing a porcupine into a pincushion. It didn't look that hard.

"Well, should we work on it now?" I asked.

"Are you crazy?" asked Sirius. "This is the perfect time for planning more pranks!" James nodded and grinned. Peter made an unsure face. I wasn't so sure. We'd gotten away without getting in trouble once, but if we did something again, we'd most likely get in trouble. Dumbledore wasn't going to let us do whatever we wanted.

"I think we'd better do our homework," I said again.

"Oh come on," said Sirius. "Don't tell me you're afraid of getting caught! We'll get that all worked out. They'll never know it was us."

"I don't know—" I began.

"Come on," said James. "You seem like a person who could use some fun in their life. Now, potions class."
"I say we add the ingredients together all wrong and hope for the best," suggested Sirius.

"More like the worst," I said. Sirius continued talking, pretending to not have heard me. "And Snape gets on my nerves. We need to think of something to do to that little greasy kid."

"I know a spell that will turn you hair different colors," suggested James.

"Cool," said Sirius. "But shouldn't we have some practice first?"

"Oh Peter!" called James, laughing.

"No!" Peter shouted. "What if you can't change it back?"

"Well, that would be bad luck for you," said Sirius. James pulled out his wand and began to chase Peter, who was running as fast as he could, but was still no match for James. He shouted the curse and Peter's hair turned bright pink.

"Well, it works," Sirius said to me from where we were sitting, watching. We all burst out laughing.

"Mates! Change it back!" Peter whined. "C'mon!"

"Nope, I think it looks better that way," said Sirius.

"Yeah," James agreed. "Pink is definitely your color!" We continued laughing and Peter continued whining. Finally, James turned his hair back to its normal color.

"Well, that's definitely a good one for Snape," agreed Peter. "But let's not use it on me anymore, okay?"

"Oh, we won't," said Sirius. "Much." He muttered under his breath.

"Lunch time!" Peter said cheerfully. Nothing could stand in the way between that boy and food. We headed down to the Great Hall and once again took the same seats. I laughed when I noticed that Dumbledore thoroughly examined his chair before sitting down this time. This also happened to be the first time that James and Lily had an intelligent conversation.

"So, what class do you have after lunch?" James tried starting a conversation with Lily.

"History of Magic," she replied. "With Professor Binns." She laughed a little as she said it.

"Uh, James," Sirius said to him. "All first year Gryffindors have the same classes."

"Right, I knew that," said James.

"Sure," said Sirius. James slapped him. Lily and Erin laughed.

"So, do you know where the class is?" asked Lily. "Because I was thinking maybe you could show us."

"Sure, we could do that," said James. Sirius tapped him on the shoulder and reminded him that we had no idea where the class was. He shrugged and said we'd figure it out. Lily and Erin were too busy in conversation to notice this. When lunch was over, we got up and James led the way, Lily and Erin next to him. I walked next to Sirius.

"So what do you think the chances are that he actually knows where he's going?" I muttered.

"Not a chance," said Sirius. "I hope you don't mind being a little late. For one thing, I definitely know we were supposed to make a left back there."

Peter caught up with us. "This is going to be funny," he said. "I wonder how long it'll take Lily to figure out that he has no idea where he's going."

"I don't know," I said. "But let her figure it out for herself. James is so desperate to impress her." We must have walked in circles about four times. Finally, James chose a staircase and we went up it.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" asked Lily.

"Sure I do," said James. "This is the- er- scenic route." Sirius, Peter and I choked on laughs.

"I should have known," Lily complained. "You don't know where we're going! You're such a liar, James Potter! I'd have been better off finding my own way!"

"Well you're the one that asked!" James shouted back at her. "You know it's only my second day here, too!" Lily didn't say anything, but gave him a sorry look. The rest of us burst out laughing, and eventually the two of them did too.

"Well, we'd better look for that class, or we're going to be really late," said Erin quietly.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Well, any ideas what direction we go in?" asked Lily. "Since our tour guide over here seems to be lost." She smiled at James. Just then, Severus Snape rounded the corner.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't mudbloods and mudblood lovers," he said. "Are we lost?"

"Yes," said Lily, sounding exasperated. "Do you know where the class is?"

"Yeah, but why should I show you, mudblood?" he asked.

"Don't talk to her like that!" James shouted.

"What is with you and mudbloods, Potter?" he asked. "You can't seriously be friends with these people!" Sirius began to look angry as well.

"The only person here that I'm not friends with is you!" James retorted.

"Knock it off you two!" said Lily. "Now will you please show us where the class is?" she asked Snape.

"Well, I guess so," said Snape, reluctantly. "But only because I'm going there anyway."

He gave us an evil glare led us down the hallway. James scrawled.

"He won't get off with only pink hair!" he shouted.

"He has such an attitude problem!" I said.

"You're telling me?" he demanded.

"Stupid greasy kid," said Sirius. "But at least your beloved Lily isn't mad at you anymore." He tried to cheer up James.

"I do not like Lily Evans!" James' voice echoed throughout the corridor. A few seconds later, we heard Lily shout at Erin from up ahead. (We all let Snape stay a good distance in front of us and he didn't seem to complain.)

"I do not like James Potter!" We all burst into hysterical laughter.

"Don't worry about what greasy kid said, James," Sirius told him. "It just gives us all the more reason to torture him." James wasn't talking. Needless to say, we were all late for class. Professor Binns didn't take house points, though. He just warned us to be on time from now on. Oh, one thing I did forget to mention about Professor Binns is that he's a ghost. This was a little weird at first, but his class was so boring that even I, the one out of the four of us who actually paid attention in class, had trouble staying awake. Sirius was asleep almost instantly, and Peter soon after. James kept on glaring at Snape the whole time, and I attempted to take notes on how Hogwarts School was started. When the forty long minutes were finally over we headed off to our final class, Herbology.

"I'm not even going to ask," said Lily as she walked by James on the way out the door.

"Oh come on, I actually know how to get to this one!" insisted James. He seemed to have gotten over his anger from earlier.

"Fine then," said Lily, then she muttered to herself. "Why do I even bother?"

"Because you like him!" Erin hissed. James actually did know how to get to Herbology, so we weren't late.