Chapter Twenty –Nine: Beginnings
When Remus woke up, he had no idea what day it was. He sat up slowly, looking around the room. To his surprise, Lily was napping in a chair nearby, but Peter, James and Sirius were not in any of the other beds. As he watched, Lily rolled over and opened her eyes.
"You're awake!" she cried happily. "Just in time! Happy birthday, Remus!"
"It's my birthday?" Remus asked, amazed.
"Yup," Lily giggled. "May 18, right?"
Remus nodded happily. "I'm glad I woke up in time."
"Me, too," Lily replied. "The boys will be happy, too, let me go get them!"
With that, Lily rushed from the room. Soon, she returned with Austin, Sirius, Peter and James. Madame Pomfrey didn't seem to mind them being there, since there weren't any other patients to disturb. Remus got some good presents, tons of candy and a Quik Quotes Quill ("It takes notes on a lecture for you!") among other things. Mostly, he was just happy to spend the day with his friends.
Unfortunately, after the party, reality set in and Remus and his friends realized how much studying they had to get done for exams in the next two weeks, especially the people who slept through some classes. Remus didn't have time for much else, especially worrying or feeling guilty.
The day before finals started, the boys were sitting around their dorm room, studying separately when James let out an exclamation. "That's it!" he yelled.
"What's it?" Sirius lazily replied.
James grinned broadly, his black hair messy as usual. "The answer to our and Remus' problem."
"Which problem is that?" Remus wondered aloud.
"How we can stay together during the full moon and still be safe," James answered triumphantly.
"No way," Sirius scoffed. "What are you reading anyway?"
James glanced at the cover of their DADA book. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts book. I was studying the section on werewolves and it says they don't attack animals."
"So?" Peter questioned.
"It's been in front of our faces all year long," James lamented. "All we have to do is become animagi."
Dead silence followed this statement. 'ALL we have to do?' Remus thought.
"Is it that easy, James?" Austin asked.
James shrugged. "I haven't checked it out yet. We'll have to research this summer and start working on it whenever we can next year."
"Yeah, you guys will have a blast doing it, I'm sure," Austin sullenly answered.
The other boys looked at each other and nodded. "We were gonna wait to give you this, Austin," Remus said, retrieving a large cage from under James' bed. "But I think you need it now."
Austin looked overwhelmed with happiness. "You got something for me?" he whispered.
"Open it," James urged.
Removing the cover, Austin revealed a beautiful eagle owl. The smile seemed to cover his entire face. "I don't know what to say, you guys."
"Now we can write back and forth all of the time," Peter remarked. "Even though you won't be here with us."
"It's really the next best thing to studying every spare moment to learn to do an illegal and probably painful spell," Sirius continued.
The boys all laughed. Austin was looking much happier. "Thanks, guys," he said. "You will sure be seeing a lot of this owl once term is over."
"I hope so," Remus said, smiling.
Exams began the next day. They were long and grueling, but Remus was happy with his results. James and Sirius had surprised everyone by being at the top of the class, and Remus and Lily weren't too far behind. Austin finished fairly well and Peter had managed to do decently with Lily's extra help. All too soon it was the last day of term. After packing their trunks, the six students ran down to Hagrid's hut for one last visit as first years.
"Ah'm sure gonna miss yeh over the summer," Hagrid said, teary eyed. "And Ah'm gonna miss Austin even more cuz...cuz he won' be back!" Tears started to spill over onto his bearded face.
Austin couldn't stand Hagrid's tears any more than the rest of them could, so he quickly said, "I've got an owl now, Hagrid, I'll owl you all of the time!"
Hagrid looked up wearily. "Promise?"
Austin solemnly replied, "Promise!"
"I 'ad better get an owl from all of yeh this summer," Hagrid cheerfully bantered.
"Of course, Hagrid," Lily answered for them.
James looked at his watch. "Uh oh, we'd better get going. Thanks for everything Hagrid, have a nice summer!" They all hurried to catch the coaches that would take them back to the Hogwarts Express.
They all shared a compartment on the trip back to London, happily discussing the high points of the year, the Quidditch World Cup and other summer plans. In the train station, Lily saw her parents first, so she bade them all farewell and then took Remus aside.
"Have a great summer!" she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Write me!"
As soon as she was gone, James told them all that he would find a good book on animagi and send it to them all as soon as he could. "We need to find everything we can," he added. "So if you can find a book on the subject, read it and take notes for us."
Everyone nodded, and then it was time for Austin to go. "Now look," he said sternly. "I don't want this goodbye filled with tears and mushy stuff. I'll be seeing you this summer, so let's just say a bientot."
The Marauders smiled and echoed, "A bientot!" as Austin and his parents left the station.
Finally, their parents began to arrive, and they shouted various messages of "Send me an owl" and "See you at the world cup!"
Remus stood with his mom and dad in the train station, after his friends had gone, looking longingly at the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express. He did love being a wizard, he thought to himself. 'I hope I can get her to understand that.'
"Ready, son?" his dad gently asked.
Remus looked at their loving faces. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."
--End of Year 1--
A/N: I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at fan fiction. Please look for Peter Pettigrew and the Perilous Pranks (Year Two) to be posted here soon!
