Albus catches onto the new columnist advising his students. The Marauders find out about a little secret involving one of their party, and that haunted house in Hogsmeade. Someone issues a challenge.

1972

15th April 1972

Dear Gellert

I am hearing whispers of some advice columnist going by the initials GG in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. It is most alarming that while I am juggling my duties as headmaster, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, some unknown person seems to be having contact with impressionable young minds in my care. I thought it was the same Tante Giselle who writes the Agony Aunt column in the Prophet, but the advice has a different tone somehow – encouraging first years to study advanced potions and hexes… Not that I am discouraging ambition in my students, but it is worrisome that I do not know who might be influencing them. Especially given the current ongoing war.

Perchance, might you know who this GG is? Hogwarts is a safe haven for the children, and I do not want any danger to them.

Your friend

Albus

Spring 1972

Dear Albus

Have you taken my advice to give the merry old Ministry a good spring-cleaning yet? Nein? Not at liberty to say? GG might be Gregoric Gregovitch, Griselda Grey or Goofy Goodman. Get a phonebook and look under all the Gs. You are entitled to your secrets, and I am to mine. You are welcome to try use legilimency on me and I will fight you all the way like the good old days. Will be looking forward to your visit.

One thing I have learnt when your spy gate-crashed my Headquarters (now prison) in 1932, nowhere is safe. That goes for your precious Hogwarts. The strongest charms can be broken by a stronger wizard or by betrayal from within. Your dear students might find themselves standing in the middle of a battlefield someday, maybe sooner rather than later. You cannot protect them all, you noble old coot. What happens in summer when the kids go home to maybe not so loving families?

Do you still have a werewolf on the grounds? How is our little pup? Bitten anyone yet? Have you taken my advice to extend admission to a few Muggle students for chew toys in case things do go awry? Maybe have your Muggleborn students suggest some detested sibling or cousin?

Gellert

21st October 1972

Dear GG

We are writing to you after learning of you from a friend. We just discovered our best mate is a werewolf. Do not get us wrong – he is still one of us, and we really want to help him. Fine, we are little mad about him keeping his secret from us, but we understand where the Headmaster and him are coming from. He bites and scratches himself up something awful each full moon when they must lock him up for everyone's safety. We do not want to see him suffer or get sent away if it becomes known. We will not put it past one of those Slytherin snakes to go crying wolf to their daddies and mommies.

We have tried looking up potions, but we cannot find any cures or such for a werewolf. Any ideas how we can help a friend in need? We have not told him we know his secret yet for fear he will freak out and run. He gets skittish enough whenever we ask him if he is feeling well during the days of the full moon.

Actually, we could blame SB for his sniffing about the local haunted shack after curfew when our friend was supposedly visiting his sick mom back home. The moonlight stroll was JP's idea. We figured the connection out from speaking with our Astronomy tutor on moon phases.

The Marauders – JP, SB, PP

25th October 1972

Dear GG

I got into Hogwarts and made some great friends in Gryffindor House. I had such a wonderful first year. We even came up with a name for our band – the Marauders. We have such fun, sneaking out to the village, flying broomsticks outside flying lessons and getting detention for it. Well, it was not all breaking the rules, but we did get into some mischief. I still have to find excuses to leave my dorm and go get locked up on full moon nights. After which I always wake up all badly scratched up and bleeding, but better me than some innocent fellow student, right?

However, I suspect they now know my secret – that I am a werewolf. I will not blame them if they decide to drop me like a hot coal. Maybe I might get expelled if they tell. Professor Dumbledore said it was to be our secret. Now it is not. Should I just give up and run back home, or hide in the Forbidden Forest? Father and Mother will be so disappointed. Do you think the giant spiders will eat werewolves?

Soon to be ex-Marauder

RL

Fall 1972

Dear RL

Please hang in there, pup. If someone deserves to be bitten, it is Dumbledore. It is not your fault you are a werewolf. Judging from your letters, you are a kind and thoughtful boy, the sort which will mostly likely get eaten by the Big Bad Werewolf than be one. If anyone says otherwise, it is their loss. Do not go looking for giant spiders now. I do think it is time for you to come clean with your buddies, if they have not already confronted you with their wands drawn like Auror-wannabes or gone screaming to their parents and teachers like scaredy-cats.

