Chapter 3: Commence Stage 2

By Monday, James could tell that Snape was seriously creeped out. He never went anywhere alone if he could help it, though he usually had nobody to walk with. Rather he would tag along behind a larger group, casting frequent glances behind him. Sometimes he literally shook with fear as he walked. He had taken even more care in avoiding the Gryffindors' company, as he obviously didn't want to hear any more about the werewolf following him; or perhaps he was trying to convince himself that nothing of the sort was happening. If so, he was failing miserably.

As he walked up the stairs to History of Magic, taking his time, he watched Snape in front of him, trailing a bunch of Hufflepuffs. Either he had lost his Slytherin pals and gravitated towards the closest group, or he had been too busy looking over his shoulder to notice that the people he was following were now wearing yellow-edged robes instead of green. His gaze rested on James, who raised his eyebrows before turning his head aside. He kept watching out of the corner of his eye though, so that he could see Snape turn around only to jump into the air. Obviously it had been the latter explanation. As James cracked up, he moved away nervously.

James shook his head. This was hilarious. Sirius had once again proved brilliant. He sighed. With his mind on the prank, he continued towards his lesson, but with a dazed look on his face due to his wandering thoughts. He wasn't concentrating on where he was going, and suddenly he heard a loud thud. At the same time a wall smacked into his head.

All he could see was a red coloured blur in front of him. He closed his eyes and turned around, only to see more blurs, of different colours. There were clumps of black, one group edged with blue and another with some green tinges interrupting the colour. One black blur in front of him was edged in red; this one seemed to be jerking a bit, and was beginning to give him a headache. He closed his eyes again, trying to shake away the dizziness in his head. For a moment it got worse, then he opened his eyes again and his vision cleared. The black blur which had been jerking before turned out to be Sirius, waving his hand at James to get his attention.

"Hello?? Anybody in there buddy? Are you even alive?" While his mouth twitched slightly, Sirius' eyes showed his concern for his friend. "What were you doing?"

"Umm…" James' forehead creased as he tried to remember where he was going. "Oh yeah! History of Magic. Class. Now."

"…Yes, James," confirmed Sirius, "but that's two floors down from here."

James looked around, realising that his friend was in fact correct. "Right."

There was a pause, with James staring blankly at Sirius.

"So… What are you doing up here?"

Finally it dawned on James. "Ohh. I wasn't concentrating on walking. I was just thinking about Snape."

"Eeew!! Why would you be thinking about him?" He pulled a face.

"I was thinking about how paranoid he is. Our prank appears to be working. Just then he was following a crowd of Hufflepuffs. He's too scared to notice who he's walking behind."

Sirius burst out laughing. "That's a good one. Hmm…" His eyes lit up as his mouth spread into a grin. "Yes. I think that it is time to commence part two of the prank."

He began to walk slowly in the direction of the staircase. Though James watched him eagerly, he did not elaborate. "…Go on," James prompted finally. But Sirius only dismissed him with a casual wave of the hand and continued walking. "Later," was all he would say.

Indignant and very curious, James stared at Sirius, wondering what his amazing plan could be.

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Remus was annoyed with himself. He had stayed up with the rest of the Marauders last night exploring. Not that he didn't enjoy it, and he didn't object to his friends going, but he shouldn't have gone. The full moon was on Thursday; he needed rest. Staying up last night not only meant that he was exhausted this morning, but also that when he tried to finish his homework tonight he would be even more tired. This would mean he lost more sleep that night, and spiral down into a never-ending cycle of sleepiness. He tired more easily than other people, too.

He sighed. This was always a problem. He knew that his friends would be as bouncy as ever. They always were. He knew it was his 'condition' which caused his constant fatigue, and he therefore figured that his friends must have some secret 'condition' of their own which caused their hyperactivity.

There was nothing he could do about it.

Suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by a loud THUD. His eyes flicked open.

He sat up to be greeted by the sight of the usual three beds in front of him: one was empty, still messy, and the glasses from the bedside table were gone – James must already be up – the next was occupied by a large lump of blankets, a tuft of dark hair sticking out of the end where the head usually was. The last bed was completely bare: Peter, wrapped in blankets, was lying on the floor. This would explain the noise.

There was silence for a few moments; after which came a gentle snoring. Both Sirius and Peter had gone back to sleep. Incredible.

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Peter awoke uncomfortably. He was lying on his face, his nose squished to the ground. Rolling over, he saw a familiar face staring at him, its eyes barely an inch away from his face.

