Oh dear lord…. SHE'S UPDATED! That and I cannot be physically bothered trying to finish assignments when I only get home for about 8 hours before having to leave again for the city. Urgh. Enjoy. I had a lot of fun writing this. Please don't hesitate with questions, I will try my best to let you know, without spoiling the rest of the fic for you.
Lots of love.
The cold light of morning hit Peter's face with quiet reflection. His eyes flickered and he yawned. James seemed to have spent the whole night awake, reading the book. He was almost finished.
"Morning sleepy head." James said throwing him a muffin.
"Were you at the kitchens?" Peter asked.
"No, I just thought it would be a good idea to have food in case we camped out all night," James shrugged, pulling out an apple.
Peter looked down at the entrance to the Whomping Willow. "have they appeared yet?"
"Well if they had, why on earth would we still be sitting here?" James asked.
"Should we go in?" Peter asked. "Make sure that Sirius hasn't… Died?"
James got up and shoved the invisibility cloak away into his bag. They peered down into the cavern, lit only by the tip of James' wand.
"I see someone!" He said to Peter.
Sirius' long mane of shaggy black hair came into view then the rest of him, human and panting steadily. James helped him up. He was a little bruised and scratched up but nothing a little ointment couldn't fix.
"Were you okay?" James asked. "What happened?"
"Give him a moment," Peter said, digging into James' bag and pulling out a flask of pumpkin juice. "Here."
"Cheers." Sirius said sleepily, knocking it back with ease.
"Well?" James pressed.
"One moment!" Sirius said, adjusting himself carefully. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Before you start," Peter said. "Where's Remus?"
"Oh, he's putting on some clothes." Sirius said.
"You mean he's not unconscious and half dead?" James asked.
"Well if let me speak instead of asking me all these bloody questions!" Sirius said.
"Okay, sorry," James said. "What happened?"
"So I got in," Sirius said. "And when he transformed so did I. It seemed touch and go, and he did seem a little pissed off that I was there… But after 30 minutes or so, he seemed to loosen up and sort of accept me being there. It was like being with Remus – albeit an uglier, taller, skinnier and frankly more dog like version of Remus – but Remus nonetheless!"
"So what did you do all night?" James asked. "It can't have been that fun."
"No, it wasn't," Sirius said. "You try taking on a full grown werewolf in what is meant to be rough-housing. Man, his teeth are sharp."
"But he didn't infect you?" Peter asked.
"Werewolves are only a danger to humans." Sirius replied. "And with me being there… I don't know… But he was more like himself."
"Is he coming up or not?" James asked, glancing back at the tunnel.
"Hold on-" Sirius said. James pushed him back.
"I'll go. You rest." He said. He ducked under and landed in a soft pile of leaves before making his way down the tunnel to the shack.
He met Remus halfway, stumbling and falling, weary eyed and beaten up from the nights transformation. James sighed and tucked his shoulder under Remus' arm and helping him up the tunnel.
"Did you say to Sirius that you could manage?" He asked patiently.
"I can manage." Remus mumbled.
"And I'm Merlin's secret half-brother Joseph." James said.
"Hello Joseph," Remus grumbled.
"Don't play smart with me." James warned. "Merlin was my only family. What he did when he befouled my wife was an insult."
"And your wife is?"
"Lily Evans of course." James said.
"Now I know you're making that up." Remus muttered. "Wait, stop." James stopped for a moment as Remus leaned against a wall trying to catch his breath.
"I thought you and Sirius only scratched each other up." James said frowning.
Remus gave him a look. "James, no matter who's there, I still go through the same transformation. It hurts a lot more than I let on."
"Oh, and here I was just thinking you were faking it." Sirius' voice rang out. He leaned forward into the tunnel and pulled Remus up and out onto the dewy grass. James climbed up after them and stretched.
"Okay," Peter said staring at all three of them. "I think we should all go to bed."
"Remus has to go to the hospital wing," James said. "Sirius, you should probably get some ointment for those bite marks."
Remus blanched. "Did it attack you?" He whispered.
"No, you didn't attack me, per se." Sirius said, tugging at his coat.
"But it bit you." Remus' voice quivered.
