Birth of a Legend
Chapter III: Mastery in Five
Five years seemed to fly by. Remus was a rather studious young man and at the age of fifteen, many girls wanted to catch his eye. He was Prefect this year. It was an added responsibility he hadn't really wanted, seeing as keeping tabs on Sirius and James was a full time job in and of itself. They had become known as the Marauders to the student body. Sirius and James were the brains behind it. Remus was the calm that seemed to keep them from taking it that extra step that would change what they did from pranks to something darker. Peter was the tag-a-long. He always wanted to fit in and did whatever he was told by those he looked up to because he didn't want to be looked at as an outcast.
This was also the year that the three had finally mastered their Animagus forms. James was the first of them to get it. He was a stunning stag. If they had been near any hunting grounds Remus would have worried for the man. He'd earned the nickname Prongs, and seemed to fit it well, human or not. Next was Sirius, never one to allow someone else to show him up. He became a rather impressive black dog. Larger than the normal ones and very easily mistaken for a grim the first night he'd ever wandered into town in it. That certainly hadn't helped things with the Shrieking Shack already drawing plenty of attention once a month. He'd earned the nickname Padfoot that night.
Lastly was Peter. It kind of figured, honestly, seeing as he always followed and never lead. His animal form hadn't come as much of a surprise either, seeing his normal features mimicked them. He was a rat… and not the prettiest of rodents either. His tail was especially strange, so Wormtail became the nickname he took on. Of course, the other three felt it hadn't been fair for them to have nicknames and Remus be left out, so Sirius had taken it upon himself to give him one. Rather unimaginative of him, Remus believed, when he'd taken to calling him Moony and the others followed along. Moony… for the fact his change was controlled by the moon.
The first time they'd headed for the Shrieking Shack together, Remus had been so nervous he couldn't keep anything down that wasn't a liquid. He feared that even in their animal forms and with the wolfs bane potion he took religiously, that something would go horribly wrong and he'd kill one if not all of his friends. He'd lead them to the Whomping Willow and showed them the trick to keep it from beating them, before taking the path from the base of the tree into the shack itself. Remus had then told them to change and wait outside of the room while he awaited his own change. He told them over and over that should anything seem dangerous to get out of there. It had been a tense night but they'd succeeded in remaining outside the room, a close comfort.
The next time they'd tried, Padfoot had been able to curl up with Moony and keep him calm, though Moony would still howl from time to time. The time after that it was Padfoot and Prongs in the room. After the fourth time of it, they were always in a curled up bundle, the werewolf calmed by the presence of those it seemed to see as friends as much as Remus himself did. Even now Remus couldn't believe they'd done so much for him; worked so hard for him. It was nice being able to awaken from his change as a man once more and to know he hadn't hurt himself this time around. He was still drained and weak, pale and unsteady, but at least he wasn't injured.
Shaking his head, the werewolf sighed, bringing himself back to the present. It wouldn't do to allow himself to wander when there was much to be done before his Prefect duties were done for the day and he could meet up and hang out with his friends for the day. The sooner he got them done the safer it was for everyone at the school. Five years had certainly been kind to James and Sirius though. Many a girl wanted them, though James was currently wrapped up in Lily Evens. They were tall, handsome, and smart. While it was true they could be a bit mean some days, it was obvious it was meant to be more comedic than serious, most of the time.
Luckily, the three were currently in the Prefect's bathroom, enjoying the overly large tub and the perks that came with having their best friend in the position of Prefect. Once the hall checks were done, he had every intention of joining them. Luckily, Gryffindor's other Prefects respected them and gave them the permission to use it in the evenings once everyone was done with it for the night. Of course, that had come with a bit of persuasion on Remus' part as well. Finishing his checks and heading to the Prefect's bathroom, he murmured the password and entered, seeing that one of his friends had been kind enough to bring his towels and all from their dorm. Remus stripped, albeit a bit nervously and with a towel wrapped around most of his body, he moved to head for the baths, where he could hear James and Sirius talking about who could get more girls to snog them if they really tried.
