The Slug Club's New Recruit

On the third Monday of November, James sat in the castle dungeons while Professor Slughorn paced around the room, giving an enthusiastic lecture about Hair-Raising Potions while the listening students attempted to create their own.

"Although not what many wizards would call useful, don't be fooled! A properly made Hair-Raising Potion can leave your mop standing on end for weeks if you're not careful with your dosages! Also, be sure to use ginger root in moderation. Believe me when I say that it can give rather undesirable effects: I once had a student who used four pinches instead of two, and his poor rat turned bright orange for months! All right, keep it nice and thick, everyone!"

Dropping a fairy wing into his cauldron, James picked up a copper spoon and stirred the concoction clockwise twice before sitting back and looking around. To his left, Peter stood over his cauldron with a concerned expression, trying to monitor easily the class's most complicated assignment yet. Although usually not one to fret about anything, Sirius finally pushed his potion back with disgust and collapsed onto his chair after trying and failing to make its consistency any thicker than water. In the front of the classroom, Elizabeth had unknowingly mixed up two of her ingredients earlier in the period and now appeared at a loss for why her potion did not resemble Lily's, which, as always, looked like an example straight out of the textbook.

After watching his Housemates' frustration, James was surprised when he glanced over at the other side of the room and observed a vastly different mood emanating from the Slytherins. Snape's eyes had glazed over during Slughorn's speech, and he stared blankly ahead at the back wall. Behind him, Mulciber kept nodding his head and jerking it upright in a slow rhythm, and several other students were leaning back so that their heads hung over the back of their chairs. No one was touching their cauldrons, and James considered with anxiety the possibility that they had all finished their potions minutes ago without him noticing.

"That's it!" Professor Slughorn told the class, apparently unaware that half of his class was motionless. "Keep up the good work! Now, who can tell me how much of the potion you should take in one sitting? No one?"

"Three teaspoons, sir," Lily answered from the front.

"Indeed, well done!" Slughorn praised. "Ten points to Gryffindor! Now, when does its effects usually wear off?" he followed, taking a few steps down the length of the classroom and looking at Alice, who sat up suddenly at his approach.

"Isn't it two hours?" she guessed.

"Quite right! Very impressive! Another ten points to Gryffindor!" Facing the Slytherins on the other side of the room, Slughorn boomed, "Now, now, some of you had better start speaking up, or I'll be seeing the end of my own House's chance for the Cup!" Chuckling, he ignored their inattentiveness and took another step forward to where Peter sat. "My boy, can you tell me how many dosages are advisable in a day?"

"James!" Sirius suddenly hissed from the neighboring table, calling James' attention away from Peter as he started to stammer. Turning a quizzical look at his friend, he watched as Sirius nodded warningly at the next desk just behind Peter's. Following his gaze, James saw something that he had never thought possible: Remus lying with his head in his arms, fast asleep while a professor was talking.

Shocked, James shared a look with Sirius before silently urging him to wake up their friend. Leaning forward, Sirius whispered, "Remus!" Remus gave no response, and James stared at their roommate with alarm as his head slowly began to slide forward—straight for the flame still burning under his cauldron.

Sirius had noticed too, and he now hissed with more urgency. "Remus! Remus, wake up!" As his head continued to slip, Remus fell under Professor Slughorn's shadow as the wizard stepped forward, slightly disappointed by Peter's inability to answer his question.

"Anyone else? Up to how many dosages should you take in a day?"

Just when Professor Slughorn began to look down at Remus' prostrate form, Sirius reached forward and yanked him up by the collar of his robes. Jerking awake, Remus threw his hand into the air and shot off, "No more than three since any more will cause excessive growth and other side effects such as itching and frizz."

As if just becoming aware of his surroundings, Remus lowered his hand hesitantly and blinked several times, frowning. Clapping his back, Slughorn almost pushed his head into the fire under his cauldron again.

"Well done! I couldn't have said it any better myself! Another ten points!"

Several of the Slytherins had awakened from their stupor at Remus' loud exclamation, and they now eyed Slughorn curiously as he approached Sirius and asked, "Now tell me, why doesn't the potion have as powerful of an effect on goblins or house-elves?"

"Well, because they don't have hair, of course," Sirius replied, putting his arms behind his head. A few of the Slytherins gave derisive laughs at this, and Professor Slughorn's beam immediately dissipated.

"Er, not exactly," he said, disappointed, and James felt a pang of anxiety as he turned and faced him. "What about you? Can you tell me?"

"Uh . . ." James scratched the back of his neck sheepishly until Snape piped up from the front.

"He wouldn't know, Professor: he's too busy daydreaming about Quidditch," he sneered, drawing more chuckles from his Housemates. "It's because humans are more susceptible to magical change than other, already magic-oriented beings."

