Hey, hey my lovely Marauder fans! Here's another chapter for you, full of action and excitement :D I'm in a pretty good mood because I'm about to start writing chapter 36 of this story, which is (spoiler!) the first chapter of the boys' fifth year. I can't even believe how far I've been able to go since August. I'm going to give myself a break after finishing writing fifth year to recoup and recharge for finishing out the last two years. I'll have plenty of time for a good rest without having to worry about an upload gap. I might even be able to speed up to posting every week! We'll see how things go.
Anyway, that's all the news for now. Enjoy the chapter and be sure to let me know what you think. I'll see you in two weeks :D Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN. THANKS!
When the first years stepped into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom after lunch, the first thing that Remus saw was a photograph of a werewolf hanging on the wall. He stopped in front of it and felt his chest tighten.
The creature looked ferocious with abnormally long teeth and fur bristling on end. It snarled at each person as they passed it trying to find a seat. It was standing over something that resembled a body, but it was hard to tell because it was quite mutilated. Something about the wolf looked familiar, maybe the shape of the snout or the stripes on its pelt-
"Interested in werewolves?" Sirius asked, breaking his reverie. Remus jumped and turned to look at his friend.
"N-no. This picture is just...How do you know it's a werewolf?"
"You can tell by the puffy tail. My governess made me read a whole book on Dark creatures so I know a little bit about them." Remus turned back to the picture and watched as the miniature werewolf devoured the carcass in front of it. He swallowed. That could be me.
"You ok, Rem?"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Remus lied. He shook his head as he and Sirius found a seat.
The professor, a skinny balding man who seemed to be perpetually blinking, stepped in front of the class. "Hello, students. I am Professor Aguamorte. I noticed as many of you came in that you paused to take in my photograph on the wall there." Everyone turned back to the moving picture. "That was the night I was almost killed. I had been for a stroll in the park when I heard something snarling and the sound of gurgling, only to come upon this werewolf eating this person, who I still have not learned the identity of.
"I was fortunate enough to have my camera with me. Not many photos of werewolves exist. But when the flash went off, I had been spotted. That might be the reason why there aren't many photos of werewolves." Aguamorte started laughing but none of the students joined. His laughter dissolved into a sigh, then he cleared his throat. "Right. Well, the point is, there is only one branch of magic that could, and did, save my life that night: Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"I used my knowledge to distract the beast-" Remus winced at that word. "-so that I could escape. Defense is not just about spells; it's about knowing what the best way is to protect yourself against any Dark situation. Whether it be a werewolf or just a few hexes, Defense Against the Dark Arts has the answer.
"Now obviously we are not going to start with Defense against magical creatures. Today we will being small with the Disarming Charm and the Shield Charm. I'd like you to pair up and then I will show you how to perform the charms."
When the students were paired, Aguamorte demonstrated the two charms. "One of your pair will shoot the Disarming Charm and the other will try and block it with the Shield Charm. The Shield Charm is a little difficult so you may not get it at first, but keep trying and you will eventually cast it with no trouble at all."
Remus and Sirius stood facing each other three feet apart. "Are you ready, Rem?" Sirius asked, flourishing his wand.
"Yeah," Remus said. He held up his wand and tried to focus on casting the Shield Charm but his eyes kept straying to the photo. He was just like that werewolf: a monster that would eat any living thing it came in contact with. How could he be trusted in a school full of kids?
"Expelliarmus!" The red stream of light shot at him before he could do anything and he felt his wand slip out of his hand and fly toward Sirius.
"Remus, you're supposed to do the Shield Charm. You didn't even try." His dark-haired friend picked up the wand and brought it back over to him.
"Sorry...I'm just distracted. Thanks." He took his wand and shook his head. Come on, Remus, focus.
Sirius went back to his spot and got ready to cast another Disarming Charm. "Ready for real this time?"
"Yes." But as he tried to think about creating the shield, his mind wandered back to the photograph. I'll bet a Shield Charm wouldn't stop me.
"Expelliarmus!" Again Remus couldn't produce a Shield in time, but Sirius had missed him anyway and shot James who was standing behind him. The messy-haired boy's wand floated to Sirius's open hand.
