AN: Hey guys, I'm back! In response to reviewers, I'm finally going to
attempt some Animagus memories in this super large economy sized chapter.
PS: Calm down people! There will be absolutely NO breakdancing, I promise.
Hehe...
"What is that stuff?" inquired Remus, leaning over a rapidly boiling cauldron full of what looked like thick purple porridge.
Harry and Lupin were standing in the boy's dormitory. James, Sirius, and Peter were huddled over a cauldron, looking rather diabolical in there excitement. A book was lying open faced on the floor next to them. Peter pulled the book towards himself and attempted to answer Remus's question.
"It's sof-in-anin...aninanimus—" his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Sophanimus concoction," interrupted Sirius. He was prodding the fire underneath the cauldron with his wand, cheerfully sending up bright blue flames at least 2 feet higher than what was probably necessary.
"It allows you to take on the mind of the animal you're going to turn into," explained James. He was stirring the potion with a large wooden ladle.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Remus, eyeing the potion warily.
"Of course it is!" said James dismissively. "Who wants to go first?" He lifted a spoonful out of the cauldron. Half of it fell out on the way up, splattering him with sticky purple goop. "Peter?" He extended the spoon towards Peter, smiling winningly. Pettigrew recoiled slightly.
"Make Sirius try it," insisted Peter, wrinkling his nose.
"Why do I have to drink it first?" asked Sirius defensively. "It smells like old socks."
"The entire dorm has smelled like old socks for a week, ever since you started making that glop," pointed out Remus. "It's starting to creep out into the hall."
"Is this part of the Animagus process?" Harry asked, turning towards Lupin.
"Yes. This was one of the later components. They couldn't figure out the more complicated potions and charms until fifth year. But still—" Lupin wandered over to a pile of books with titles such as: "The Science of Animal Transmogrification Sorcery" and "Man or Mouse? The History of Animagi". "An immensely complex process, as you know." He took on a very Hermoine like tone, "If they put half this much effort into their homework, well—not that they ever did their homework—they would have been at the top of the class! Actually, for the most part, they already were ..."
"The last time you made me 'try it first' I ended up with a tail we couldn't get rid of for three weeks," whined Peter.
"Well perhaps if you'd actually contributed something to ANY of the potions we've made, maybe—" began James.
"I helped steal all the ingredients!" cried Peter insistently.
"Oh, yeah," said Sirius. "All right, we'll all try it at the same time." James began spooning it into small silver beakers.
"Bottoms up," said James. All three of them threw their heads back and chugged down the gelatinous goop.
"Eww..." muttered Harry.
"I'm astounded that they managed to brew and drink a potion made entirely of stolen ingredients...," said Lupin, shaking his head.
"We made Polyjuice Potion in the girl's bathroom second year," said Harry, without thinking.
"You made Polyjuice Potionin second year?!" said Lupin in disbelief. "How-- why?"
"Well, Hermoine made it. And it's kind of a long story. Ron and I just stole the ingredients."
"From Snape, I assume?" asked Lupin, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it's safe to say your father would have been pleased..."
Harry didn't quite know how to respond. He was suddenly glad Lupin didn't have the authority to assign detentions anymore.
James, Sirius, and Peter were now stumbling around the room, looking disoriented. Remus stared at them, looking concerned.
"Maybe we should all go to the infirmary...," he said nervously, as James stumbled over to a wall, banged into it, and fell backwards onto the floor.
Suddenly, all three looked quite alert. Peter dove headfirst under the bed, squeaking loudly. Sirius, who was crouched down on all fours, began running around the room, barking frantically. James got up, looked at the wall, stamped his foot, and charged headfirst into it. He fell to the ground, looked dazed for a moment, and then repeated the process.
Remus stared at them all, jaw agape. He had to jump backwards onto the bed to avoid being bowled over by Sirius, who was making another pass around the room, still barking madly. Remus finally burst out laughing at his friends ridiculous antics. Harry couldn't help but laugh as well. He had only seen a few things in his life that were more absurd than what he was witnessing right now.
