A Marauder's Life For Me
Chapter 4
Two days later, Remus received an owl saying that he should meet Professor McGonagall and Madam Thomas in the Entrance Hall at 6:00 that night. His first full moon at Hogwarts had arrived. That entire day, Remus was very quiet, something that Sirius and James noticed immediately; Peter was a little slow on the uptake.
"Remus, are you okay?" James asked, looking concerned.
"No, not really," Remus replied. "My Mum's sick, and I need to go visit her over the weekend. I'll be back by Monday, though."
"Oh. We'll miss you, Remus," Peter said with a smile.
"Not really, Remus spoils all of our pranks," Sirius said, chortling.
"Sirius, James, come up to the dormitory with me. I have gifts for you."
Remus ran up to the dormitory, taking the stairs two at a time. When Sirius and James got there, he was rummaging through his trunk for something. They tried to peer over his shoulder to see what he was looking for, but he straightened up with two brown paper parcels in his hands. He gave one to each Sirius and James.
"Go on, open it!" Remus urged.
Both opened their packages, and inside was what looked like an ordinary hand mirror.
"A mirror? Remus, are you taking the mickey?" Sirius asked.
"No, I'm not taking the mickey. It's not an ordinary mirror, they're charmed. You just say the name of the person you want to talk to into the mirror, and the other person's face will appear in yours. They're like Walkie-Talkies!" he exclaimed.
Both Sirius and James seemed puzzled by this last statement. After about half a minute, James spoke up.
"Remus, what are Walkie-Talkies?"
It was a quarter to six when Remus began the walk down to the Entrance Hall. For him, the walk seemed to take an eternity. He wasn't really looking where he was going; his feet just led him there. He was surprised to find Professor McGonagall and Madam Thomas already waiting for him when he arrived at five minutes to six.
"Good evening, Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall said. "I'm glad you found your way down all right."
Seeing as Remus made no response, Professor McGonagall spoke again.
"Remus, this is Madam Thomas, the Hogwarts Nurse. She will take care of you once the full moon ends. Please follow me."
She and Madam Thomas led Remus out onto the grounds. They stopped about twenty feet away from a tree with branches thick as five baseball bats tied together. Madam Thomas took a long stick that was lying on the ground in the brush near the tree and pressed a knot on the tree's base.
"This tree is a Whomping Willow," Professor McGonagall said. "It will flail its branches at anyone who gets close enough for it to feel threatened. That way, nobody can come across you while you are … dangerous."
Remus merely nodded.
"I'll come back for you in the morning, hun," Madam Thomas said. "Good luck, dear."
Remus took one last look at the castle, and then set off down the tunnel.
On Saturday, a notice had been posted on the common room bulletin board. Sirius was the first of the boys to notice it.
"Oy, James!" Sirius called across the common room.
"What is it?" James asked, his gaze leaving Lily and fixing on Sirius.
"Flying lessons! Next Wednesday! And guess who we're learning with?" Sirius asked, walking over to the table at which James was seated.
"The Slytherins?" James asked, a grin spreading across his face.
"Yep. So all we need to do is learn some more hexes between now and then," Sirius said, checking to make sure that Lily wasn't listening to their conversation.
"I guess we head to the library?" James asked Sirius.
"Yeah, I guess. But whatever happens, don't let Pince know why we want to learn this stuff," Sirius muttered as the two of them walked past Lily, who was seated in a comfy armchair, and left through the portrait hole.
"Hey, wait for me!" Peter called as he caught up with them.
The three of them were walking in the direction of the library when Drew and Brianna came out of a room the boys had never seen before.
"Hey, Drew," Peter said, walking over to the two of them. "What room is that?"
"It's called the Room of Requirement. You walk past the wall three times, thinking about what you want to appear in the room. A door will appear in the wall, and whatever you wished for will be inside," Drew replied with a smile at Brianna. "Just don't tell anyone you saw us here. We were supposed to be on Prefect duty."
"Okay, we promise," Sirius said, giving a mock salute to Drew. "We won't tell a soul."
"Thanks, guys," Drew said, winked at them, and he and Brianna left down the corridor.
The boys watched Drew and Brianna continue down the corridor until they were out of sight. Sirius turned to James and Peter with a wide grin on his face.
"Gentlemen, I think we've just found the perfect place to learn and practice jinxes."
Madam Thomas came to get Remus at eight o'clock on Saturday morning. She walked down the tunnel and up the stairs into the bedroom of the Shrieking Shack. It was here she found Remus lying on the bed.