"Listen, if I turn into a werewolf next full moon instead of a dog, then okay I'll blame you, but until then," Sirius just grinned.
"Don't say that." Remus muttered before falling unconscious to the ground.
Sirius stared at James and Peter. "Poor guy." James muttered, picking him up and holding him carefully. Peter collected the invisibility cloak and bag and together they made their way up to the castle.
…
"I really need to hurry up and start transforming properly," James said, flicking rolled up pieces of parchment and Mithradates' black cat called Toby. Toby was becoming a little annoyed and every so often he would turn and stare at James with his huge amber eyes.
"I swear that cat is a bloody animagus too." Sirius said, flopping onto his bed and removing his shirt so he could apply a nasty smelling ointment to the scratches and cuts.
James got up and moved around to look at Sirius.
"How cool would it be if we were all out during the full moon? Exploring and having adventures!" He said excitedly.
"How old are you?" Sirius scoffed. "Nine and a half?"
"Eight and a half if you don't mind," James corrected.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"But just think about it." James said, still with glee in his voice. "All of us. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, the Marauders! Solemnly swearing to make mischief and cause havoc!"
"Okay, James," Sirius said. "Whatever you say."
"You're not taking me seriously are you?"
"I'm always serious." Sirius said. "It's basically my name."
James rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his bead.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to do it?" He asked.
"Self doubts?" Sirius asked. "Not like James Potter to doubt himself."
"Not often does James Potter take to complete a simple task." James replied haughtily.
"HA!" Sirius laughed. James looked up.
"What?" He asked.
"No, it's just… Well it's funny that you think that turning to and from an animal is easy." Sirius said. "It takes a lot of concentration."
"Are you saying I don't have the capacity to concentrate?" James asked.
"You lost that a long time ago when you met me." Sirius said, finishing up with the ointment and putting it to one side before finding his pyjama top and buttoning it up.
"Oh." James said. He fidgeted slightly before getting up and going into Remus' drawer.
"Oi!" Sirius said. "What are you doing?"
"Moony always has a stash of chocolate in here somewhere." James said. "Oh, hold on. What's this?" He pulled out a small brown packet and looked at it for a moment.
"What's that?" Sirius asked.
"No idea," James shrugged. "But it's from Dorcas Meadowes."
"How can you tell?" Sirius asked.
"I recognise the handwriting and you know, it says 'To Remus from Dorcas'," James said.
"Ha, ha," Sirius said, lying down. "Don't patronise me."
"Would never dream of it Padfoot old boy," James said.
"So what is it?" Sirius asked.
"No idea." James said.
"Not going to look at it?" Sirius asked.
"Nah, it's Remus', not mine."
"It might be something incredibly cool." Sirius said.
"Or maybe it's a love letter," James said. "I'm not going to go prying."
"But he's going out with Sarah!" Sirius said.
"Doesn't mean girls can't flirt with him." James shrugged. "Jeez, how come I never get any of that?"
"You have." Sirius said. "But you've been chasing the same girl for nearly five years."
"Yes, and I'm making progress." James said.
Sirius stared at him. "Last week she said she'd rather go out with the giant squid from the lake, than go out with you."
"I look at that as progress." James said, putting the package back into the drawer and finding the large slab of dark chocolate hidden under the worn jumpers.
"That's not progress mate," Sirius said.
"I like to think it is."
"Well it isn't,"
"It is,"
"Isn't,"
"Is,"
"Isn't."
"It is and it makes me happy." James said falling to his bed and folding his arms defensively.
Sirius sighed and stretched his legs, wiggling his toes affectionately. "I reckon, once we're all able to transform… Moony won't take to it too kindly."
"So we'd have gone through all that hard work for nothing?" James scoffed. "Not bloody likely."
"Well think about it," Sirius said. "He's always maintained that it is his burden to bear. Have you not noticed how quiet he is around the full moon? Before and after? Even at the hospital wing! He just pretends to go to sleep."
"You noticed that too?" James asked.
"Yep." Sirius nodded. "It's hardly discreet though, come on, Prongs, even a monkey could figure it out."
"Oi!" said a voice. The pair of them looked around to see Frank Longbottom standing at the door, a heap of textbooks laden in his arms.
"Not you," James said.