"That's the short end of it, but yes!" Professor Slughorn boomed, walking back down the line of desks to where Snape sat. "Take ten points for Slytherin!"

Making an annoyed noise in the back of his throat, Sirius scooped a spoonful of his potion and flung it at the back of Snape's head when Slughorn's back was turned. Raising his hand to his hair with a sharp hiss, Snape glared back at him before turning to his potion again. When his hand left the back of his head, the whole class started laughing at the sight of his greasy hair, which now stuck up in several sharp spikes.

"All right," Professor Slughorn began again, turning to face the class. He paused for a moment while the giggling died down, a look of confusion on his face. Apparently deciding to ignore the laughter, he continued, "Place your finished potions on the desk and take your leave." As everyone stood and hurried to pack up their supplies, he added, "And don't forget to clean up your mess!"

Looking down sadly at the splattered liquid on his table, evidence of flinging his potion at Snape, Sirius sighed heavily. Standing up to help him, James grabbed a rag and helped mop up the spill as the other students left the room. However, when Remus passed, he reached out and pulled him aside.

"What's the matter with you?" James asked, almost too concerned to smile at his friend's mid-class nap.

"What do you mean?" Remus responded, still a little groggy.

"Why did you fall asleep?" James clarified. "I know that Slughorn's boring, but even I know that you'd never drop off while he was talking."

"I'm just tired, that's all," Remus answered sheepishly, looking at the floor. "It won't happen again."

As he hurried off, James wondered if he had offended him. Turning to Sirius, he asked, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Showing a great deal less worry, Sirius simply shrugged. "I don't know. It seems like everyone's falling asleep nowadays. Did you see the Slytherins?"

Nodding, James frowned. Now that he thought about it, the Slytherins had seemed more tired than bored of Slughorn's lesson. In fact, if Snape hadn't been so interested in Potions, James was sure that he would have fallen asleep as well.

When he and Sirius had finished wiping down the table with their rags, they each brought a vial of their potions to Professor Slughorn's desk. Running quickly to reach the table before them, Snape jumped forward and slammed his bottle down on the desktop before they could reach it themselves.

"Nice look, Snivellus," James told him with a grin, pushing his hand through the spot where his own hair stuck up in the back to make it look even more unruly. Curling his lip, Snape whipped around and made his way towards the door. When he reached the exit, he almost ran into a student entering the classroom, and he had to perform a leaping sidestep to get out of the way. Surprised, James recognized Regulus just as Sirius spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his brother, sounding none too pleased. Curious, Snape lingered by the door to listen in on the conversation.

Giving his brother a quick up-and-down look, Regulus answered, "I'm not here for you. He wanted to see me," he said, nodding towards Professor Slughorn.

Turning around from where he had been rummaging behind his desk, Slughorn beamed and waddled out to put his arm around Regulus. "There you are, my boy! I assume that you finally took me up on my offer, then? What do you have for me?" Reaching into his pocket, Regulus silently produced a bottle of olive-colored liquid. "Perfect! Just what I asked for: a sample of your last Coughing Potion! You have no idea what this means to me. I've just been preparing to send off a batch of student-made potions to a Ministry official inquiring about my teaching abilities. If this goes through, I should have yet another batch of—er, business partners to work with. Have you met Severus here? You two might be seeing a lot of each other in the future!"

As Regulus and Snape nodded at one another, James stepped aside to avoid being trampled on by Professor Slughorn as he pulled Regulus forward. Standing next to James with his fists clenched, Sirius looked like he had just swallowed a mouthful of live centipedes.

"Just head down to my office tomorrow evening," Slughorn was telling the two Slytherins. "I've been meaning to show you my library, and I want to make sure that you have the first two editions of a new book I'm giving out. It was written by Gloria Habit—a good friend of mine, you know—and she sent me far too many copies to keep to myself. It's called Into the Flames: it's an intro to dragon-rearing, something that she's quite talented at, and I thought that the two of you young boys would find it fascinating. Do tell your friend Lily as well, won't you, Severus? There's a good lad. Now go run along before your other professors complain to me for keeping you too long."

Laughing at his own joke, Slughorn turned away and looked surprised to see James and Sirius still standing behind him. "Oh. Good day."

Disgruntled, James eyed Snape as he smirked at him and exited the room behind Regulus. Now positively seething, Sirius followed with James at his heels and caught up with the two as soon as they entered the hallway.

"What was that?" he spat at Regulus, flinging his arm back towards the classroom door. "You're one of his favorites now, is that it?"

Turning back to face him, Regulus gave an unwelcoming expression rather reminiscent of Snape. "I wasn't under the impression that you cared what I did. You've certainly made sure to avoid me during the last few months."

