AN- Yes this is longer, that's mostly because I couldn't get fanfiction to work when i wanted to upload, thus I got bored and wrote more. Alot more. Anyhow...for those of you who reviewed the last chapter (I'd list names, but ff.net is still down...) go to http://www.whymsy.net/cookies.gif and get your cookie. You can see they didn't really want to go through the computer...*sighs* Anyhow...There is now some plot! I'm working on it still, so it's a little...confusing. Basically it explains alot of history in this chapter...couple of memories/flashbacks. Fun stuff and all ya know? Yeah, anyways...Thanks for reading this far. I love yall, bear with me a bit longer, you'll see my plot sooner or later!
~Lila
Disclaimer- They aren't mine. I wish they were, as always. Oh, and I found the cookie picture on google, believe it or not. Image search is your friend when your house lacks cookies to take pictures of. *sigh*
OH! I updated, do I get a Moony plushie? *bounces hopefully* and it's even almost double length! *laughs* Also, I enjoyed Sirius dipped in chocolate sauce. Yum. *drools* Thanks yall, you really do make my day, trust me!
Sorry about the long AN, I'm bored. On with the story!
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-2 weeks later-
"Last minute studying Padfoot?" James asked as he walked into the Commons Room. Sirius was bent over his potions book, reading frantically. Potions was their last OWL and Remus wasn't here to help him study. Sirius just nodded and went back to reading.
"Aha." James said as he sat down across from Sirius.
"Moony just left. Are we still on for tonight?" Sirius asked quietly, not looking up from his book.
James nodded, then grinned before changing the subject. "Padfoot- why do I get the feeling that you're keeping something from me?"
Sirius blushed and finally looked up from the book. "Because you already know. So what's the point in telling you?"
"Why not? And I only know because I pay ATTENTION. I notice that you two will both disappear and then reappear looking much happier. I notice that when he catches you staring at him you don't blush like you used to, but smile at him. I notice the way you look at each other and I noticed that neither of you came up to the dorm directly after that game of truth or dare." James smiled triumphantly and leaned back in his chair.
Sirius, much to James's surprise, laughed. "You notice a lot, and that game is exactly why I didn't tell you! You scared the shit out of me."
"Then why didn't you choose truth?" James asked, back to his usual grin.
"The dare was safer than any truth YOU could have come up with." Sirius responded with another laugh.
James laughed and looked down at his watch. "Well, time's a wasting. We need to get moving.
"Right." Sirius said, closing the book and following James to their door, which they would soon be leaving.
~*~
'Moony?' Padfoot barked as he, Prongs, and Wormtail entered the shrieking shack.
'Come find me!' Moony barked in return from somewhere upstairs. Padfoot was all too happy to oblige and was on the hunt instantly, leaving Prongs and Wormtail to figure out what was going on for themselves.
Prongs watched as Padfoot ran off. One of these days he was going to put a serious effort into learning canine so he'd understand what the bloody hell those two were up to half the time. Yet, under the present circumstances, maybe ignorance could be bliss. The inner James shrugged and Prongs followed his companions onto a night of adventures, Wormtail holding on tightly.
~*~
"Sirius…SIRIUS!" Sirius awoke quickly as Remus poked him. "Get up love, Poppy will be here soon. You NEED to be up there."
Sirius looked down at his watch and cursed as he jumped up. It was already 5:30. Poppy left the castle at 6.
"Bloody hell! What did I go and fall ASLEEP for?!?" He exclaimed as he quickly made ready to leave. 5:34 AM. Remus looked slightly amused as he sat on the bed, his bones not exactly where they belonged. Just like every transformation, well, better than most. Sirius cursed even louder when he realized James and Peter were long gone. "Bye love." He said, kissing Remus. "See you soon."
"Hurry back to me." Remus said as Sirius quickly disappeared back out of the shack.
~*~
Sirius grumbled under his breath all the way back to the castle. He remembered Remus's first transformation here VERY clearly. That's why he always had to meet Poppy…Madam Pompfrey that is. Remus had almost killed himself that night. He'd been in so much pain that it had woken Sirius from his very restless sleep. They'd always been close, they'd been friends long before Hogwarts. Before…everything.