When Remus woke up, he had no idea what day it was. He sat up slowly, looking around the room. To his surprise, Lily was napping in a chair nearby, but Peter, James and Sirius were not in any of the other beds. As he watched, Lily rolled over and opened her eyes.
"You're awake!" she cried happily. "Just in time! Happy birthday, Remus!"
"It's my birthday?" Remus asked, amazed.
"Yup," Lily giggled. "May 18, right?"
Remus nodded happily. "I'm glad I woke up in time."
"Me, too," Lily replied. "The boys will be happy, too, let me go get them!"
With that, Lily rushed from the room. Soon, she returned with Austin, Sirius, Peter and James. Madame Pomfrey didn't seem to mind them being there, since there weren't any other patients to disturb. Remus got some good presents, tons of candy and a Quik Quotes Quill ("It takes notes on a lecture for you!") among other things. Mostly, he was just happy to spend the day with his friends.
Unfortunately, after the party, reality set in and Remus and his friends realized how much studying they had to get done for exams in the next two weeks, especially the people who slept through some classes. Remus didn't have time for much else, especially worrying or feeling guilty.
The day before finals started, the boys were sitting around their dorm room, studying separately when James let out an exclamation. "That's it!" he yelled.
"What's it?" Sirius lazily replied.
James grinned broadly, his black hair messy as usual. "The answer to our and Remus' problem."
"Which problem is that?" Remus wondered aloud.
"How we can stay together during the full moon and still be safe," James answered triumphantly.
"No way," Sirius scoffed. "What are you reading anyway?"
James glanced at the cover of their DADA book. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts book. I was studying the section on werewolves and it says they don't attack animals."
"So?" Peter questioned.
"It's been in front of our faces all year long," James lamented. "All we have to do is become animagi."
Dead silence followed this statement. 'ALL we have to do?' Remus thought.
"Is it that easy, James?" Austin asked.
James shrugged. "I haven't checked it out yet. We'll have to research this summer and start working on it whenever we can next year."
"Yeah, you guys will have a blast doing it, I'm sure," Austin sullenly answered.
The other boys looked at each other and nodded. "We were gonna wait to give you this, Austin," Remus said, retrieving a large cage from under James' bed. "But I think you need it now."
Austin looked overwhelmed with happiness. "You got something for me?" he whispered.
"Open it," James urged.
Removing the cover, Austin revealed a beautiful eagle owl. The smile seemed to cover his entire face. "I don't know what to say, you guys."
"Now we can write back and forth all of the time," Peter remarked. "Even though you won't be here with us."
"It's really the next best thing to studying every spare moment to learn to do an illegal and probably painful spell," Sirius continued.
The boys all laughed. Austin was looking much happier. "Thanks, guys," he said. "You will sure be seeing a lot of this owl once term is over."
"I hope so," Remus said, smiling.
Exams began the next day. They were long and grueling, but Remus was happy with his results. James and Sirius had surprised everyone by being at the top of the class, and Remus and Lily weren't too far behind. Austin finished fairly well and Peter had managed to do decently with Lily's extra help. All too soon it was the last day of term. After packing their trunks, the six students ran down to Hagrid's hut for one last visit as first years.
"Ah'm sure gonna miss yeh over the summer," Hagrid said, teary eyed. "And Ah'm gonna miss Austin even more cuz...cuz he won' be back!" Tears started to spill over onto his bearded face.
Austin couldn't stand Hagrid's tears any more than the rest of them could, so he quickly said, "I've got an owl now, Hagrid, I'll owl you all of the time!"
Hagrid looked up wearily. "Promise?"
Austin solemnly replied, "Promise!"
"I 'ad better get an owl from all of yeh this summer," Hagrid cheerfully bantered.
"Of course, Hagrid," Lily answered for them.
James looked at his watch. "Uh oh, we'd better get going. Thanks for everything Hagrid, have a nice summer!" They all hurried to catch the coaches that would take them back to the Hogwarts Express.
They all shared a compartment on the trip back to London, happily discussing the high points of the year, the Quidditch World Cup and other summer plans. In the train station, Lily saw her parents first, so she bade them all farewell and then took Remus aside.
"Have a great summer!" she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Write me!"
As soon as she was gone, James told them all that he would find a good book on animagi and send it to them all as soon as he could. "We need to find everything we can," he added. "So if you can find a book on the subject, read it and take notes for us."
Everyone nodded, and then it was time for Austin to go. "Now look," he said sternly. "I don't want this goodbye filled with tears and mushy stuff. I'll be seeing you this summer, so let's just say a bientot."
The Marauders smiled and echoed, "A bientot!" as Austin and his parents left the station.
Finally, their parents began to arrive, and they shouted various messages of "Send me an owl" and "See you at the world cup!"
Remus stood with his mom and dad in the train station, after his friends had gone, looking longingly at the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express. He did love being a wizard, he thought to himself. 'I hope I can get her to understand that.'
"Ready, son?" his dad gently asked.
Remus looked at their loving faces. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."
--End of Year 1--
A/N: I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at fan fiction. Please look for Peter Pettigrew and the Perilous Pranks (Year Two) to be posted here soon!