"Honestly, Prongs, I don't care if you are famous as the rich boy, troublemaker here at school. As long as you're making eyes at Lily and Lily only, you'd never win," Sirius commented, his voice smug. Five years had taken the rather aristocratic boy and turned him into a handsome young man. Every time he turned around, the other was lip-locked to a different girl. It was as if he had made it a personal mission to find out just how well every girl in their school could snog.
James had also grown into quite the charmer, when he wasn't mooning over Lily Evens or pulling pranks that tended to make the women fearful to get to close to him. One woman in particular seemed to hate him because his favorite target always ended up Snivellus… or rather Severus Snape. That was one boy Remus couldn't seem to bring himself to defend from most of James' and Sirius' pranks. Of course, Severus' attitude and inclination toward the darker side of magic possibly had a large hand in Remus' decision. The first time he'd met the boy, he'd looked down his nose at Remus and called him names, just because of who he was friends with. Since then, Severus would make snide comments to Peter and him if James and Sirius weren't around. Potions was a horrible affair, seeing as Severus excelled in it and lorded it up around those he could, which was usually most of the class. Professor Slughorn, their potions teacher, was often so proud of Severus that he over looked what the boy did in class. That didn't always end well for all involved and once or twice Severus had caused someone to black out and giving them the wrong ingredient for their potion.
Of course, Lily being friends with him didn't endear him to Lily either. Since he was the favorite target of James and Sirius it leads to all kinds of problems between them. Remus honestly worried that he wouldn't be the only of their little group that ended up alone the whole of their life. Remus knew he was fairly popular with the girls around school himself… but with his curse there was no way he could see himself with someone. He had only a handful of friends who knew about him… and he planned to keep it that way. It also didn't help relationships when he was finding himself more than a little attracted to one of his fellow Marauder's, though he'd never admit it out loud and most certainly never to the person in question.
"… do you say, Moony," Sirius asked, having been talking the whole time Remus had been thinking about their little group. Remus shook his head and looked up at his friend, finding those gray eyes only inches away from his face, causing him to pull his head as far back as he could, which wasn't far since he had just gotten into the bath.
"W… What?" Remus asked, hoping that would make the other back off some.
Sirius did move back some, only to toss his head back and laugh. He then moved behind the area Remus was sitting at and leaned forward, using the werewolf as an armrest. "See, Prongs, I told you he wasn't listening to us to answer."
James chuckled, shaking his head. "That you did. Moony we needed your fine opinion and you weren't even following the conversation were you?"
Remus used the embarrassment of the moment to cover the blush that was caused at having Sirius get touchy all of a sudden. "I am sorry. I just kind of tuned out when you both started bragging about who's got the better girl attracting powers. The argument is an old one and I didn't care to listen again," he remarked, managing to cover for himself and possibly get them to change the topic.
Sirius snorted, shifting so his arm draped around Remus' shoulders. "You hear this, Prongs? The boy thinks he's better than us."
"Yes, so it would seem, since he so easily ignored our stirring debate to think things that were not important to the moment. How terrible of you Moony," James commented, now focusing his whole attention on Remus as well.
Remus was beginning to realize his remarks had been a mistake, since now both boys were focused on him while he'd been trying to get them back on one another. Yet it was Peter who managed to completely set the other two off.
"If we're going to judge who can get girls the easiest, then there's no contest," Peter remarked, looking at the three of them. Two pairs of hazel eyes and one gray turned their attention to their smaller companion.
"Is that so, Wormtail? Please, enlighten us with your wisdom," James commented, trying to figure out where the boy was going with it.
"Yes, please do," Sirius added, dropping his arm from around Remus to focus on Peter. Remus merely sighed, waiting for the boy to start his hero-worship of the two and once more giving him some peace from between them.
"Well, I mean, there is only one of us who gets so much candy on Valentine's Day that he ends up leaving them in the boy's dorms for all of us to enjoy. The girls know he'll do it as well and still give it to him in the hopes he keeps one of them for himself. On top of that they always talk about him whenever he's not around and they think they're alone," Peter told them, not looking at either James or Sirius. Instead, his beady little gaze rested on the one in the middle, which made Remus get a sneaking suspicion that he was about to fall prey once more to the others once more.