If your merry band is as tight as you claim, I doubt a little thing like you being a werewolf will end it. Otherwise, you can hex their asses into the new year. You may wish to refer to Hexa Diabolica Simplicus for ideas if your library has a copy. Running away from your problems is not going to make them disappear. Take it from me, you might live to regret it. If you still want to go feral (strongly advise against this), you might want to write to Newt Scamander, author of Fantastic Beasts. He might have some ideas where a little wolf pup can freely and safely romp to his heart's content.

GG

Fall 1972

Dear Marauders

Firstly, you need to speak to your friend about his secret, gently please. Fear can make people do crazy stuff and you don't want to get bitten or have him jumping out the window. You lot are students of Hogwarts, right? You do not need another ghost cluttering the halls. Once you have gotten that out of the way, we will need to look at the options open.

Next, there is no cure for a werewolf as of now. If anyone among you aspire to a mastery in Potions, you might wish to take note. It will be a long and tedious process with no guarantee of success. The second option will be standing by his side during the change and duration of his affliction. This is ill-advised if you intend to do it as humans. Please refer to the relevant section in Scamander's book Fantastic Beasts if you need to ask why. I would recommend you consider taking the form of an animal, preferably one strong enough to manage a full-blown werewolf. May I check if you have any metamorphmagi among you? Nein?

The alternative is becoming animagi, which is also a long, tedious and possibly dangerous process which I seriously doubt you lot have the discipline and patience to pull off. Like I said, no guarantees. I suppose this is where you lads back off and leave your werewolf friend to drown in his little pit of despair. Maybe you might even go running about blabbing about this to all the teachers and students so he gets sent home for good.

Prove me wrong.

GG

25th December 1972

Dear GG

We have received your reply and after much discussion have confronted our friend. He admitted to being a werewolf and we are all sworn to keep his secret. No one else must know of this, ever. He is like a brother to us and we really want to help him. Since we regularly blow up our cauldrons in potions class without even meaning to, we are not going to consider potions. And since metamorphmagi are so rare, our most likely candidate was SB since he had a distant grandaunt who was one and his kid brother will not quit crowing about how pureblood his family is. We tried ducking SB in the lake to see if he would become a fish. Didn't work. He tried jumping off a tree to see if he might turn into a bird. That ended up with him in the infirmary with messed-up legs. We muffed the healing spell. His distant aunt did not pass the ability down. So no metamorphmagus.

I have borrowed a book from the library on animagi. The process does seem every bit as challenging as you made it out to be. I suppose if anything does go wrong, we can approach Professor McGonagall for help. Otherwise, I do not see the point drawing any more attention to us. Especially with a certain Slytherin sneak snooping about. We better start by getting some mandrake leaves. I do hope at least one of us end up with a form able to help our afflicted friend in. It is a bummer I cannot choose to be a bear or something of that sort. PP fears he might end up a cockroach. That would suck.

I resolve to be an animagus and Merry Christmas.

Marauder JP

25th December 1972

Dear GG

Merry Christmas and thank you for your advice.

I was that close to running into the Forest to get eaten for good. I tried the lake but the giant squid kept returning me to shore. Hagrid caught me and dragged me back to the castle. Something about spider-breeding season and not wanting them disturbed. Oh, and Dumbledore would be mad with him if a student got hurt in the Forest. Telling my friends was not as bad as I thought it would be. Watching S break his legs trying to see if he was an metamorphmagus hurt more. I did try to tell them that was an inborn trait that pops up when the metamorphmagi are still babies, but they were not listening. Then P mispronounced the healing spell for bones and S got his feet facing back to front.

I do hope no one gets hurt. I do not want them to get into trouble with the teachers on my account. You told me once about friends that are keepers? I think I have found those friends. I do not want to lose them ever. Do you think there is hope that one day I can be cured of being a werewolf? I do not want to hurt anyone, especially on full moon nights.

Sincerely

RL

Author's Notes:

Grindelwald always had a way with words. He is taunting Albus with admitting Muggle students to Hogwarts because he knows it is not only illegal, Albus will never accept the idea of using them as werewolf bait.

Did Grindelwald just throw down a gauntlet to the Marauders and have the lads accept the challenge to become animagi? Maybe. Not sure how believable this is. I am picturing young Remus as slightly naïve, shy and lonely boy. And of course, Sirius would not listen.