"Good," Frank grumbled, shoving the books onto his bed and pulling a treat out for Toby. Toby nibbled on it affectionately as Frank stroked the cat with a small smile on his face. "So what are you talking about?"
"Monkeys," James said.
"Why?" Frank asked.
"Well apparently Sirius has never seen one." James said. Sirius shot him a look.
"Just because I never got the fancy holidays and stuff." Sirius said.
"Same with me," Frank said. "Never any holidays. Except to my Grans house. Mum always likes to show me up to everyone. Absolute rubbish."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Sirius said as Frank removed his robes and went hunting for a pair of pyjama's.
Frank said nothing as he laid out his night clothes. Then he put on his large knitted jumper and muggle jeans. "See you later," He said picking up one of the books then leaving.
"Odd boy," Sirius muttered.
"My son and his will be heroes!" James said proudly standing on his bed.
Sirius threw a pillow at James and he fell to the floor with a nasty clatter.
…
"I'll bloody kill him!" James practically roared as Sirius wiped up his bleeding nose.
"James, will you calm down?" Sirius muttered. "It's just a bloody nose."
"YES BUT HE GAVE YOU ONE!"
"Yes, and I gave him a black eye, we're even." Sirius said.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital wing?" Remus asked, putting down his goblet and frowning.
"It's just a bloody nose!" Sirius said. "I don't want to give them the satisfaction."
Peter looked over at the Slytherin's table, Crouch, Snape and the rest of them were all huddled together laughing obviously at Snape's massive black eye and Sirius' nose that was spurting gusts of blood.
"I still kill him for you." James said, clutching his fork.
"Okay, don't," Remus said.
"Why not?" James asked annoyed and looking at Remus' scarred face.
"You go out after the Slytherins, they'll come right back at you with darker more powerful magic." Remus explained. "Severus has been creating his own spells that should be made illegal."
"And how do you know that?" Peter asked.
"Lily said she saw some scribbles of spell-making in one of his books." Remus replied.
"Still gossiping?" Sirius asked, folding over the tissue and holding it to his nose. "You two are like little old ladies out for afternoon tea."
"I like to think of it as a meeting of intellectual minds." Remus said.
"Sure you do." Peter said, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, Pete," Remus grinned.
"Snivellous isn't smart enough to make up his own spells," Sirius said.
"I agree there," James said. "Are you sure you don't want me to beat him up?"
"I don't want to go back into the hospital!" Remus complained. "Not when you three are going to be there whining about how much your little boo-boo's hurt."
"Shut up Remus." James said flicking a bit of mashed potato at him.
"Sometimes I wonder what I am doing putting up with you," Remus said. Sirius wiped away the last of the blood and looked over at James.
"How do I look?" He asked.
"Like you've gone and had tea with the giants and you insulted Bargoff's mum's beard." James said.
"Battle-worn." Sirius said. "Cool."
James pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sirius' face. "Scourgify!"
The blood evaporated into nothing and Sirius checked his face in his desert spoon. "How do I look?" He asked.
"Radiant," Peter said sarcastically, cutting up the last of his pie. James snorted, laughing manically for a full five minutes before he could calm down.
"Yeesh, it wasn't that funny," Sirius said.
"I think it was." Remus said.
"Oh you find anything that pokes fun at me funny," Sirius replied.
"True," Remus shrugged. "But I can't help it. Sometimes you say the most ridiculous things."
"I will have you know that what comes out of my mouth at all times is one hundred per cent brilliant." Sirius said defiantly.
James burst into hysterics.
They cleared the table and made their way from the Great Hall up the stairs to Moaning Myrtles bathroom so that James could practice some more. He was becoming more and more determined that he would be able to perfect the animagus transformation any day soon, and whilst the other three had no doubts in James' ability, it meant long nights for all of them that they were not too keen on. Once arriving, James went on his own to practice, whilst Remus, Peter and Sirius sat around a selection of books and a large piece of parchment strewn out in front of them. Moaning Myrtle appeared after a little while saying how much she missed chocolate.
"Leave that bit clear," Remus said. "There are side rooms there."
"You sure?" Sirius asked.
"Positive."
"Okay, now I want to find out if that's true or not." Sirius said. He shifted some books to the side. "How you getting on there Prongs?"