"You know, Padfoot, Wormtail makes an excellent point. There is only one of us that is buried in chocolates each year. For the last five years we've been here," James murmured, his gaze slowly moving to Remus.
"Yes… and when he's in the common room, he is usually surrounded by girls," Sirius pitched in, his gray gaze also turning toward the other. Remus suddenly wished he could hex them all and run off, but he knew that at least James and Sirius would be able to stop him before he'd ever been able to pull his wand. This didn't help when his wand was currently with his robes in the changing area.
"Come on now… let's look at this rationally. You're reading far too much into this. Really you are, Padfoot, Prongs." Remus swallowed, hoping he could get them to stop before something brewed in their minds that Remus would be unable to stop, Prefect or not.
"Moony!" they exclaimed together in perfect unison before both pounced on him, causing all three of them to go under the water for a moment before they pinned him against the wall. Remus blinked, the wind partly knocked out of him as James' and Sirius' bodies had landed against his own. They shared a look for a moment before Remus cracked a nervous smile and the other two began to laugh.
"W… Why'd you go and tackle me? I thought you were mad because of what Wormtail said."
"Of course we aren't mad, Moony. We want to know your secret! How do you get so many girls after you? Are you snogging with them behind our backs and withholding precious information about the acts?" Sirius asked, putting his forehead to Remus', meeting him eye to eye. A soft pink color crept up Remus' throat and into his cheeks.
"Yes, you shouldn't be withholding such important information from your best friends. I'm certain even Wormtail would love some help in getting a girl or two, wouldn't you Wormtail?" James added, glancing back toward Peter who was blushing slightly at the thought, but nodded his agreement.
"Maybe it's just… my animal magnetism. I mean… I am a werewolf after all," Remus remarked, hoping that would get them to back off and realize he really couldn't teach that.
"Maybe… but you're not only gaining their attention the week before a full moon, Moony. You've got them after you all day, every day. There has to be a secret," Sirius pressed on, knowing there was a lot more going on than the werewolf was telling.
Remus wasn't about to state the main reason he was popular. That tended to lose him friends. Girls were willing to keep secrets if you promised them things but men weren't so inclined to remain silent, especially if the secret usually drove people away. "Maybe it's because my grades are so good. They know I won't slack off and fool around," Remus said instead, taking his eyes off the two pinning him down and looking right at Peter. Peter looked back at him, seeing the plead for help for what it was but unwilling to get in between James and Sirius' fun.
James seemed thoughtful, rolling away from Remus to rest beside the man. "No, I don't think that's it. I mean, granted, you're really good. All those books you've been reading and all has to be. Yet because we study together Padfoot and I also have some pretty decent grades as well. So it isn't the hard work, though being Prefect in your fifth year is pretty impressive for you, Moony."
Sirius followed James' actions and flopped back on the other side of him. "No, Moony, there has to be more to it. I think you just don't want to tell us. Perhaps you're hoping to keep them all to yourself so you can have your pick from all the girls."
"I am not!" Remus exclaimed, finding he hated it when they turned on him like this. It was especially bothersome because he had something to hide and he hated to hide anything from his friends.
"It's because he likes men," a girl remarked from the doorway. Her hair was long, straight, and a rich mahogany color. Her eyes were dark, serious, and an interesting shade of blue. Coriander Pierson, the Prefect for the girls this year. It was obvious she had come up to get Remus, only to walk in on a rather strange scene. "If you boys are done, I need to steal him for the Prefects meeting. If you boys are done molesting him in the tub, then I can collect him and be on our way."
James, for his part, seemed to ignore the first part and focus on the fact that there were four naked men in a clean water tub with a rather pretty girl standing in the doorway seeing everything. He smirked and put his hands on his hips, pretty certain she could see everything from where she was. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather join us?" he asked, confident in his looks. As was Sirius, who hadn't bothered to cover up either, although his gaze was on Remus, who was attempting to scramble out and into a robe in record time, as if his haste could erase what was said. Peter was the worst. Poor boy was pressed against the wall, hiding as far down in the water as he could without drowning himself.