"You should have seen them trying to transfigure each other," said Lupin, chuckling. "We weren't supposed to start human transfiguration until sixth year. I spent half my life dragging them to the infirmary with antlers growing out of their ears..."
Meanwhile, James had given up on his battle with the wall and was bounding about the room, leaping with surprising agility over trunks, books, and anything else in his way. Remus barely had time to grab him around the ankles before he leapt right out the window.
"Come on!" cried Remus, stamping his foot in frustration. James leapt away from him, knocking over a tall candelabra. "I can't baby-sit you all night! I have to write a History of Magic essay!" None of his friends seemed to be listening. Sirius was now running in a circle at a dizzying pace, chasing his nonexistent tail. Remus pulled out his wand and magically sealed all the doors and windows.
"I'm going to write my essay now," he said loudly. He wrestled a quill off of Peter, who was nibbling on Remus's schoolbag with his front teeth. Peter squealed and ran under James's bed. Remus plopped himself on his own bed, grumbling. He pulled out his essay and began to write. After about five minutes, the potion seemed to be wearing off. The three Marauders collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.
"That—was—odd," panted James. He was lying spread eagle on the ground, his chest heaving.
"I—thought—it was—neat," gasped Sirius, attempting to sit up but falling back down again.
Peter rolled out from under the bed and lay motionless on the floor, clutching a stitch in his side. "I think—I'm dying—" he wheezed.
"What are we going to do with the leftover potion?" asked James, finally managing to drag himself to his feet. Apparently, he was in the best shape.
"I don't know." Sirius turned his head and looked at the cauldron of Sophanimus Concoction. Miraculously, neither James nor Sirius had managed to knock it over. "We could feed it to the Slytherins at breakfast," he suggested. "What do you think, Remus?"
Remus looked surprised. 'That's not—well you—get in trouble—I suppose it was pretty entertaining to watch...," he said finally. James and Sirius grinned wickedly. The scene began to melt away. When it re-solidified, Harry and Lupin were standing next to the door at the base of the North tower. Apperantly, Harry was not going to get to see the effects Sophanimus Concontion would have on the Slytherin population.
"Did they really poison all the Slytherins in the morning?" Harry asked Lupin.
"They most certainly did. Imagine James and Sirius not going through with a plan to terrorize their fellow classmates!" he said in mock outrage. "It would have been a tragedy, I'm sure. Sirius set of fireworks and James slipped around the table in his cloak while everyone was distracted."
"And...?"
"The Great Hall was filled with flapping, screeching, howling, hissing, and bleating Slytherins..." Harry couldn't help grinning a little bit.
"Move your foot!" hissed a voice that sounded like James.
"I can't move my foot, your leg is in the way!"
"Move over, my elbow is sticking out!" There was a series of shuffling sounds. Harry looked wildly around in the dark, but saw no one. The door next to them suddenly creaked open. Harry barely had time to slip out the door before it shut again. Lupin calmly walked through the closed door and stood behind him. The grounds outside were bathed in silvery moonlight. A wordless acknowledgement seemed to pass between Harry and Lupin, and they followed the rustling sound of the grass towards the Whomping Willow. Harry noticed Lupin's gaze flitting nervously up at the full moon at regular intervals.
"Er—Profes—I mean—well, Professor Lupin are you all right?" inquired Harry in a concerned voice.
"Yes," he said quickly. "And you don't have to call me Professor, Harry. I'm not your teacher anymore," he added, sounding a little sad.
"Do you know what year this is?" asked Harry, vainly attempting to distract Lupin.
"No," he replied, still looking extremely edgy and uncomfortable. "Fifth, sixth, seventh year..." The was a long silence.
"I guess you don't get to go on many casual, moonlit strolls," said Harry in a careful voice, jolting Lupin out of his nervous daze.
Lupin gave a small smile, finally becoming aware of his own slightly odd behavior. "I suppose I don't." He looked up and gazed somberly at the full moon. After a few moments, he looked away, shuddering. Harry pretended not to notice.