"Shut up Padfoot." James called.
"Never! Mwhahahaha…" Remus shot Sirius a glance and he quickly silenced himself. "Ha?" Remus shook his head and placed the book that was sitting comfortably on his knees to the side. He kneeled in front of the parchment, frowning slightly, before dipping his quill into the thestral blood and scratching it onto a separate piece of parchment. James kicked a metal pail of water that had been left by Filch, out of the way in frustration as he returned to the rest of them.
"You'll get there dear." Sirius said patting his knee. "What you doing Moony?"
"I had a thought…" Remus said.
"Oh dear… Everybody, take cover!" James said.
Remus gave them a look.
"What's the idea?" Peter asked, turning the corner of the page and closing the book he had in front of him.
"I don't know…" Remus replied.
James, Peter and Sirius stared at him.
"Well. Not exactly at least. It's not fully formed yet." Remus explained.
They continued to stare at him.
"You're supposed to be the brains!" Sirius almost wailed.
Moaning Myrtle was gazing at them from overhead. "You have to tap the parchment and say something that means something to you before you write whatever it is down. When finished writing, you have to tap the parchment again and say something else then it will disappear. Your eyes only."
Remus was staring at the parchment in front of him. James pulled out his wand. Sirius grabbed his wrist. "Best think of something that we all agree on before we cast the spell." He said.
James thought for a moment. "Fair enough." He put his wand to the side and knelt down. All four boys were staring at the large scrap of parchment that they had brought with them, without really any intention to write on it.
Sirius cleared his throat. "Okay…" He said. "What about, 'Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Solemnly Swear that we are up to no good'?"
"Too wordy," Remus said. "Has to be quick. Easy."
"We could drop the 'Messers' part." Peter suggested. "And write it at the top like a signature."
"Peter, that is actually brilliant." Remus said. "And what do we say when we want to hide the writing?"
James kneeled back, his glasses slipping from his nose. He pulled them off and wiped them on his robes. "When I always pulled a prank with my dad, we'd always hide together and whisper to each other that 'Mischief was Managed'"
"Sounds better than what I was going to go for." Sirius said.
"What were you going to go for?" Peter asked.
"Something highly inappropriate." Sirius said, waving the question away.
"I don't want to know," Remus said.
"Me neither," James said. "So, we have an accord?"
"Yes," chorused the rest of them.
"Wands at the ready," Remus said, pulling out his and touching the parchment. Peter, Sirius and James did the same.
"Ready?" James asked.
"Ready."
"Ready."
"Ready."
"On the count of three," Sirius said. "One, two, three-"
"WE SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT WE ARE UP TO NO GOOD."
Myrtle smiled.
"Was something supposed to happen?" Sirius asked.
James handed him the quill. "Sign our names at the top." He said. "Then we'll go from there."
Sirius nodded and bent down, gritting his teeth, he spoke while he wrote the words. "Messers, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, are proud to present the-" He stopped and looked up. "What? We are proud to present what?"
"The…" Remus frowned. "The…er… The um…"
"The…" Peter bit his lips.
"We can't say just 'map', can we?" James asked. "No… You've gone and messed up the grammar."
"My grammar is perfect." Sirius said.
"Yes, and left us flummoxed for a name," Remus said.
"Marauders!" Myrtle said. "I heard you say it one time whilst referring to yourselves. It seems rather fitting doesn't it?"
"You're being very helpful tonight," Peter observed. "What happened down in the lake?"
Myrtle merely giggled.
"I'm putting down Marauders," Sirius said. "the Marauders Map."
"Okay, let's see if this works." James said. "Then I want to go to bed. Or go to the kitchens. Either one is fine with me."
"Fine," Remus said. "One, two, three-"
"MISCHIEF MANAGED!"
The letter that Sirius had neatly scrawled across the parchment shrank back into nothing, leaving not a trace of ink left on the page. He reached out and spread his hands across where he had written. "That is remarkable." He muttered.
"Stand back." James said, pointing his wand at the map to test it out. "We solemnly swear that we are up to no good."
Then just as some invisible hand was drawing across the page, the writing spread, in Sirius' handwriting. All of them looked amazed.
"THIS IS QUALITY!" James said happily.