That night Sirius had literally forced Madam Pompfrey to go to Remus at 4 AM, and demanded to be allowed to come as well. Even she admitted he might not have lived with all that blood loss if left for the next two hours. Ever since then he'd had special permission to go with Madam Pompfrey to take care of Remus every morning after the full moon. She trusted them. She trusted them enough to let them call her 'Poppy,' providing none of the other teachers were nearby to hear. It was fun to be trusted by her, but it meant that since they'd become animangi, Sirius never got any sleep on the night of a full moon. Unless of course he fell asleep in the shack, like this morning. But it was worth every minute of sleep deprivation. It was worth it to help Remus.
Sirius made it to the castle at 5:50 AM and to the door of the infirmary at 5:57. He looked very disheveled, but that was…normal. He walked in quietly and went directly to Poppy, who was just putting on her hat.
"Good morning Sirius." She smiled. Sirius always thought she had a nice smile, very motherly. Very unlike HIS mother. "Ready to go?"
Sirius nodded. "Almost overslept. I had to run most of the way here. I didn't want to be late." He said as he tried to catch his breath. The funny part was that it was absolutely true.
"Pleasant dreams?" She asked. She'd been gauging Remus's transformations on Sirius's dreams ever since they'd figured out that the more restless Sirius had slept, the more Remus had torn himself up. Before the other marauders had begun joining Remus, they'd almost always been bad.
Sirius nodded. "I think he's finally stopped eating himself." He smiled; knowing the truth of the matter was that he was being sufficiently distracted. He'd always been able to do that with his dreams. 'Sometimes,' Sirius thought, 'it's ironic how fate plays her cards.'
~*~
Remus and Sirius were lucky with their potions owl in one respect; they got to take it last. That meant they could have a little time to rest up before taking the horrid thing. Of course they weren't entirely 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,' but no one expected them to be. With the given circumstances, it was pretty amazing how much they could actually remember. Sirius blamed it on his last minute cram session the night before; Remus firmly believed that his steady studying over the course of the year did the trick. He'd always studied, Sirius rarely did. Even still, they were perfectly matched. Everything in life was perfect, except the fact that the year at Hogwarts was soon coming to a close.
That night, the Marauders were sitting in the Commons Room discussing their next idea…
"Why don't we do something on the train?" Peter suggested. "After all, it's too late to give detentions for this year…"
"A new record!" James exclaimed. "Detention on the first day of school, before we even get there."
Sirius laughed. "Sounds like fun. So what're we going to do?"
"Err…" Peter stumbled, "I didn't think of that yet."
"We could cast invisibility charms on all the Slytherins' trunks." Remus suggested. "That would cause a lot of mayhem."
Remus looked around and noticed the shocked expressions on James and Peter's faces. He didn't usually come up with the pranks, just how to pull them off. Sirius just looked proud.
"What? I've hanging around you guys for the past five years, you know SOME of it had to rub off!" Remus laughed.
Sirius joined in the laughter. "And remember, this is the wizard who started his first year by turning Snape's hair about 10 different colors. Don't tell me he's no prankster!" Sirius threw his arm over Remus's shoulder and pulled him into a half hug. Remus blushed a little.
"Yeah well, I'd spent three years by myself, it was time to actually have some fun." Remus grinned and popped a chocolate frog into his mouth.
"Quiet down, will you!" Frank Longbottom yelled from the other side of the room. "Some of us still have to study!"
