Twelve Days with the Marauders

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I am very, very pleased about my test results at school. So I'm updating. Hooray!

Day Eight

In Hogwarts, the person who holds the record for spending the most time in the library is one boy, by the name of Remus Lupin, followed closely by Hermione Granger, who would be born some years later. The record-holder was in the library now, doing nothing but taking joy in reading. Remus liked books so much, that on that day, he decided to share Book Joy with the rest of Hogwarts.

The first signs of strangeness began after breakfast. James was walking down a corridor with Sirius when he felt something nudge him.

"Stop it, Padfoot."

"What? I didn't do anything!"

"Well, I wasn't imagining it."

"I don-what the heck is that doing there?" James turned. Behind them, floating innocently like there was nothing strange or wrong about what it was doing, was a book. But it wasn't a small book. The book looked like it could be used to stop a door from opening or be used to make a perfectly sturdy paper bridge across the Grand Canyon.

"I don't know, I didn't put it there." Sirius shrugged. James took a step back, and the book immediately flew behind him. He twisted and stepped forwards a few steps. It followed.

"I'm not sure I like the look of this." Sirius then felt a nudge. He whirled around and saw another book behind him. The number of pages in this new book rivalled the number of minutes in two days.

"Now I've got one too!"

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As the day wore on, more and more people increasingly got books. Some, who were avid readers, read them, and found the book went away for an hour, and then a new one would replace it. This hour was an hour of relief, for the books steadily grew from nudging to more annoying tactics every two hours unread. James had tried to simply flick through the pages of his book to get it to go away, but it smacked him on the head twice for cheating and refused to go away no matter how much James threatened or pleaded with it. Sirius turned into his animagus form to try get it to leave him. When it didn't he snapped at it and tore it. The book shrieked at him, then floated to Remus who repaired it. It then went off somewhere. Sirius was triumphant, but when it returned with another book, Sirius was subdued.

While this was happening, Remus plucked the books out of the air and read them. Whenever he saw an interesting book with someone else, he told the book that he liked it and it would fly off to get a replacement. Then it would return to him and dutifully follow him around until Remus wanted to read it. These books never bothered Remus, for he had asked them to join him. For a book, this was an honour.

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James irritably batted his book away for the six hundred and seventy-seventh time. Next to him, Sirius snored and slept, oblivious to the two books that were attacking him vigorously. James was annoyed. Peter didn't really seem to care about the books, he saw them as something to help his studies. Remus, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He had often said…wait. Hadn't Remus always been saying how they should read books, and not many people knew "Book Joy"? This had to be Remus' work! It fit him to a T. It was just like Remus to make everyone read. It was just like Remus's spellwork. It was just like Remus to pull such a prank! Just then, Remus walked in, with half the library trailing after him.

"Remus! You…you...!"

"Sorry, didn't catch that." Remus finished his book and sighed. It had been very interesting. When it began to float away, he stretched out a hand. It hovered there, uncertain.

"Please? Stay with me?" James goggled at Remus. Remus was asking, almost pleading for a book to stay with him and stalk him! The book wiggled, then floated to where all the other books were waiting.

"I said, you made us read? Ahh, Nazi reader person." Remus looked at him oddly.

"Tell me how to get rid of the book."

"No. You people need more Book Joy in your lives."

"Prepare for the most painful death possible." Remus, who had been muttering to himself and trying to pick a book to read, glanced up. At the same time he started for the door, James grabbed his book and ran at Remus.

Remus and his books streamed out of the portrait hole. James' book was trying to wrestle its way out of James' hands, but he was holding too tightly. Remus, books and James ran or floated down stairs and around corners. They passed people that were happily reading, others that were trying to fend off the books and still others who were running from the books. Lucius was running around like a headless chicken and screaming like a Veela with her hair cut off ("The books are coming, the books are coming!"). Then, Remus' books grouped together, like they were having some sort of discussion. Then all at once, they flew at James, who screamed. The books chased James for a while, then obediently returned to Remus. Then Remus just sat down and beckoned to a book.

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James ran back to the Common Room, pantimg. Sirius looked up from where he was using his Beater's bat to hit the books.

"What's got you, mate?"

"Buh, buh buhooks. Books." Then Jams fainted.

Minutes later, there was a sound, remarkably like the pages of a book opening and closing rapidly. Sirius rushed to the nearest window and stuck his head out. There were indeed lots of books opening and closing, though why Sirius didn't know.

"Argumenti. Wakey wakey, Prongsie." James sat up with a gasp. Sirius dragged him to the window, and his jaw dropped. So did James'. Remus was being borne on a seat of books, up to the sky. In one hand was a book, clutched close to his chest. Hogwarts: A History, James noted. In the other was a spectre, with a small book mounted on top. Remus looked a bit frightened. When Remus had been lifted to a considerably tall height, there was a spell shot at him.

"Remus!" Lily was trying to get Remus down. As the spell came closer, some books arranged themselves in a formation around Remus. He was in the centre of a book-cube. When the spell passed, the books separated and spiralled upwards to form words. In the tower Sirius squinted and read out:

"Long Live Remus: The Book Lord."