They finally reached the base of the Whomping Willow, which began flailing its branches angrily. The Invisibilty Cloak tumbled to the ground, revealing James, Sirius, and Peter. James and Sirius stared expectantly at Peter.
"Come on, Wormtail," said Sirius impatiently. "We've been through this plenty of times already."
"I'm trying, hold your hippogriffs!" Peter screwed up his face in concentration. James rolled his eyes. Finally, Peter managed to transform. He slipped under a particularly furiously waving branch and prodded the knot with a tiny paw. The tree froze. James and Sirius transformed effortlessly and followed Wormtail into the passage under the tree. Harry and Lupin trailed along behind them. Harry stared at Prongs, astounded at how closely the animal resembled his own Patronus.
Sirius opened the door the Shrieking Shack with a paw. The door swung open, revealing a rather mean looking werewolf. Hackles raised, werewolf-Lupin emitted a low growling noise when he first saw them but then seemed to calm down. James led the odd-looking band of Griffindors out of the front door of the Shrieking Shack, into Hogsmeade. The werewolf let out a long howl when he first glimpsed the full moon. Padfoot and Prongs stood on either side of him in and steered him into the woods in a crude flanking maneuver. Wormtail scrambled along beside them.
Harry noticed that the Marauders didn't seem to have a definite idea of where they were going. They were cavorting about the grounds, pausing occasionally to examine things or sniff the air.
"They—er—don't seem to be going anywhere—specific," observed Harry.
"I don't think we were trying to at this point," said Lupin thoughtfully. "We didn't actually venture outside the Shack until sometime in February, and..." He looked around. "It's probably April or May right now."
"What happened to 'planning next month's adventure'?" asked Harry.
"We didn't actually have any idea of where we were going until sixth year. The grounds are rather large. Mostly we just wandered around like the idiots we were," Lupin explained casually. "When we finally got our bearings, we ended up writing the Marauder's Map."
The woods were beginning to thin. The Marauders were now closer to the road then they had been so far during the entire night. A few houses, all facing the road, were situated on the hilltop they were now ascending towards. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs reached the top of the hill and walked down the main road. They were almost within the very heart of Hogsmeade, near to the stores Hogwarts students tended to frequent. Suddenly, the door to the Three Broomsticks burst open.
"Out, out, out!" shrieked a young woman in a pair of familiar turquoise heels. "We closed an hour ago!" A much younger Mundungus Fletcher practically rolled out of the bar and sat on the ground in the middle of the street.
"Come on then, love," he babbled, his speech severely slurred. "One more round of Wirefisky...I mean Firewhisky..."
"No!" Madam Rosmerta continued shrilly, "If you want to drink all night and behave like an idiot, go to the Hog's Head!"
"Well, I would, but I got kicked out and I don't think—" protested Mundungus. Madam Rosmerta let out a shriek of rage and slammed the door in his face. Mundungus slowly climbed to his feet and began stumbling down the road, swaying from side to side and singing obnoxiously.
"I boooought me love a Draaaagonnn'ss eeeeegg, with a sheeeeell so gooollld!!" he wailed.
The Marauders were standing a short distance down the road. Mundungus didn't seem to notice them. Werewolf-Lupin suddenly sniffed the air and emitted a low growl. Padfoot and Prongs moved closer to him, attempting to him by his shoulders and force him off the road. Mundungus was now dangerously close to them. Suddenly, the werewolf bounded forward, slipping out from between his friends. He hurtled towards Mundungus, snarling in a way that made the hair on the back of Harry's neck prickle. Harry's heart was pounding in his chest.
Sirius and James followed frantically behind the werewolf. Sirius grabbed Lupin by the neck, and they both toppled into the ditch on the other side of the road. Mundungus paused and looked wildly around. Seeing nothing, he continued stumbling along. Werewolf- Lupin threw Sirius off and attempted to climb back onto the road, but James aimed a kick at his chest which sent him tumbling backwards. Harry winced, his heart still fluttering. He glanced at the human Lupin standing next to him. Lupin was absorbed in watching James and Sirius beat the crap out of his younger self. Harry noticed Lupin's hand was unconsciously resting on his ribs, right where James had kicked him 20 or more years ago.