Coriander, for the most part, assumed a look of disinterest. "Perhaps once you make Prefect I might be. Until then, I suggest you all finish washing up and head to your dorm. It's almost curfew." That said she turned and moved to wait outside.
Remus, now dressed in his clothes and his slightly damp hair the only evidence that he'd ever been in the bath with the others, bowed his head to the others. A small part of him hoped they would forget all about what was said; since they'd focused more on the fact a woman had just seen them all as naked as the day they were born. "I'll see you up in the room. Don't spend too much longer or you'll be out after hours." Remus then scrambled to head out before he could hear an answer from them.
"Sorry, I thought you would have told your friends. Guess you hadn't because you think they wouldn't be your friend if they knew you're a bender. My mistake," Coriander remarked, even though her cheeks a soft pink were the only indication of having seen four boys naked had bothered her at all. Her tone of voice was neutral, leaving Remus to wonder if she was really sorry or not.
"I suppose its fine. I would have told them at some point, preferably on my seventh year right before the last day of school, but this works. For all I know, they didn't hear you much once they realized there was a girl in the washroom looking at them in all their nude glory," Remus murmured, motioning to her to move first. Coriander didn't hesitate. As soon as Remus motioned, she moved, leading the way to the Prefects meeting.
Back inside the Prefect's bathroom, Sirius, James, and Peter were attempting to make sense of what had just happened. It wasn't typical for a girl to just come into a room full of naked boys. Even less usual for her to not scream, avert her eyes, or blush like crazy. James turned to Sirius. "Are we losing our touch? Are we gaining weight?" James placed his hands on his flat stomach, as if attempting to figure out the situation.
"Did she just say Moony… prefers men?" Sirius murmured, thinking of all the times he'd teased the werewolf and yet his surprising lack of interest in chasing women made some sense. He'd always believed it was because he feared passing the werewolf curse on if he ever was interested in a woman. Yet perhaps there was a bit more behind it. After all, one couldn't stop wanting to be physical all together. They were young men. Young men wanted to experiment and have fun. For someone in Remus' position, that had to seem even more impossible than Peter, who just wasn't as handsome as a lot of others at school.
James sighed, looking at Sirius. "Seriously, Padfoot, is that the only thing you can think of? Moony is Moony. Wither he prefers men or women, or even wolves, he's still himself. Besides, he's been there for us and covered our arses dozens of times. If we can't back him on this then why did we spend five years of life learning to be Animagus, just to leave him for this?"
"He's right, Padfoot. Moony is Moony. We're friends through thick and thin, aren't we?" Peter asked, snapping out of his shock to face the other two. "I mean, I hope he never hits on me… but he's still my friend."
"Don't worry Wormtail. I'm sure he'd flirt with Padfoot and me before he'd ever bother you," James teased, laughing at the slight pout Peter made before he realized he was doing it.
"What do you mean flirt with you and I, Prongs. He'd certainly prefer me to you," Sirius commented, attempting to once more change pace and get things riled up again.
"Are you joking, Padfoot. I'm much more desirable than you are."
"You're only more desirable in your wildest dreams, Prongs. Reality belongs to me."
Peter sighed as they began their usual argument with a bit of a twist, both vowing they'd just have to ask Remus later and find out just who would win such a debate. If only they'd both realize how much they valued Remus for his ability to stop their fights with logic, then perhaps they'd come to understand that this was the one time Remus was possibly the last person they should turn to. He sighed and moved to finish washing up, certain that morning would come all too soon with far too many interesting things to hear and see to sleep through it all. More than certain Remus would come back late this evening, if only to avoid talking to them for as long as possible.
Author's Note: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I'm loving writing it. I've already got up to chapter five written and I'm working on six. So now its up to the fans. Let me know you're enjoying it. Even if its just a small review asking for more. I'm not threatening not to post if I don't get reviews and I'm not going to hold back posting wither I get something or not. Just know us writers live off knowing others enjoy our work. We at least want to make certain that we aren't just writing it for ourselves. When we know people are enjoying our work it makes us want to write more and more for our fans. So let me know what you all think so that I can keep the story moving along. How far do people want the tale to go? Is there something you'd like to see? Let me know… for I'm really curious.