"Right." James whispered, "So here's what we do…"
~*~
Sirius sighed as the plans were discussed. He never really liked summer. Summer break meant he had to go home to a family that he hated. His mother had hated him since he was eight. She hated the fact that his best friend was a 'vile half-breed' and he refused to betray his friendship. She'd forbidden him to see Remus ever again, not that he listened. Remus was his best friend and there was no way he was going to give that up. Now he was even more than that. Sirius sighed again and drifted off to a dreamland of memories…
~*~
"98…99…100!" Sirius yelled into the apparently empty forest. "Ready or not! Here I come!" He and his friend had spent the afternoon playing hide and seek and nightfall was quickly approaching. He knew they'd have to quit soon, but there should be time for one last game. "They've gotten good…" he said aloud as he walked through the forest, looking for any sign of his friends. "I wonder where Remus is." Remus was his best friend. They drove their teachers, and parents, absolutely crazy since they'd met in preschool. One of the older kids had been teasing Sirius about his name. Remus had over heard the conversation and come to Sirius's 'rescue.' That kid had been paranoid of them for the rest of his preschool years.
The bushes behind him moved.
"Gotcha!" Sirius yelled as he spun around to face whoever it was he'd managed to find, only to come face to face with a pair of yellow eyes and a set of very sharp teeth. "Wolf..." he whispered in fear before turning and running as fast as his legs could carry him in the other direction. The wolf, however, was a lot faster than even the fastest of eight year old boys, and was gaining steadily on him. It wasn't long before the gap had closed to less than ten feet.
Remus had been hiding in a nearby tree when he heard Sirius scream. Only moments later, Sirius came running into the clearing, the wolf hot on his trail. Without a second though, Remus jumped out of the tree, landing between Sirius and the wolf.
Sirius spun around as he heard Remus land behind him. "No! Remus, get away!" he yelled, running back and grabbing hold of Remus's arm. At first he succeeded in pulling him away, but when he tried to step in front of him, Remus glared and pushed Sirius back just as the wolf leapt, landing with his teeth in Remus's shoulder.
"NOOO!" The cry had been ripped from Sirius's chest and seemed to almost ripple with volume and power. The clearing was suddenly filled with a blinding white light and the wolf fell to the ground, dead.
The wolf slowly began changing into a man as a voice, beautiful and powerful at the same time, floated along the breeze.
"The bond of unconditional love can wield a power greater than all others. Grow well and strong, my children of the night."
It faded as quickly as it came and the clearing was filled with the shouts of frantic parents, a dead werewolf, and two young boys, staring at each other, alive when they shouldn't be.
~*~
Sirius smiled at the memory. Ironically, the memories just after he remembered with far less fondness. Ah, what a bond had been forged that night! Sirius smiled again and looked at the treasure he held under his arm.
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Please R&R! I'll come up with some sort of treat! Don't know what yet though!
~Lila
Disclaimer- They aren't mine. I wish they were, as always. Oh, and I found the cookie picture on google, believe it or not. Image search is your friend when your house lacks cookies to take pictures of. *sigh*
OH! I updated, do I get a Moony plushie? *bounces hopefully* and it's even almost double length! *laughs* Also, I enjoyed Sirius dipped in chocolate sauce. Yum. *drools* Thanks yall, you really do make my day, trust me!
Sorry about the long AN, I'm bored. On with the story!
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-2 weeks later-
"Last minute studying Padfoot?" James asked as he walked into the Commons Room. Sirius was bent over his potions book, reading frantically. Potions was their last OWL and Remus wasn't here to help him study. Sirius just nodded and went back to reading.
"Aha." James said as he sat down across from Sirius.
"Moony just left. Are we still on for tonight?" Sirius asked quietly, not looking up from his book.
James nodded, then grinned before changing the subject. "Padfoot- why do I get the feeling that you're keeping something from me?"
Sirius blushed and finally looked up from the book. "Because you already know. So what's the point in telling you?"
"Why not? And I only know because I pay ATTENTION. I notice that you two will both disappear and then reappear looking much happier. I notice that when he catches you staring at him you don't blush like you used to, but smile at him. I notice the way you look at each other and I noticed that neither of you came up to the dorm directly after that game of truth or dare." James smiled triumphantly and leaned back in his chair.
Sirius, much to James's surprise, laughed. "You notice a lot, and that game is exactly why I didn't tell you! You scared the shit out of me."
"Then why didn't you choose truth?" James asked, back to his usual grin.
"The dare was safer than any truth YOU could have come up with." Sirius responded with another laugh.