"Oh my, you poor thing!" she exclaimed.
Remus was very pale, and his body was covered in gashes. His clothes were ripped in many different places, and you could see the cuts through the rips in the fabric. His breathing was shallow as Madam Thomas led him up to the Hospital Wing. She had to support him all of the way there, and almost carry him up the marble staircase because he was so weak. (This was not an easy task for Madam Thomas; she was only twenty five, five foot six inches, and not very strong.)
When they reached the Hospital Wing, she laid him down on one of the beds and drew the curtains. She was able to mend his bruises and cuts in a few moments, but Remus needed to stay in the Hospital Wing for all of Saturday and most of Sunday until he was strong enough to walk back to Gryffindor Tower on his own.
He returned to Gryffindor Tower Sunday night very tired, but glad to be back. The first thing he noticed was that Sirius, James, and Peter were nowhere to be found. He climbed the boys' dormitory stairs and found a note from them on his pillow in the dormitory.
Remus,
We're down in the Room of Requirement. Ask Drew or Brianna where to go; they'll show you where it is. Glad you're back.
James Sirius Peter
"The Room of Requirement? Well, I'll go ask," Remus said. "Wherever it is, I hope its close by. I'm exhausted."
With that, he walked back down the steps to the common room. He found Drew and Brianna sitting on one of the couches together, laughing and chatting with one another.
"Drew?"
"Remus, you're back! How's your mum?" Brianna asked.
"She's much better, thanks," Remus replied with a slight smile. "I have a question. James, Sirius, and Peter left me a not saying that you two know where the Room of Requirement is."
Brianna blushed a nice shade of crimson, and when Drew noticed, he shoved her playfully.
"It's – well – follow me, I'll show you where it is," Drew said.
Drew led Remus to the Room of Requirement, explaining to him how the room worked as they walked. They arrived in front of a bare stretch of wall, and Drew paced back and forth in front of it. After his third pass, a door appeared in the wall.
"Well, this is it. I need to get back to Bri – I mean, prefect duty," Drew said, turning slightly pink. "See you, Remus. Oh, and glad you're back."
As Drew left down the corridor to return to the common room ('and Brianna,' Remus thought), Remus opened the door in the wall quietly.
"What d'you reckon?" Sirius said to James.
James looked at Sirius for a moment, pondering his answer.
"Well, I guess that could work, but I think the – " James cut off his thought as his gaze shifted from Sirius and the book in his own lap to Remus, who was leaning against the doorframe. "Hey, nice to see you again, Remus."
Sirius turned his head to look at Remus in time to see Peter run over to Remus and hug him, almost knocking him down in the process. Both Sirius and James cracked up laughing at this sudden show of emotion.
"D'you fancy helping us look up some jinxes so we can hex Snivellus into next week?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"Sure," Remus replied.
"Remus, are you sure you're feeling okay?" James asked, a look of disbelief on his face.
"I'm kinda tired, but other than that, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You're helping us look up hexes for bad reasons," Sirius said.
"So? Ever since my trip home to my mum's, I realized that I miss the mayhem you two cause. If I can still do well in class, why not have a little fun on the side?" Remus asked.
James turned to Sirius, who was staring at Remus, his mouth hanging open. When he noticed James looking in his direction, he quickly shut it.
"I think we've had too much of an affect on him," James said.
"No, you haven't," Remus said. "I just think we Marauders ought to have some more fun."
"What did you call us?" Peter asked with a quizzical look.
"Marauders. It's a fancy name for troublemakers," Remus replied, a smile spreading slowly across his face.
"I like the way he thinks," Sirius said, turning to grin at James.
"Me too," James said. I just can't wait until Wednesday!"
"Why?" Remus asked. "What's Wednesday?"
"Flying lessons with the Slytherins," Sirius replied, grinning again.
Wednesday came all too soon for Peter. He woke up that morning shaking from head to toe.
"What's wrong, Peter?" Remus asked, looking concerned. "You seem like something's bothering you."
"It's nothing," Peter replied, a scared look on his face.
"That's a lie," Remus said, smiling at him. "Come on, Pete, you can tell me."
"Okay, it's just that I fancy keeping both my feet on the ground, that's all," Peter said.
"Pete, flying is one of the easiest things you can do," James said as he untangled himself from his bed sheets. "Come on, we'll go down early. Sirius and I'll show you."
