Chapter Twenty-Three: Adherum
The next day, Sirius, James and Austin learned the Sticking Spell (Adherum) and were practicing it on various items in their room. They knew the teachers would come up with the counter spell pretty quickly, so Sirius fixed it so that when it was performed, the word 'Marauders' would hang in the air over the desk for a moment. Soon, they had it perfected.
At three in the morning, Sirius, James and Austin woke up and departed the Gryffindor tower for all of the classrooms they could find. Two hours later, they returned and with Remus and Peter, got ready for breakfast. Lily ate breakfast with them, and she could tell that something was up. None of the boys were eating and there was tons of nervous energy hanging around.
"What's going on you guys?" she asked.
"You'll see. What do you think we'll do in Transfiguration today?" James casually changed the subject.
Lily shrugged. "I don't have any idea." She looked at James strangely, but didn't ask any more questions.
As breakfast neared its end, the teachers rose from the High Table and left the Great Hall. This was Remus and Peter's cue to follow. They tried to look casual as they followed the teachers at a distance and loitered around the doorway, waiting to see how the meeting progressed.
Remus tried to start a conversation with Peter, but he seemed really tired and not talkative. Then Remus realized that if today was Wednesday, the full moon was only two days away. For some reason, he got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't felt nervous about the full moon since his second month at Hogwarts. Remus reassured himself that he had no reason to worry; no one had been in danger because of him and no one was going to be. He pulled himself together as he heard the sounds of many chairs being pushed back from tables.
"The meeting is ending," Remus stated unnecessarily. "We'd better go in and distract them for a few more minutes."
He knocked on the door, but he and Peter burst in without waiting for a response. The faculty looked surprised to see the two students.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked looking concerned.
"No, sir," Remus replied calmly. "Peter here just needed to ask Professor Turpin for some help with Potions."
Dumbledore looked much relieved. "Oh. Well, I think that could have waited until a bit later, but go ahead Mr. Pettigrew."
"Well, sir, I was just having some trouble with the antidote we were working on yesterday."
Turpin (the never before named Potions Professor) sighed. "I'm not surprised to hear that Mr. Pettigrew, since your cauldron was emitting clouds of purple smoke yesterday. We'll talk about an extra study time in class."
Remus elbowed Peter. They couldn't agree to that because their presence would then become suspicious.
"I would have waited, Professor," Peter quickly added. "But I have a feeling I'm going to need this potion really soon, for my pet owl." He began to whimper. "She's really sick and I think this will help."
Professor Turpin looked deeply concerned. "Of course, Mr. Pettigrew. You can come in during lunch today and if it's not quite right, we'll take your owl to Madame Pomfrey."
Peter smiled broadly. "Really, Professor? Thanks so much!" Turning to Remus, he added, "We'd better get going; class is about to start."
They raced out of the room and to Transfiguration, where other students were just beginning to filter in. James, Sirius and Austin were standing in the hallway nearby, waiting for their friends. It was hard to keep a straight face as the other first year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students came in to sit down, but it was much worse when Professor McGonagall walked in. She seemed very flustered already and announced that they would have a pop quiz on the transfiguration of a lemon into a book. As everyone groaned, she turned back to her desk to get the lemons to pass out.
The class watched in amazement as she tugged on the fruit, trying to get it off of her desk. When that did not work, she reached for a ruler to pry them off with. When the ruler would not budge, she got angry. She whipped out her wand and muttered, "Release Adherum." The word 'Marauders' floated gently over her desk for a moment, and she stared at it.
In any other teacher's room, the entire class would have been rolling on the floor in laughter, but not in McGonagall's room. Every student was working hard to suppress the giggles that threatened to escape her or his lips. Professor McGonagall was, of course, livid. She didn't say a word about the desk incident, simply handed out the lemons and announced that the quiz would now be much longer. She would hand out a new object every two minutes and if an object was not perfectly transfigured in that time, no credit would be earned.