"Who did that?" James cried, turning. When he saw Sirius his eyebrows immediately pointed south. "Get your dirty Dark hands off my wand, Black!"
"It was an accident, Potter. I wouldn't take your wand if all I had to choose from was that and a kumkawt to defend myself." Sirius threw the wand at James who caught it and promptly wiped it on his robes.
"I'm the one who needs defending against you! Why don't you go join your Slytherin buddies over there? You all shouldn't even be allowed to take this class. You'll just use what we learn here to get the better of us." By now many in the classroom had paused to watch.
"Why you-" Sirius was about to rush over to him but was held back by Professor Aguamorte. "Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, is there a problem?"
James looked up at the teacher. Earlier he had looked harmless, but something in his eyes now made him seem formidable. The pureblood glanced at the picture of the werewolf on the wall and then back to him again.
"No, Professor," he said with a nervous gulp.
"Good. Continue then, please," Aguamorte commanded, with too big of a smile. When James turned back to Peter, the professor knelt down beside Sirius. "Are you alright Mr. Black?"
Sirius looked at the Gryffindors who turned away, then at the Slytherins who turned up their noses. "Yeah," he replied, bowing his head.
Their professor cocked his mouth to one side. "Alright. Well, get back to practicing then. Your Exeplliarmus was looking pretty good. Why don't you two switch now?"
As Professor Aguamorte walked away, Remus stepped over to Sirius. In the heat of the confrontation he had forgotten all about the werewolf picture.
"You know, Sirius, you can't fight every time you see each other."
"I wouldn't if Pot-head didn't start all the time." He sighed and shook his head. "Come on, let's just keep practicing." He took out his wand again and Remus took his place three feet back.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!" But nothing was produced by Sirius's wand, and it flew from his hand to Remus's as the other boy's spell hit him. "Hey, no fair! Nothing happened."
"You need to be sharper with your swish," Remus explained, throwing his wand back. "Try it again."
"Protego!" A green spark came out of Sirius's wand tip, but nothing more. "This is annoying. Let's go back to you doing the Shield Charm. You didn't get to try it yet."
"You can't just skip something because you can't do it yet. You never know when you might need it."
"I'll practice it later, I promise. Now get ready."
.:~I~S~S~:.
As they left Defense, Sirius was suddenly in a tizzy, and he grabbed Remus's arm to try to make him walk faster.
"Sirius, what-"
"Flying lessons, Rem! I can't wait to try a broom!"
"Ahaha...Yeah." The werewolf's heart did a backflip. The thought of being hundreds of feet in the air with only a thin wooden stick to hold him up wasn't very appealing.
The two boys went into a courtyard where a witch with spiky hair and a whistle round her neck was standing in front of a line of about twenty brooms. Just the sight of them made Remus dizzy.
Sirius was feeling quite the opposite. He wanted nothing more than to soar off into the stars with the wind blowing through his hair. To him, it was the ultimate freedom. "I'm so excited! Finally there's no one to stop me," he said, elbowing Remus hard in the ribs.
"Yeah...It's gonna be great."
"You okay, Rem? You've been acting funny."
"Fine. I'm just fine," he said, forcing a toothy smile. He only hoped his shaking didn't give him away.
The witch with the whistle greeted the students as they entered the courtyard. "Hello, hello. Please go stand next to a broom, but do not pick it up yet. We will go over the proper technique together once everyone has arrived."
Sirius was bouncing on the balls of his feet and his fingers twitched at his sides. He didn't care that these brooms were older than his grandmother and probably just as slow, he wanted to be in the air. Remus, meanwhile, was trying to distract himself from the thought that he would be off the ground in a few minutes.
Once everyone from Gryffindor House was in the courtyard, the witch in front of them blew her whistle to quiet them down. "Alright, students. Welcome to your first flying lesson. I'm Madam Hooch and I'll be teaching you the basics of flight for the rest of this year.
"Now first things first. The proper way to lift and mount your broom. First, put your hand out at arm's length in front of you." The pupils complied. "Good, very good. Now make sure your hand is directly over the broomstick and command it to come up, like so." She stepped over to her own broom and demonstrated.
There was a chorus of 'up's from the first years as they called their brooms to their hands. Remus could feel a slight vibration in his broom when he closed his fingers around the handle, and he shuddered.