AN: A few 'near misses'. I hope you guys liked this chapter! R&R.
"What is that stuff?" inquired Remus, leaning over a rapidly boiling cauldron full of what looked like thick purple porridge.
Harry and Lupin were standing in the boy's dormitory. James, Sirius, and Peter were huddled over a cauldron, looking rather diabolical in there excitement. A book was lying open faced on the floor next to them. Peter pulled the book towards himself and attempted to answer Remus's question.
"It's sof-in-anin...aninanimus—" his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Sophanimus concoction," interrupted Sirius. He was prodding the fire underneath the cauldron with his wand, cheerfully sending up bright blue flames at least 2 feet higher than what was probably necessary.
"It allows you to take on the mind of the animal you're going to turn into," explained James. He was stirring the potion with a large wooden ladle.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Remus, eyeing the potion warily.
"Of course it is!" said James dismissively. "Who wants to go first?" He lifted a spoonful out of the cauldron. Half of it fell out on the way up, splattering him with sticky purple goop. "Peter?" He extended the spoon towards Peter, smiling winningly. Pettigrew recoiled slightly.
"Make Sirius try it," insisted Peter, wrinkling his nose.
"Why do I have to drink it first?" asked Sirius defensively. "It smells like old socks."
"The entire dorm has smelled like old socks for a week, ever since you started making that glop," pointed out Remus. "It's starting to creep out into the hall."
"Is this part of the Animagus process?" Harry asked, turning towards Lupin.
"Yes. This was one of the later components. They couldn't figure out the more complicated potions and charms until fifth year. But still—" Lupin wandered over to a pile of books with titles such as: "The Science of Animal Transmogrification Sorcery" and "Man or Mouse? The History of Animagi". "An immensely complex process, as you know." He took on a very Hermoine like tone, "If they put half this much effort into their homework, well—not that they ever did their homework—they would have been at the top of the class! Actually, for the most part, they already were ..."
"The last time you made me 'try it first' I ended up with a tail we couldn't get rid of for three weeks," whined Peter.
"Well perhaps if you'd actually contributed something to ANY of the potions we've made, maybe—" began James.
"I helped steal all the ingredients!" cried Peter insistently.
"Oh, yeah," said Sirius. "All right, we'll all try it at the same time." James began spooning it into small silver beakers.
"Bottoms up," said James. All three of them threw their heads back and chugged down the gelatinous goop.
"Eww..." muttered Harry.
"I'm astounded that they managed to brew and drink a potion made entirely of stolen ingredients...," said Lupin, shaking his head.
"We made Polyjuice Potion in the girl's bathroom second year," said Harry, without thinking.
"You made Polyjuice Potionin second year?!" said Lupin in disbelief. "How-- why?"
"Well, Hermoine made it. And it's kind of a long story. Ron and I just stole the ingredients."
"From Snape, I assume?" asked Lupin, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it's safe to say your father would have been pleased..."
Harry didn't quite know how to respond. He was suddenly glad Lupin didn't have the authority to assign detentions anymore.
James, Sirius, and Peter were now stumbling around the room, looking disoriented. Remus stared at them, looking concerned.
"Maybe we should all go to the infirmary...," he said nervously, as James stumbled over to a wall, banged into it, and fell backwards onto the floor.
Suddenly, all three looked quite alert. Peter dove headfirst under the bed, squeaking loudly. Sirius, who was crouched down on all fours, began running around the room, barking frantically. James got up, looked at the wall, stamped his foot, and charged headfirst into it. He fell to the ground, looked dazed for a moment, and then repeated the process.
Remus stared at them all, jaw agape. He had to jump backwards onto the bed to avoid being bowled over by Sirius, who was making another pass around the room, still barking madly. Remus finally burst out laughing at his friends ridiculous antics. Harry couldn't help but laugh as well. He had only seen a few things in his life that were more absurd than what he was witnessing right now.
"You should have seen them trying to transfigure each other," said Lupin, chuckling. "We weren't supposed to start human transfiguration until sixth year. I spent half my life dragging them to the infirmary with antlers growing out of their ears..."