The suppressed giggles quickly vanished to be replaced by barely suppressed rage. Some one was brave enough to murmur, "She doesn't even know who did it," but he was shot so many killer glares, he didn't dare voice his opinion any louder. The hour went by in a blur. Remus transfigured so many things, he couldn't even remember them all. By the time they were released to go to Charms, he didn't care to transfigure anything again as long as he lived.
In Charms, Gryffindors were talking excitedly with the Slytherins, united in their delight over a good prank. The Slytherins had had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, and they recounted Professor Carter's reaction.
"First, he tried to take his book off of his desk and he looked really confused when it wouldn't budge. Then he tried to move a cage of pixies and he was pulling on it so hard, he fell over. That's when he said, 'Bloody hell,' and performed the counter curse. As he watched 'Marauders' hover and fade, he realized we were laughing hysterically and he joined in," one Slytherin explained.
Then the Slytherins listened anxiously as James told of McGonagall's reaction.
"Oh man," a girl exclaimed. "I hope she's over it by the time we have her."
All day, students traded stories of their teachers' reactions. Lily heard that it took Professor Binns three classes to realize what was going on, and they all wished they had been there to see him.
At dinner, there was finally a chance for James, Sirius, and Austin to tell their tale to Peter and Remus (because, of course, Peter spent lunch mixing antidotes for his owl).
"We tried to get into Dumbledore's office, too," James explained. "But we couldn't guess the password and we don't know a strong enough spell to break in."
"That might have been for the best," Remus said with a smile. "He and McGonagall are friends. Who knows what punishments we'd get if they joined forces against us."
Sirius shuddered at the thought. "That 'quiz' was bad enough. I don't want to imagine anything worse."
As everyone nodded, Remus glanced at the ceiling and noticed the moon. It was in its very fullest waxing gibbous phase, reminding the young werewolf of the upcoming full moon. He still felt a bit nervous, but he didn't know why, or if he should even bring it up.
'No, it'll only make them worry', he thought and tried to dismiss the subject from his mind until Friday, the day of the full moon.
The next day, Sirius, James and Austin learned the Sticking Spell (Adherum) and were practicing it on various items in their room. They knew the teachers would come up with the counter spell pretty quickly, so Sirius fixed it so that when it was performed, the word 'Marauders' would hang in the air over the desk for a moment. Soon, they had it perfected.
At three in the morning, Sirius, James and Austin woke up and departed the Gryffindor tower for all of the classrooms they could find. Two hours later, they returned and with Remus and Peter, got ready for breakfast. Lily ate breakfast with them, and she could tell that something was up. None of the boys were eating and there was tons of nervous energy hanging around.
"What's going on you guys?" she asked.
"You'll see. What do you think we'll do in Transfiguration today?" James casually changed the subject.
Lily shrugged. "I don't have any idea." She looked at James strangely, but didn't ask any more questions.
As breakfast neared its end, the teachers rose from the High Table and left the Great Hall. This was Remus and Peter's cue to follow. They tried to look casual as they followed the teachers at a distance and loitered around the doorway, waiting to see how the meeting progressed.
Remus tried to start a conversation with Peter, but he seemed really tired and not talkative. Then Remus realized that if today was Wednesday, the full moon was only two days away. For some reason, he got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't felt nervous about the full moon since his second month at Hogwarts. Remus reassured himself that he had no reason to worry; no one had been in danger because of him and no one was going to be. He pulled himself together as he heard the sounds of many chairs being pushed back from tables.
"The meeting is ending," Remus stated unnecessarily. "We'd better go in and distract them for a few more minutes."
He knocked on the door, but he and Peter burst in without waiting for a response. The faculty looked surprised to see the two students.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked looking concerned.
"No, sir," Remus replied calmly. "Peter here just needed to ask Professor Turpin for some help with Potions."
Dumbledore looked much relieved. "Oh. Well, I think that could have waited until a bit later, but go ahead Mr. Pettigrew."
"Well, sir, I was just having some trouble with the antidote we were working on yesterday."