"It's ok, he's alive."

Another voice came from the left. "This one is too." Groggily Peter sat up, to see Remus poking Sirius to wake him up. Thankfully, James hadn't thought this necessary for him. Rubbing his eyes, he got off the ground. His leg was showing signs of going back to sleep, so he had to hit it to keep it awake. He dumped the blankets onto his sun-streaked bed, the gold edging reflecting off the scarlet duvet.

There was a groan from the last occupied bed, and a sleepy "jus' five more minutes…".

"It's already quarter past nine!" James exclaimed. "Classes started fifteen minutes ago." It was surprising that Remus was still here, really. Sirius sighed loudly and thumped his head back on the pillow, before reluctantly getting up at last.

Now that his job was done, Remus was ready to go. "Come on, guys! Hurry up!" Peter quickly got ready and he followed Remus out the door.

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"Mr Potter, Mr Black. So nice to honour us with your presence. I don't suppose we would be enlightened as to the nature of that which caused you to be twenty minutes late?"

Transfiguration. The absolute WORST class to be late for. Professor McGonagall's lips were so straight that it looked as if they'd been simply drawn on her face using a ruler.

"Oh, it was the most wonderful thing. You should try it some time," James said casually. It looked like he hadn't even noticed the Professor's face. In actual fact, he was simply very good at acting. "Some call it.. sleep."

Several people in the class gasped at his nerve. Peter practically fell off his chair, except that Remus was there to block his fall. Remus shook his head. Professor McGonagall massaged her temples with her left hand.

"Detention. Tonight and tomorrow in my office after dinner. Sit down." They obeyed, partly to avoid another detention. "So, as I was saying, this is a highly difficult spell and I will therefore need your full attention."

It was around then that Sirius and James stopped listening. Had this been another class with a different teacher, they would have continued their conversation only a little more quietly. But McGonagall required at least some caution, even for these two. So their conversation took place on paper.

So, Sirius… tell me about that plan of yours.

What? What plan?

You know, stage 2 of the Snape prank!

Oh, yeah. NO.

Whaddaya mean no??

I'm not gonna tell you.

What? Why not?

It's not like I would write it down. That would be incriminating evidence.

Bah. Come on…

Hey, look! Remus isn't doing work!

What?!?! Where?

Hey, he isn't! He's just staring out into space like some kind of idiot… He looks hung over.

But he didn't drink anything. Nor did we, as a matter of fact. I dunno where to get it.

Wait, don't change the subject. Tell me the plan!

Ok…

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Peter knew he didn't pick up the work as quickly as his friends, so he was paying attention in this lesson, even while they were passing notes between themselves. This was partly due to the fact that he was sitting on the other side of the classroom to them. Remus, sitting beside him, had encouraged him to listen, though Peter thought that was a bit rich when now he was staring out the window at the sky, his eyes dark, his mouth set. His quill lay on the desk, dripping ink onto the parchment and blotting the notes he had just taken. Peter elbowed him in the ribs to bring him back to reality.

"Wha- oh." Remus lifted a hand to his head. "I'm sorry Peter. I'm not feeling too well. I can't concentrate."

At that moment, McGonagall dismissed the class. "And I want you all to practice that and demonstrate to me your proficiency in it on Thursday."

Remus left the class quickly and walked ahead of his classmates. He didn't want them to see him like this and get suspicious. He knew they were pretty observant. His head was aching. It was times like this he most feared and loathed the moon, which had such power over him, the terrible power to transform him into a horrible beast.

His headache was making him grow dizzy. He leant against a wall and closed his eyes to try and calm his senses and regain normal vision. He heard the voices of his classmates passing him magnified through his sore ears and pounding head. He heard someone come up next to him.

"Remus, mate, are you ok?" This voice wasn't harsh like the others, but gentle on his ears. "No offence, but you don't look too good."

"Mmm. I don't really feel too good either. It's just a headache, but I don't feel like lunch. I'm gonna go lie down for a while. See you this afternoon." He headed up towards the Gryffindor tower. The transformations were getting steadily worse. At home they had been bad; he hadn't imagined they could get worse. At Hogwarts he was constantly under the stress of hiding his secret from his best friends – at any moment he could let something slip, and he would be found out. He must always be on guard. This stress had just made them more painful, more drawn-out. The wolf gave him deeper wounds now and it was becoming more and more frustrated at the small space it was confined to.