Meanwhile, James had given up on his battle with the wall and was bounding about the room, leaping with surprising agility over trunks, books, and anything else in his way. Remus barely had time to grab him around the ankles before he leapt right out the window.
"Come on!" cried Remus, stamping his foot in frustration. James leapt away from him, knocking over a tall candelabra. "I can't baby-sit you all night! I have to write a History of Magic essay!" None of his friends seemed to be listening. Sirius was now running in a circle at a dizzying pace, chasing his nonexistent tail. Remus pulled out his wand and magically sealed all the doors and windows.
"I'm going to write my essay now," he said loudly. He wrestled a quill off of Peter, who was nibbling on Remus's schoolbag with his front teeth. Peter squealed and ran under James's bed. Remus plopped himself on his own bed, grumbling. He pulled out his essay and began to write. After about five minutes, the potion seemed to be wearing off. The three Marauders collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.
"That—was—odd," panted James. He was lying spread eagle on the ground, his chest heaving.
"I—thought—it was—neat," gasped Sirius, attempting to sit up but falling back down again.
Peter rolled out from under the bed and lay motionless on the floor, clutching a stitch in his side. "I think—I'm dying—" he wheezed.
"What are we going to do with the leftover potion?" asked James, finally managing to drag himself to his feet. Apparently, he was in the best shape.
"I don't know." Sirius turned his head and looked at the cauldron of Sophanimus Concoction. Miraculously, neither James nor Sirius had managed to knock it over. "We could feed it to the Slytherins at breakfast," he suggested. "What do you think, Remus?"
Remus looked surprised. 'That's not—well you—get in trouble—I suppose it was pretty entertaining to watch...," he said finally. James and Sirius grinned wickedly. The scene began to melt away. When it re-solidified, Harry and Lupin were standing next to the door at the base of the North tower. Apperantly, Harry was not going to get to see the effects Sophanimus Concontion would have on the Slytherin population.
"Did they really poison all the Slytherins in the morning?" Harry asked Lupin.
"They most certainly did. Imagine James and Sirius not going through with a plan to terrorize their fellow classmates!" he said in mock outrage. "It would have been a tragedy, I'm sure. Sirius set of fireworks and James slipped around the table in his cloak while everyone was distracted."
"And...?"
"The Great Hall was filled with flapping, screeching, howling, hissing, and bleating Slytherins..." Harry couldn't help grinning a little bit.
"Move your foot!" hissed a voice that sounded like James.
"I can't move my foot, your leg is in the way!"
"Move over, my elbow is sticking out!" There was a series of shuffling sounds. Harry looked wildly around in the dark, but saw no one. The door next to them suddenly creaked open. Harry barely had time to slip out the door before it shut again. Lupin calmly walked through the closed door and stood behind him. The grounds outside were bathed in silvery moonlight. A wordless acknowledgement seemed to pass between Harry and Lupin, and they followed the rustling sound of the grass towards the Whomping Willow. Harry noticed Lupin's gaze flitting nervously up at the full moon at regular intervals.
"Er—Profes—I mean—well, Professor Lupin are you all right?" inquired Harry in a concerned voice.
"Yes," he said quickly. "And you don't have to call me Professor, Harry. I'm not your teacher anymore," he added, sounding a little sad.
"Do you know what year this is?" asked Harry, vainly attempting to distract Lupin.
"No," he replied, still looking extremely edgy and uncomfortable. "Fifth, sixth, seventh year..." The was a long silence.
"I guess you don't get to go on many casual, moonlit strolls," said Harry in a careful voice, jolting Lupin out of his nervous daze.
Lupin gave a small smile, finally becoming aware of his own slightly odd behavior. "I suppose I don't." He looked up and gazed somberly at the full moon. After a few moments, he looked away, shuddering. Harry pretended not to notice.
They finally reached the base of the Whomping Willow, which began flailing its branches angrily. The Invisibilty Cloak tumbled to the ground, revealing James, Sirius, and Peter. James and Sirius stared expectantly at Peter.