"The next thing you want to do is mount your broom. Swing a leg over the handle so that there is one on each side. Make sure it's facing the correct way, Mr. Prewett. Yes, I know your name, I've already heard about you two from your sister. Now you just kick off like so."
Madam Hooch scuffed her heel against the ground and began to rise in front of them. The students below stood open-mouthed and eager to begin themselves.
"Today you may hover or move around a bit but no one is to go higher than the roofs of the walkways over there, understood? I'll be watching." As Madam Hooch descended many of the students did the opposite and soon they were zooming around the courtyard, racing each other and trying to do tricks.
Sirius kicked off and pulled himself up as high as they were allowed without hesitation. His heart began to race, his palms were sweating, and he was shaking a little, but he loved it. "Come on, Remus! It's amazing!"
Remus looked at the broom under him and gulped. He had to at least give it a try. He kicked off and went about a foot above the ground before he started feeling much the same symptoms as Sirius. He, however, did not experience a mutual feeling of elation from them. Remus flattened himself to the broomstick and clung tightly. "I can't do this!" he whimpered.
When Remus didn't join him higher up, Sirius was about to go back down and see what was wrong, but someone suddenly zoomed by and bumped hard into his shoulder. James Potter turned back to him and smirked.
Frustration from all their encounters welled up in Sirius at this. "That's the last straw, Potter!" He raced after him. They zigged and zagged past other kids, almost knocking into a few. James went higher than they were supposed to but Sirius followed without thinking. Just as he was about to catch up with him, James made a sharp dive. Sirius had no problem following. Flying came naturally to him now that he was in the air. He distantly wondered why everyone didn't just fly instead of walk.
James pulled up again so that he was about a foot off the ground and turned around to stick his tongue out at Sirius. The other pureblood was about to shout obscenities at him, when he realized that James was heading straight for the unmoving Remus.
"Look out!"
By the time James saw the petrified werewolf on the broom, he couldn't stop himself and they collided. James fell off his broom and landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Remus, however, had become so rigid that he and the broom moved as one unit.
Madam Hooch finally became aware of the trouble and stormed over. "Boys, that is enough! Detention to bo-" she started yelling but didn't get to finish before Remus's broom suddenly went berserk and shot off with him still clinging tightly to it. "Oh my!"
Remus couldn't hold back a scream of terror as he was carried away, the broom taking him higher and higher. Sirius, who was still in the air, bolted off after the runaway broom without hesitation. Remus's broom took them away from the courtyard and around the back of the castle.
The chase was a challenge, Remus's broom spontaneously changing directions again and again. Sirius did his best to follow until he finally managed to catch up with it and fly parallel. "Remus! Get on!" Remus jerked his head towards Sirius's voice, then shook it once. "Come on, I've got you! Everything will be fine!" Sirius reached out while trying to keep his balance on the broom but he wasn't quite skilled enough for that yet. He lurched as he felt the broom underneath him swerve and grabbed Remus's robes for support. Remus felt his grip on the rogue broom tighten further as he clung to the only thing keeping him from a hundred foot fall.
Sirius steadied himself, still holding onto Remus. Suddenly the rogue broom swerved towards the towers. "Remus! Now would be a great time to let go and get on!" Sirius leaned over, trying to steer their brooms in the other direction, but Remus's resistance was too strong and kept them on the same path.
Remus's eyes darted from Sirius's hand on him, to his broomstick, to the tower they were fast approaching but didn't move. "REMUS!"
"I can't!"
"You have to!" When Remus made no move, Sirius tried to pry the werewolf's hands from the broom. He pulled as hard as he could with one hand while the other gripped his own broom, but he could not make the fingers budge.
Remus could see the tower fast approaching but for some reason his hands would not unclench. "Sirius, I really can't move!"
"Merlin's saggy manboobs!" As the tower loomed ahead, Sirius tried to think of any way to save them. If only there was some way he could protect them from being smashed into tiny pieces. If only he could make a cushion to take the blow. "Wait! I'm a wizard, duh!" Sirius steadied himself on his broom with his legs and let go with his hand to get out his wand. He wrapped his other arm around Remus's torso. "Please dear Merlin let me get it right this time. Protego!"