James laughed and looked down at his watch. "Well, time's a wasting. We need to get moving.
"Right." Sirius said, closing the book and following James to their door, which they would soon be leaving.
~*~
'Moony?' Padfoot barked as he, Prongs, and Wormtail entered the shrieking shack.
'Come find me!' Moony barked in return from somewhere upstairs. Padfoot was all too happy to oblige and was on the hunt instantly, leaving Prongs and Wormtail to figure out what was going on for themselves.
Prongs watched as Padfoot ran off. One of these days he was going to put a serious effort into learning canine so he'd understand what the bloody hell those two were up to half the time. Yet, under the present circumstances, maybe ignorance could be bliss. The inner James shrugged and Prongs followed his companions onto a night of adventures, Wormtail holding on tightly.
~*~
"Sirius…SIRIUS!" Sirius awoke quickly as Remus poked him. "Get up love, Poppy will be here soon. You NEED to be up there."
Sirius looked down at his watch and cursed as he jumped up. It was already 5:30. Poppy left the castle at 6.
"Bloody hell! What did I go and fall ASLEEP for?!?" He exclaimed as he quickly made ready to leave. 5:34 AM. Remus looked slightly amused as he sat on the bed, his bones not exactly where they belonged. Just like every transformation, well, better than most. Sirius cursed even louder when he realized James and Peter were long gone. "Bye love." He said, kissing Remus. "See you soon."
"Hurry back to me." Remus said as Sirius quickly disappeared back out of the shack.
~*~
Sirius grumbled under his breath all the way back to the castle. He remembered Remus's first transformation here VERY clearly. That's why he always had to meet Poppy…Madam Pompfrey that is. Remus had almost killed himself that night. He'd been in so much pain that it had woken Sirius from his very restless sleep. They'd always been close, they'd been friends long before Hogwarts. Before…everything.
That night Sirius had literally forced Madam Pompfrey to go to Remus at 4 AM, and demanded to be allowed to come as well. Even she admitted he might not have lived with all that blood loss if left for the next two hours. Ever since then he'd had special permission to go with Madam Pompfrey to take care of Remus every morning after the full moon. She trusted them. She trusted them enough to let them call her 'Poppy,' providing none of the other teachers were nearby to hear. It was fun to be trusted by her, but it meant that since they'd become animangi, Sirius never got any sleep on the night of a full moon. Unless of course he fell asleep in the shack, like this morning. But it was worth every minute of sleep deprivation. It was worth it to help Remus.
Sirius made it to the castle at 5:50 AM and to the door of the infirmary at 5:57. He looked very disheveled, but that was…normal. He walked in quietly and went directly to Poppy, who was just putting on her hat.
"Good morning Sirius." She smiled. Sirius always thought she had a nice smile, very motherly. Very unlike HIS mother. "Ready to go?"
Sirius nodded. "Almost overslept. I had to run most of the way here. I didn't want to be late." He said as he tried to catch his breath. The funny part was that it was absolutely true.
"Pleasant dreams?" She asked. She'd been gauging Remus's transformations on Sirius's dreams ever since they'd figured out that the more restless Sirius had slept, the more Remus had torn himself up. Before the other marauders had begun joining Remus, they'd almost always been bad.
Sirius nodded. "I think he's finally stopped eating himself." He smiled; knowing the truth of the matter was that he was being sufficiently distracted. He'd always been able to do that with his dreams. 'Sometimes,' Sirius thought, 'it's ironic how fate plays her cards.'
~*~
Remus and Sirius were lucky with their potions owl in one respect; they got to take it last. That meant they could have a little time to rest up before taking the horrid thing. Of course they weren't entirely 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,' but no one expected them to be. With the given circumstances, it was pretty amazing how much they could actually remember. Sirius blamed it on his last minute cram session the night before; Remus firmly believed that his steady studying over the course of the year did the trick. He'd always studied, Sirius rarely did. Even still, they were perfectly matched. Everything in life was perfect, except the fact that the year at Hogwarts was soon coming to a close.
