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A day in the life
Chapter 2
Wednesday, May 16th 1973
When James awoke on that fine spring morning, the first thing he noticed (after putting his glasses on, of course) was that Sirius's bed was empty; which was quite strange considering Sirius was not at all a morning person. He was more of the type to wake up after everybody else, going to his classes half-asleep. But there it was: the proof that Sirius had the capability of getting up at a reasonable hour.
A bit further in the room was Remus's bed, also empty. That, on the other hand, was normal. He was always up and about early, except on full moon days where he tried to make up for the sleepless night to come.
Last in the dorm was Peter's bed. Like Sirius, he got up at the last minute. Which explained the bulge in his covers.
-
At breakfast, their table was uncommonly quiet. Sirius was lost in his thoughts, which was enough to make the three other Marauders gawk.
"Er . . . Sirius?" ventured Remus, once the shock had passed.
"Hmm?"
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, of course, why do you ask?"
"You're thinking, that's why," retorted James. "What's wrong?"
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Nothing."
James recognized it: it was the smile he both loved and hated, the smile that meant trouble, the smile that lead to some terrible idea often involving their wands and the Slytherins. "Have another genius plan?" he asked hopefully.
"No, why?" and without waiting for an answer, he flashed once more his devilish grin (which, might I add, made a high number of Hogwarts girls squeal) and left the Great Hall.
"That can't be good," said Remus.
-
During the rest of the day, the only time they got to see Sirius was in class; and inquiring on his whereabouts while, let's say, McGonagall was lecturing them about the importance of the wand movement while changing a toad into a rock, wasn't the easiest task. Though it wasn't impossible, especially when we were talking about the Marauders.
"Sirius!"
"What?"
"Potter! Black! Detention!"
Alright, so it wasn't easy. But they reckoned Sirius couldn't hide forever. They would confront him at some point.
So it was that, some time after curfew, Sirius came in their dormitory, a sandwich and a book in hand. They seized, quite literally, the opportunity.
Remus launched himself on Sirius, pinning him to the wall, while James and Peter aimed their wands at him.
"No escaping this time, Sirius," warned Peter.
"Guys, this is ridiculous," half-laughed the detainee, still trying to free himself from his lupine friend's grasp.
"What is ridiculous is that you're hiding something from us," said calmly James, eyeing suspiciously the book he held. "And what might this be?"
Ignoring Sirius' protests, he snatched the book away. Illegal Spells and Charms for the Achieved Warlock it read. James understood at once.
"What is it?" asked Remus, seeing the startled expression on his friend's face and the sudden lack of struggle from Sirius.
"A mere DADA manual," explained James, smiling sheepishly while handing it back to Sirius. "Let him go, Remus."
Remus obliged but wasn't convinced. "And that explains everything?"
"May I borrow your cloak, Jamesie?" asked gently Sirius.
"Of course you may," answered the said "Jamesie". "Come on Rem, could you help me with this Charms essay?" he added after seeing the werewolf's confused play of feature. Work would certainly distract him from Sirius's going out after curfew and carrying a book on Animagic, or so James thought.
-
Last March had seen the dark side of the moon (1) while May saw its full bright side on the 17th. Unfortunately for Remus, on a Thursday. There he was, on that fateful day, getting some rest when he was brutally attacked.
"REMMIE! Oh Remmie! Rise and shine!"
"Sirius, let him sleep, the poor guy."
But the harm was done. Remus slowly got up, trying to focus on the form of Sirius jumping up and down on his bed, singing "Good day sunshine, good day sunshine, good day sunshine" (2) etc.
"What time is it?" the werewolf managed to ask.
"You still have an hour before class starts," said James. "And had this hyperactive freak behaved himself, you wouldn't be wasting sleep time. Let's go Sirius."
Bouncing on the floor, Sirius followed James to the Great Hall, smiling all the way down.
"You know yesterday evening was a close call," said James when they had left the dormitory. "What were you thinking, carrying that Animagic book around?"
Sirius simply smiled and hopped.
"You know Remus is real smart, he could have figured it out. I mean, you with a book? A bit obvious."
Still silence.
"Something is clearly up with you. You get up early, you think, you avoid us. I do hope it is some kind of sugar high, or something temporary."
That smile again. James felt like he was talking to a wall.
-
Sirius looked at Remus's clock (yes, a magic one) on his night table. 11:36 PM. On the 18th. Quite a time span since the last paragraph, right? Not much happened since. They ate, they went to class, then they ate and went to class, and finally ate. Sirius kept disappearing at meals, retreating in empty classrooms to practice the spell he would perform on the morrow and to concoct the potion necessary for it. James and Peter thought he was either researching on Animagic or just being the weird kid he was while Remus remained oblivious and too preoccupied with the moon to give it a good thought.
Sirius had "borrowed" the ingredients for the potion in Slughorn's office with James's cloak last Wednesday. The recipe demanded some exotic content but it wasn't a complex one, though it was illegal. Sirius reckoned it was because it could breach one's privacy, but how useful would it be in ministry court or in solving murders? Obviously, they didn't know what they were missing.
Then, Remus left for his monthly torture while the three others got to work. Sirius showed them the two books he had found on his last stroll to the restricted section of the library, omitting Illegal Spells and Charms for the Achieved Warlock seeing it contained no Animagic material.
The day after was relatively uneventful until Remus came back in the afternoon. Not surprisingly, he went directly to bed. Sirius was then excited like never before since he would finally perform the spell tonight. And now he was tonight. At 11:36 PM to be more precise. In his bed, feigning to sleep. He was waiting to hear James's snores to begin. He was going to do it. Even though it had required time and effort, it would be an experience like none other. Plus he would see what Remus was really going through.
Was comprehension really out of reach? Not anymore.
There it was! The signal! A loud snore rose from Sirius's left. He had the green light. Getting up silently, he went for their dorm bathroom, where he had carefully hidden his material.
Before I go any further, let us make one thing clear. Do not try this at home. I didn't name the ingredients for the same reason as I won't write down the incantation. This spell is illegal, therefore not to be performed by unauthorized witches and wizards like yourselves.
As I was saying, Sirius got out his necessary equipment, which consisted of two glasses, the potion, the book and some cake. Yes that's right. Cake. It was an old spell, created when food was still believed to be directly associated with magic.
Sirius settled himself and his items on the floor beside Remus's bed. Now, to avoid giving you details as to how one can perform the spell, let's get over with this part quickly. Some words were said, some potion was drunk by both (even though Remus was sleeping, Sirius managed to make him swallow some), some cake was eaten and some gestures were made. There.
Sirius kept his hand on Remus's head while concentrating on the date. May 17th 1973, May 17th 1973, he kept thinking. Then he wondered what would happen if he aimed for a time in which his friend didn't even exist. Before he could ponder on the question, he felt something strange. As if he was being ripped off his self into oblivion.
He had gone to live a day in the life of Remus J. Lupin.
1: "Dark side of the moon" from Pink Floyd came out in March 1973. Too good of a coincidence.
2: "Good day sunshine" from The Beatles