He sighed and lay down on the soft scarlet duvet of his bed. His eyes focused on the golden stars which speckled the roof. At least there's no moon there, he thought, his eyelids drooping into sleep.

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James had left Sirius and Peter to find Remus. He had slept through class – James was worried for his friend. He came in to see him sleeping restlessly, murmuring in his slumber. Most of it was indistinct muttering, but James caught a few phrases.

"…no, it's not till Thursday…they'll find out…not now…the animal" Remus shuddered, shrinking away from the light and curling into a ball. He looked terrified.

James was baffled. What was on Thursday? Who were they and what would they find out? What could be making his friend so afraid? And this animal? Whoever's behind this… I'll get them.

"Remus! Remus, are you ok?" James touched his shoulder. "It's just a dream."

Remus' eyes opened with a start, and he sat up, trying to come to grips with both h is dream and reality. "I'm alright. Um – nightmare. Sorry."

James nodded. "I noticed. You were sleep-talking, and shaking all over. What was that? Must have been some dream to scare you like that. I mean, you're a Gryffindor, aren't you? Not a coward."

"uh-" he began uncertainly, "I dreamt – I was being chased by some kind of animal. It was destroying me." He invented.

"What was that about Thursday? I heard you say something about it." James asked.

Remus wasn't a good liar, but he tried. "um, he said he would kill me on Thursday." He knew this hadn't convinced James though, but was saved at that moment by Peter and Sirius bursting in. "Hi," he said, "so what have you guys been doing while I was asleep?"

James gave him a suspicious look which said 'we'll discuss this later'.

Sirius and Peter hadn't noticed this though. "Sirius told me about the plan," said Peter, grinning.

"What plan?" At this, Peter's grin grew til it almost slid off his face. He was in on something Remus didn't know about yet. That made him feel important.

"Ah." Sirius was in business mode. "This is stage two of the Snape prank. So far, he is absolutely terrified that a werewolf is after him. This we know from James' encounter with him earlier today."

James snorted.

"So, we can now commence part two. Remus, since you can disguise your handwriting best, you're the werewolf." Remus tensed at this, and felt James looking at him. He composed himself. Sirius continued, "You will send him letters giving him tasks to complete. Or else…"

Remus nodded slowly. "These tasks," he said, "they will be… entertaining? Embarrassing?"

"Of course." The three boys smiled mischievously at him.

Under their stare, though he did not feel in the least like smiling, but more like being sick, he grinned back at them. He must put up this façade, or they would already know of his condition. And they would abandon him, like all his other friends always had. He knew it. They were the best thing that had happened in his life, and he wasn't about to throw it all away because of some loose comment, or a failure to smile at the right time.

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Sirius and Remus had gone off to the kitchens to get some snacks for the hungry Gryffindors. This left James alone with Peter, who was struggling with his astronomy homework. He had foolishly agreed to help.

"So… that's… Cancer?" Peter peered through his telescope, then moved aside to allow James a look.

"No, that's Orion."

"Ohhh… And – whoah-"

James looked up the telescope. "That's the moon." It was almost full. He looked at the lunar chart which lay open next to the telescope. "Full moon on Thursday…" He remembered Remus' sleep-talking. But what's the phase of the moon got to do with – but – no. Not Remus. He shook the thought out of his mind. It was crazy.

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Severus lent back on the cold stone wall and closed his eyes. This was crazy. He was just being paranoid. He wasn't being followed, and if he was, it couldn't be a werewolf. They wouldn't be able to get inside the castle. Would they?

He tried to knock some sense into himself. He had werewolves on the brain. And in astronomy they'd had to look up the lunar calendar and map out the stars and phases of the moon for the next three months. The next full moon was Thursday.

He opened his eyes again, to see a grey paper plane floating a hair's breadth away from the tip of his nose. Startled, he involuntarily jerked his head back, which resulted in a painful throbbing on the top of his head. Had the Marauders, hiding under the invisibility cloak, not placed a silencing charm over themselves, Severus would have heard their raucous laughter at this. As it was, he cursed under his breath and massaged his head, while examining the parchment. It had the shadow of a wolf's face drawn on the top of the plane, so that if you looked at it from a certain angle it looked menacing, but at another could not be seen at all.

He warily unfolded the parchment. It had written on it a message:

You have angered the wolf.

Your instructions are attached.

You have two days.

Cooperate… or else.