"Come on, Wormtail," said Sirius impatiently. "We've been through this plenty of times already."
"I'm trying, hold your hippogriffs!" Peter screwed up his face in concentration. James rolled his eyes. Finally, Peter managed to transform. He slipped under a particularly furiously waving branch and prodded the knot with a tiny paw. The tree froze. James and Sirius transformed effortlessly and followed Wormtail into the passage under the tree. Harry and Lupin trailed along behind them. Harry stared at Prongs, astounded at how closely the animal resembled his own Patronus.
Sirius opened the door the Shrieking Shack with a paw. The door swung open, revealing a rather mean looking werewolf. Hackles raised, werewolf-Lupin emitted a low growling noise when he first saw them but then seemed to calm down. James led the odd-looking band of Griffindors out of the front door of the Shrieking Shack, into Hogsmeade. The werewolf let out a long howl when he first glimpsed the full moon. Padfoot and Prongs stood on either side of him in and steered him into the woods in a crude flanking maneuver. Wormtail scrambled along beside them.
Harry noticed that the Marauders didn't seem to have a definite idea of where they were going. They were cavorting about the grounds, pausing occasionally to examine things or sniff the air.
"They—er—don't seem to be going anywhere—specific," observed Harry.
"I don't think we were trying to at this point," said Lupin thoughtfully. "We didn't actually venture outside the Shack until sometime in February, and..." He looked around. "It's probably April or May right now."
"What happened to 'planning next month's adventure'?" asked Harry.
"We didn't actually have any idea of where we were going until sixth year. The grounds are rather large. Mostly we just wandered around like the idiots we were," Lupin explained casually. "When we finally got our bearings, we ended up writing the Marauder's Map."
The woods were beginning to thin. The Marauders were now closer to the road then they had been so far during the entire night. A few houses, all facing the road, were situated on the hilltop they were now ascending towards. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs reached the top of the hill and walked down the main road. They were almost within the very heart of Hogsmeade, near to the stores Hogwarts students tended to frequent. Suddenly, the door to the Three Broomsticks burst open.
"Out, out, out!" shrieked a young woman in a pair of familiar turquoise heels. "We closed an hour ago!" A much younger Mundungus Fletcher practically rolled out of the bar and sat on the ground in the middle of the street.
"Come on then, love," he babbled, his speech severely slurred. "One more round of Wirefisky...I mean Firewhisky..."
"No!" Madam Rosmerta continued shrilly, "If you want to drink all night and behave like an idiot, go to the Hog's Head!"
"Well, I would, but I got kicked out and I don't think—" protested Mundungus. Madam Rosmerta let out a shriek of rage and slammed the door in his face. Mundungus slowly climbed to his feet and began stumbling down the road, swaying from side to side and singing obnoxiously.
"I boooought me love a Draaaagonnn'ss eeeeegg, with a sheeeeell so gooollld!!" he wailed.
The Marauders were standing a short distance down the road. Mundungus didn't seem to notice them. Werewolf-Lupin suddenly sniffed the air and emitted a low growl. Padfoot and Prongs moved closer to him, attempting to him by his shoulders and force him off the road. Mundungus was now dangerously close to them. Suddenly, the werewolf bounded forward, slipping out from between his friends. He hurtled towards Mundungus, snarling in a way that made the hair on the back of Harry's neck prickle. Harry's heart was pounding in his chest.
Sirius and James followed frantically behind the werewolf. Sirius grabbed Lupin by the neck, and they both toppled into the ditch on the other side of the road. Mundungus paused and looked wildly around. Seeing nothing, he continued stumbling along. Werewolf- Lupin threw Sirius off and attempted to climb back onto the road, but James aimed a kick at his chest which sent him tumbling backwards. Harry winced, his heart still fluttering. He glanced at the human Lupin standing next to him. Lupin was absorbed in watching James and Sirius beat the crap out of his younger self. Harry noticed Lupin's hand was unconsciously resting on his ribs, right where James had kicked him 20 or more years ago.
AN: A few 'near misses'. I hope you guys liked this chapter! R&R.