With a swish of his wand, a shimmery green bubble surrounded the two of them and their brooms as they continued on their collision course with the tower.
The boys in the bubble sped toward the tower and bounced hard against the stone. They careened backward and Remus's broom sputtered under him before finally stopping. They hovered for a moment, both breathing heavily as their protective shield disappeared.
"Rem...you okay?" Sirius asked. The other boy was stiff and his amber eyes were wide and unblinking, then he slowly thawed into a shaking fit.
"N-n-n-n-never a-g-g-gain," he stuttered.
"Come on, let's get you down." Sirius guided them back to the courtyard to the sound of students cheering. He helped Remus off the broom and the other boy got down on his hands and knees trying to slow his breathing (maybe even praising the ground).
"Boy..." Madam Hooch started, approaching the pair. Sirius braced himself as he waited for the chastisement. "That was some spectacular flying skill. You'll make a great Quidditch player someday."
He blinked up at the instructor, face lighting up. "Really? Thank you!"
"What?! You're not going to punish him?" James cried, running over.
"Oh, I am. The two of you deliberately disobeyed the boundaries I set for you, and you will both be serving a week of detention. But seeing as he also saved another student with his quick thinking and flying skill, I'm going to give Mr. Black fifty points."
Sirius gave a smug grin to James whose hazel eyes were full of fury. He stormed off to Peter who had been watching from a distance.
"You had better take him to the hospital wing. He's had quite a fright," Madam Hooch said, gesturing to Remus who was still on the ground. Then she looked around at the rest of the class and suddenly marched toward another student. "Mr. Prewett, put yourself right way up this instant!"
"Come on, Rem," Sirius said, gently shaking Remus's shoulder then holding out a hand to help him up. He grabbed Sirius's hand, and felt a searing pain shoot through it, while Sirius felt something scratch at his palm.
"What the-Remus!" Sirius turned up Remus's hand to reveal splinters of all sizes lodged in the soft skin. Trickles of blood were making fine crimson rivers down to his wrist. Looking at the other hand, he found the same thing.
Remus looked at his hands and then at Sirius, trying to think of some explanation. He hadn't realized in his panicked state that he gripped the broom handle so hard that it broke. "Uh..."
"Let's go. We've got to get you fixed." They made their way up to the hospital wing and were greeted by Madam Pomfrey.
"My stars! What's happened?" Sirius explained about their high flying incident and she tutted. "Boys. As soon as you get your hands on a broom for the first time, you get out of control! Come in, dear. Let me get those splinters out."
The boys entered the room that smelled of healing potions and tea, and Madam Pomfrey sat them on one of the white sheeted beds. She pulled out her wand and muttered, "Torpeo." Remus lost all the feeling in his hands and she started to work on getting the tiny pieces of wood out with a needle and tweezers.
"Go into my office please and bring out the tea tray, will you, dear?" Madam Pomfrey said, turning to Sirius. He did as he was told, retrieving the porcelain tea set and putting it out on the bedside table. "How do you like your tea, Mr. Lupin?"
"Uh, black with two sugars." Madam Pomfrey looked at Sirius who blinked once before realizing that he was supposed to pour out the tea. He made the cup as Remus liked.
"Now if you'll just help him drink it, dear." Sirius held the cup up to Remus's lips and he sipped. It was infused with chamomile and lavender and the perfumey scent wafted into his nostrils. He instantly started to feel calmer as tension released from his body.
They sat there for about half an hour, Remus sipping the tea from Sirius's hands and Madam Pomfrey working out splinters. Finally when the last one was out, she bandaged Remus's hands and then sent them on their way, promising the numbness would wear off soon.
As Remus and Sirius made their way to Transfiguration, which was about halfway over, the former said, "Th-thanks...by the way."
"Don't mention it." There was a moment of silence, then Sirius asked, "How did you hold on to that broom so tightly? You must have broken the handle to get all those splinters."
Remus flushed lightly. He'd been hoping Sirius wouldn't ask, but he quickly started to think of an excuse. "Ah...I um...I guess it was just adrenaline?" His friend cocked an eyebrow. "People have been said to get extra strength when they are in a crisis situation. They can lift dragons and do other things they couldn't normally do. Like how you could suddenly do that spell when we were about to hit the tower."