That night, the Marauders were sitting in the Commons Room discussing their next idea…
"Why don't we do something on the train?" Peter suggested. "After all, it's too late to give detentions for this year…"
"A new record!" James exclaimed. "Detention on the first day of school, before we even get there."
Sirius laughed. "Sounds like fun. So what're we going to do?"
"Err…" Peter stumbled, "I didn't think of that yet."
"We could cast invisibility charms on all the Slytherins' trunks." Remus suggested. "That would cause a lot of mayhem."
Remus looked around and noticed the shocked expressions on James and Peter's faces. He didn't usually come up with the pranks, just how to pull them off. Sirius just looked proud.
"What? I've hanging around you guys for the past five years, you know SOME of it had to rub off!" Remus laughed.
Sirius joined in the laughter. "And remember, this is the wizard who started his first year by turning Snape's hair about 10 different colors. Don't tell me he's no prankster!" Sirius threw his arm over Remus's shoulder and pulled him into a half hug. Remus blushed a little.
"Yeah well, I'd spent three years by myself, it was time to actually have some fun." Remus grinned and popped a chocolate frog into his mouth.
"Quiet down, will you!" Frank Longbottom yelled from the other side of the room. "Some of us still have to study!"
"Right." James whispered, "So here's what we do…"
~*~
Sirius sighed as the plans were discussed. He never really liked summer. Summer break meant he had to go home to a family that he hated. His mother had hated him since he was eight. She hated the fact that his best friend was a 'vile half-breed' and he refused to betray his friendship. She'd forbidden him to see Remus ever again, not that he listened. Remus was his best friend and there was no way he was going to give that up. Now he was even more than that. Sirius sighed again and drifted off to a dreamland of memories…
~*~
"98…99…100!" Sirius yelled into the apparently empty forest. "Ready or not! Here I come!" He and his friend had spent the afternoon playing hide and seek and nightfall was quickly approaching. He knew they'd have to quit soon, but there should be time for one last game. "They've gotten good…" he said aloud as he walked through the forest, looking for any sign of his friends. "I wonder where Remus is." Remus was his best friend. They drove their teachers, and parents, absolutely crazy since they'd met in preschool. One of the older kids had been teasing Sirius about his name. Remus had over heard the conversation and come to Sirius's 'rescue.' That kid had been paranoid of them for the rest of his preschool years.
The bushes behind him moved.
"Gotcha!" Sirius yelled as he spun around to face whoever it was he'd managed to find, only to come face to face with a pair of yellow eyes and a set of very sharp teeth. "Wolf..." he whispered in fear before turning and running as fast as his legs could carry him in the other direction. The wolf, however, was a lot faster than even the fastest of eight year old boys, and was gaining steadily on him. It wasn't long before the gap had closed to less than ten feet.
Remus had been hiding in a nearby tree when he heard Sirius scream. Only moments later, Sirius came running into the clearing, the wolf hot on his trail. Without a second though, Remus jumped out of the tree, landing between Sirius and the wolf.
Sirius spun around as he heard Remus land behind him. "No! Remus, get away!" he yelled, running back and grabbing hold of Remus's arm. At first he succeeded in pulling him away, but when he tried to step in front of him, Remus glared and pushed Sirius back just as the wolf leapt, landing with his teeth in Remus's shoulder.
"NOOO!" The cry had been ripped from Sirius's chest and seemed to almost ripple with volume and power. The clearing was suddenly filled with a blinding white light and the wolf fell to the ground, dead.
The wolf slowly began changing into a man as a voice, beautiful and powerful at the same time, floated along the breeze.
"The bond of unconditional love can wield a power greater than all others. Grow well and strong, my children of the night."
It faded as quickly as it came and the clearing was filled with the shouts of frantic parents, a dead werewolf, and two young boys, staring at each other, alive when they shouldn't be.
~*~
Sirius smiled at the memory. Ironically, the memories just after he remembered with far less fondness. Ah, what a bond had been forged that night! Sirius smiled again and looked at the treasure he held under his arm.
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Please R&R! I'll come up with some sort of treat! Don't know what yet though!