"You guys know you don't have your own brooms, how do you expect to show Peter how to fly?" Remus asked curiously.
After looking at Sirius and James's faces, however, Remus's look of curiosity turned to one of anxiousness.
"You aren't going to steal brooms, are you?" Remus asked hesitantly, as if he really didn't want to know the answer.
"Remus, Remus, Remus. I thought you knew us by now," Sirius said, trying hard to keep himself from grinning. "We're going to borrow the brooms we use for lessons to let Peter practice."
"We could all get expelled!" Peter squeaked. "I'm not worth that!"
"Pete, think who you're talking about," James said seriously. "How often do we get caught?"
"Most of the time," Remus put in.
"Shut up, Remus," Sirius said. "So, how about it, Pete?"
"Well, I guess it would be okay," Peter answered.
"Great. We'll have breakfast and then go down to the field," James said.
"I'll go with you to breakfast, but I'm staying there until it's time for lessons," Remus said. "I may like to break rules, but I have my limits."
"Okay, let's head down to the Great Hall," Sirius said.
After a breakfast of toast and eggs, Sirius, James, and Peter left for the Quidditch Pitch. As Remus watched them leave the Great Hall, he thought, 'I sure hope they don't get caught. They might be good, but they're biting off more than they can chew this time.'
One hour later, Remus walked out onto the pitch where the Gryffindors and the Slytherins would be learning to find Sirius and James being reprimanded by Madam Hooch, the Quidditch Professor. Peter was standing on the side; he was obviously not in trouble. When Peter saw Remus, he dashed over to him and started to explain what had happened.
"Oh, Remus, you were right! They were trying to charm the broom shed open when Madam Hooch got there. They've landed themselves detention again! Oh, this is all my fault!" Peter wailed, wringing his hands.
"Pete, none of this is your fault. It was their idea to get brooms out of the broom shed. Anyway, I guess those mirrors I gave them will come in handy sometime in the near future," Remus said, smiling at Peter.
As soon as Madam Hooch finished telling off Sirius and James, Gryffindors and Slytherins began arriving for lessons. James nearly dropped the broom he was balancing on its end for Peter's enjoyment when Lily showed up with Daria, Kat, and Meg. In a little while, everyone had shown up and lessons had begun.
"Listen up! Everyone stand beside a broom with your right hand out in front," Madam Hooch said to the students.
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had chosen brooms next to one another; the same with Lily, Meg, Daria, and Kat. Snape and Bellatrix had each chosen brooms not far away from Lily.
"Okay, everyone, now that you've got your right hand out over the broom, say 'UP!'"
There was a chorus of 'UP!', and nearly everyone's broom (with the exception of Peter's) jumped into their right hands. Next, Madam Hooch showed them how to correctly mount the broom so that they wouldn't slide off the end. James and Sirius were delighted to see that Snape had been doing it wrong for years.
"Everyone mount their broom," Madam Hooch said. "When I blow my whistle, everyone is to rise straight up twenty or thirty feet and then come right back down. Any horseplay and the person responsible will march straight to their Head of House. Understand?"
A chorus of 'yes', 'okay', and 'I understand' was heard.
"Alright," Madam Hooch said. "On my whistle. Three … two … one … "
The whistle sounded and twenty or so brooms rose into the air. Nobody seemed to be having any problems – nobody except Lily. Her broom rose higher and higher, jerking left and right on its way.
"Miss Evans!" Madam Hooch yelled.
"Help!" was Lily's response.
By now, Lily was fifty or sixty feet in the air and everyone else was safely back on the ground. Madam Hooch turned to one of the Slytherin first years, telling her to go get Professor McGonagall, just as Lily slipped off the end of her broom with a yell. James mounted his broom and shot upwards towards Lily, catching her twenty feet above the ground.
The Gryffindors cheered as James hovered with Lily in his arms ten feet above the ground. Kat, Remus, Sirius, Daria, and Meg came running over so that they were near the two of them – James had not yet come down from the air.
"Lily, are you okay?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Lily said softly, looking up into James's face.
James flew down to the ground and helped Lily stand up. She goggled at James as if she was mesmerized by him standing so close to her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" James asked her, looking slightly concerned by her manner.
"Yeah," Lily replied, shaking her head and bringing herself back to reality. "Thanks, James."
James noticed she was blushing furiously. He grinned back.
"No problem," he replied, ruffling his hair.
"That's the last time I get on a broom for a while," Lily said shakily, and they all laughed.