Chapter 3: Yes, we have an idea!!!
Sirius was bored. He, James and Peter were sitting in his room, because it was too hot to be outside. Still, there was nothing to do INSIDE either, so, yea, they had slight problems. His mom had already said that she had permission from both Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Pettigrew to do something "terrible and awful beyond your imagination" if they should-er- blow anything up. Or torture the cat. Or do a million other fun things. Sirius sighed, thinking about what a spoilsport his mother was. Honestly! The only person who might have been able to think of something would have been Remus, but he was-um- indisposed right now. At that very minute, James voiced his thoughts.
"I wish Remus was here- he'd have thought of SOMETHING by now!"
Peter nodded his head in agreement, just as bored as the other two. James gave a frustrated sigh as all three began thinking of Remus. If only there was something they could do to help…
"Boys!" Sirius' mother called up the stairs. "Come on down, it's time for lunch." The boys bounded down to the table, excited that something worth it was finally happening. But all through the delicious meal, James was thinking about what on Earth they could do to help Remus. It had become his new project, but he hadn't gotten very far- actually, he didn't even know much about werewolves. Remus had told all of them a little- his mind became wolfish, and he didn't really have control of his action. His senses were overly sensitive, and his reflexes were quick. Werewolves weren't a threat to other animals, only humans, but everyone knew that humans were in danger, and what happened to them if they came in contact with a werewolf at full moon. James slumped, knowing that they couldn't really do anything to help Remus during his transformations, as they couldn't be there. It was too bad, but it looked like the only way they'd be able to help their friend was to just be there for him to talk to. James wasn't used to there being problems that he, or someone he knew, couldn't solve, and it was a little upsetting. Suddenly, he realized that Sirius' sister, who was going into her fourth year was talking, and forced himself to at least TRY to listen to the bubbly girl.
"…and it was really cool, mum! That's like the first time I've ever WANTED to pay attention in McGonagall's class! And she said that there were only like 6 or something, so I looked them up, and did you know that dad's cousin is an animagi? He can turn into a parrot!"
James gaped at her. She obviously thought that he was amazed, because she said, "yea, isn't it cool? I'll have to ask him next time he drops by…" But James had stopped paying attention. Animagi? Werewolves couldn't hurt animals…and James, Sirius, and Peter couldn't be with him because they were human…so what if they could turn INTO animals, whenever they wanted? It would be impossibly hard, especially since they would have to keep it a secret…but he, Sirius and Remus were smart, and Peter wasn't a COMPLETE idiot…and if they absolutely needed help, they could ask Evans, he supposed, and as much as he hated the thought, he knew she'd be a great help, and she wouldn't tell anyone- she was too close to Remus. But he was pretty sure that the process of becoming one was going to be very, very hard. He knew that animagi were closely watched by the ministry, because things could go seriously wrong…but it wasn't IMPOSSIBLE…and they would be very, very careful, they wouldn't hurry, they'd do everything they needed to extra carefully. It would be so cool….but he still had to talk to the others, and now as he thought about it, he KNEW they would need Evans' help, and that might take a little convincing too.
James looked up from his plate, and, seeing that they were finished, he dragged Sirius and Peter up to Sirius' room, taking the steps 2 at a time. When they were upstairs, he locked the door, and turned to his two friends, who were looking at him as if he had gone absolutely and without a doubt mad. He said slowly, the excitement dripping from his voice,
"I know how to help Remus."
There was a brief silence, before Sirius burst out with,
"How, James?"
James looked both of them in the eye, before saying, simply,
"Animagi."
This time, the silence was a bit longer. Peter and Sirius were shocked at the idea, but after a few stunned moments, a gleam showed in both their eyes, a gleam that told James that operation animagi was definitely in action. He grinned, and said,
"We'll start tomorrow."
** ** **
"Absolutely not." Peter, Sirius and James stared at Remus, not quite sure that they had heard him correctly. They had just told him their plan, and while he looked like saying 'no' was the worst thing he had ever done, he looked adamant about it as well.
"It's completely out of the question. I won't have my best friends die in the process of doing something so totally illegal that it's mind-blowing, all just to help me once a month- but thank you for even suggesting it. It means a lot to me."
All three boys were shocked into silence…it hadn't even OCCURRED to them that Remus might say no. Still, James and Sirius were absolutely adamant about going through with their brilliant plan, and Peter too looked very disappointed that such an exciting prospect had been shot down so quickly. Sirius looked Remus in the eye, and said quietly, but with as much conviction as he had ever had, "Remus, we're going to do this whether or not you agree. If you won't help us, you'll just be putting us into that much more danger, because we would have a MUCH easier time if ALL of the top students of our year were helping us. And while we're doing this to help you, unless you agree with us, your opinion really doesn't matter." Sirius looked expectantly at Remus, while Peter and James watched both boys. Remus seemed to be fighting an internal battle, and with his next answer, it was apparent which side had won. Sighing, he shook his head remorsefully and said, "Well, alright then, I guess. I'll help, even though I really don't think it's worth all the risks." The expressions on the other three boys faces changed instantaneously from the rare solemn look that had darkened their faces to a bright excited one. "well," James said, "We'll start researching today." Just as they were about to leave, Remus grinned, "hey guys- you said ALL the top students. Now, while I assume you're ignoring the Slytherins, what about a certain Lily Evans who happens to be a fellow Gryffindor? Hmm?" And how he relished the new look on James' face. "Ugh, don't remind me- but maybe we SHOULD ask her first. Eh, lets go then…" And the four boys set off on one of their more important tasks, one that would end up coming in very handy for all four of them, at one point or another.