"I guess that makes sense." Another pause then, "Hey! I could have done that spell if we weren't in mortal danger."
"That's not what it seemed like in Defense earlier." Sirius swatted playfully at him and Remus grinned. Thankfully it seemed that Sirius was easy to distract and wasn't inclined to pry.
.:~I~S~S~:.
"I'm starving!" Sirius said as they left Transfiguration. "I wonder what they're serving us tonight." He rubbed his hands together and they stepped into the Great Hall for dinner. The smell of roast turkey and dressing met them at the door. They took the open spots near Fabian and Gideon.
"Some day, eh mates?" Fabian asked as they sat. "What happened to your hands?" Remus looked down and remembered the bandages. He hid them under the table in his lap.
"James Potter happened," Sirius answered for him. "I've had one too many run-ins with him today." He looked down the table to where the bespectacled boy was sitting with Peter, Frank Longbottom, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was waving his hand around and talking with a big smile on his face.
"Why don't you two get on?" asked Gideon as he took a turkey leg.
"It's all his fault," Sirius said. "I didn't do anything and he accused me of being Dark and all this other rubbish. And that other bloke just goes along with him."
"You mean Peter?" Remus asked. "I don't think that he's doing it on purpose. He seems pretty shy."
"Chances are he just wants a friend and Potty found him first," Fabian agreed. "I'll bet he doesn't agree with what he's doing."
"Well, that's stupid. If he doesn't agree then he should just tell him so." Sirius hunched his shoulders as he continued eating.
About halfway through dinner, Remus noticed that someone was missing from the table. "Where's Lily?"
"Good question. I don't see her anywhere." The four boys looked up and down the table until Gideon said, "Look! She's over at the Slytherin table."
"What?" The other three craned their necks to see the other side of the Great Hall where there was a shock of fiery red hair sticking out from the mostly dark-haired Slytherins. Next to Lily was a black-haired boy, who they could only assume was Severus.
"She's either very brave or completely mental," Fabian said. Just then there was a shout and a flash of light as if someone had shot a curse in her direction. Half the Hall's attention turned to the Slytherin table. Lily jumped up, ready to retaliate, and Severus stood in front of her. The one who sent the hex gave the pair a dark look and his mouth moved but the Gryffindors couldn't hear what he was saying. Severus said something and the older Slytherin lifted his wand again.
Professor Slughorn, seeing the trouble, stood from the staff table and went over. There were some angry looking words at the older Slytherin boy, then he turned to Lily and Severus and spoke to them in what looked like a sympathetic way. Lily grabbed Severus's hand and pulled him towards the Gryffindor table. By now most of the Hall had gone quiet watching, as the two went from one side to the other.
Lily led Severus to the end of one of the benches and new plates materialized in front of them. They began to eat again in silence and slowly the other students returned to their own meals. The older Slytherin looked after them smugly before sitting back down.
"I don't like that Snape kid, but at least he's not letting his House get in the way of his friendship," Sirius said.
"Do you think we should invite them to sit over here?" Remus asked.
"Can't hurt, right?" said Fabian.
"They're already at the table," Gideon added.
Remus got up and walked to the end of the table where the two were sitting. "Um, hello. Did you want to sit with us over there?"
Lily looked up and Remus noticed her emerald eyes were just a bit shinier than usual. "O-oh, Remus. Thank you-"
"We're fine," Severed snapped. Remus felt his face turn pink and he bowed his head slightly.
"Sev..."
"We don't need them, Lily." Severus looked straight at her until she looked into her lap.
"Thank you, Remus. But we'll just stay here for now."
"R-right...Well, I'll see you in the common room then." He turned around and almost ran back to his seat.
"What happened?" Fabian and Gideon asked together.
"Severus didn't want to come over here." Remus glanced back down at the pair who were smiling now. He felt bad that the two of them had to be in different Houses. It must have been much harder since they seemed to have already been friends before coming to school.
"Ah, who needs them anyway?" Sirius said, having forgotten about James and gaining some of his cheerfulness back. "Let's just enjoy dessert. Brownie, Rem?"