Turpin (the never before named Potions Professor) sighed. "I'm not surprised to hear that Mr. Pettigrew, since your cauldron was emitting clouds of purple smoke yesterday. We'll talk about an extra study time in class."
Remus elbowed Peter. They couldn't agree to that because their presence would then become suspicious.
"I would have waited, Professor," Peter quickly added. "But I have a feeling I'm going to need this potion really soon, for my pet owl." He began to whimper. "She's really sick and I think this will help."
Professor Turpin looked deeply concerned. "Of course, Mr. Pettigrew. You can come in during lunch today and if it's not quite right, we'll take your owl to Madame Pomfrey."
Peter smiled broadly. "Really, Professor? Thanks so much!" Turning to Remus, he added, "We'd better get going; class is about to start."
They raced out of the room and to Transfiguration, where other students were just beginning to filter in. James, Sirius and Austin were standing in the hallway nearby, waiting for their friends. It was hard to keep a straight face as the other first year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students came in to sit down, but it was much worse when Professor McGonagall walked in. She seemed very flustered already and announced that they would have a pop quiz on the transfiguration of a lemon into a book. As everyone groaned, she turned back to her desk to get the lemons to pass out.
The class watched in amazement as she tugged on the fruit, trying to get it off of her desk. When that did not work, she reached for a ruler to pry them off with. When the ruler would not budge, she got angry. She whipped out her wand and muttered, "Release Adherum." The word 'Marauders' floated gently over her desk for a moment, and she stared at it.
In any other teacher's room, the entire class would have been rolling on the floor in laughter, but not in McGonagall's room. Every student was working hard to suppress the giggles that threatened to escape her or his lips. Professor McGonagall was, of course, livid. She didn't say a word about the desk incident, simply handed out the lemons and announced that the quiz would now be much longer. She would hand out a new object every two minutes and if an object was not perfectly transfigured in that time, no credit would be earned.
The suppressed giggles quickly vanished to be replaced by barely suppressed rage. Some one was brave enough to murmur, "She doesn't even know who did it," but he was shot so many killer glares, he didn't dare voice his opinion any louder. The hour went by in a blur. Remus transfigured so many things, he couldn't even remember them all. By the time they were released to go to Charms, he didn't care to transfigure anything again as long as he lived.
In Charms, Gryffindors were talking excitedly with the Slytherins, united in their delight over a good prank. The Slytherins had had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, and they recounted Professor Carter's reaction.
"First, he tried to take his book off of his desk and he looked really confused when it wouldn't budge. Then he tried to move a cage of pixies and he was pulling on it so hard, he fell over. That's when he said, 'Bloody hell,' and performed the counter curse. As he watched 'Marauders' hover and fade, he realized we were laughing hysterically and he joined in," one Slytherin explained.
Then the Slytherins listened anxiously as James told of McGonagall's reaction.
"Oh man," a girl exclaimed. "I hope she's over it by the time we have her."
All day, students traded stories of their teachers' reactions. Lily heard that it took Professor Binns three classes to realize what was going on, and they all wished they had been there to see him.
At dinner, there was finally a chance for James, Sirius, and Austin to tell their tale to Peter and Remus (because, of course, Peter spent lunch mixing antidotes for his owl).
"We tried to get into Dumbledore's office, too," James explained. "But we couldn't guess the password and we don't know a strong enough spell to break in."
"That might have been for the best," Remus said with a smile. "He and McGonagall are friends. Who knows what punishments we'd get if they joined forces against us."
Sirius shuddered at the thought. "That 'quiz' was bad enough. I don't want to imagine anything worse."
As everyone nodded, Remus glanced at the ceiling and noticed the moon. It was in its very fullest waxing gibbous phase, reminding the young werewolf of the upcoming full moon. He still felt a bit nervous, but he didn't know why, or if he should even bring it up.
'No, it'll only make them worry', he thought and tried to dismiss the subject from his mind until Friday, the day of the full moon.