"He's a sycophant! Can't you see that?" Sirius exclaimed, completely disregarding Regulus' jab. "He's using you for his own advantage!"

"Well, I'm sorry that he saw nothing in you," Regulus answered with a tone of finality, turning away again, but Sirius pulled out his wand threateningly.

"If you're implying that I—" he growled, but Regulus cut him off.

"Oh, I think you know what I mean," he said over his shoulder. "You're not daft, I'll give you that much."

Raising his wand arm, Sirius struggled internally as he watched Regulus' receding back. After a moment, he muttered a colorful expletive and pocketed his wand while Snape, who looked vastly entertained, turned away to follow his Housemate down the hall. Shaking with unsuppressed anger, Sirius set off at a much slower pace with his hands deep in his pockets, muttering things that James could not quite understand. Deciding that silent support was the best idea at the moment, James kept his mouth shut until they reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and settled down at their desks with the rest of the second-year Gryffindors. There he turned to Peter, the only listening ear within hearing range.

"It's his brother," James whispered, answering Peter's unspoken question after the pudgy boy watched Sirius slouch down in his chair. "He's in the Slug Club."

"Oh," Peter said, eyeing Sirius worriedly. "Do you think that he's okay?"

"I don't know," James replied. "They almost got into a fight, and—"

"Turn to chapter thirteen," Professor Alamanzar interrupted from the front of the room, and James lowered his voice as he continued.

"Regulus really pushed Sirius' buttons, and Snape was watching the whole thing," he informed Peter. "I think that we should leave him alone for a while."

"Do you think that—" Peter started, but Professor Alamanzar's voice drowned him out as he began his discourse on werewolves.

"Werewolves are highly dangerous creatures, incapable of reasoning. Although they look like a human on the outside, a terrible beast is released every full moon." As he spoke, he guided a piece of chalk with his wand, and it quickly sketched the figure of a man.

The class oohed as the drawing morphed into a vicious-looking canine, and Peter leaned closer to James. "Do you think that Snape will tell the rest of the school about it?"

Sitting back, James grimaced to himself. "Oh. I hadn't thought about that." If word got around the school about the exchange, the Slytherins would have a new source of arsenal against Sirius; they would become almost unbearable if they kept bringing up Regulus and the Slug Club with every other sentence.

"In 1637, your Ministry decreed the Werewolf Code of Conduct, which they hoped would keep the threat under control," Alamanzar continued. "This effort was useless, because none of the werewolves signed in. My country had more success with the Lycanthropy Inquisition, where we hunted the animals and drove them out. Unfortunately, our actions were not entirely hidden from the non-magical population, and they started to hunt witches and wizards in much the same way. It took us centuries to stamp out our influence. After many failed laws, your Ministry made the Werewolf Registry in 1947, and many other wizarding communities have followed their example. The Registry is the most effective method of tracking lycanthropy so far, and the list is open to the public in case someone suspects a neighbor of a misdemeanor."

Lily raised her hand, and Professor Alamanzar nodded at her. "What do you mean by 'misdemeanor?'"

"As the Code of Conduct tried to enforce, werewolves must lock themselves away every full moon to protect unafflicted wizards," Alamanzar answered. "Unfortunately, most do not, which is why their kind has not died out over the years."

"I heard that they form packs to hunt humans for fun," Alice spoke up, shuddering.

"That's right!" Hillary agreed. "There's a pack that lives in the Forbidden Forest, and they come out on the full moon to search for lost students."

"The Headmaster wouldn't allow werewolves to live that close to the castle," Lily disagreed, crossing her arms.

"It's true!" Alice protested. "I've heard them howling at night!"

Looking skeptical, Lily frowned. "Are you positive?"

"Oh, come off it! You don't know everything!" Sirius suddenly announced, placing his feet up on his desk. "I believe them!"

"But we'd have no way of keeping them contained!" Lily said. "If you think about it logically, Dumbledore would never—"

"If you haven't noticed, Dumbledore's decisions aren't always the definition of logical," Sirius interrupted, and the other students giggled as Lily scowled at him. Seeming happier, he continued, "Why keep Peeves? Why plant the Whomping Willow? Why hire Professor Slughorn?"

At this, James joined in as another bout of laughter erupted from the students, and Professor Alamanzar had a little trouble calming the class before continuing with the lesson. When the period finally ended, James joined Sirius, Remus, and Peter out in the hallway, noticing with pleasure Sirius' self-satisfied smile. James opened his mouth to comment on the class, but Lucius Malfoy suddenly rounded the corner with Narcissa on his arm, their disagreement from the beginning of the year apparently behind them. Attempting to ignore them, James and the others walked by without making eye contact, and they had nearly passed them when Malfoy spoke.

"I heard about your brother," Malfoy said, addressing Sirius with a smirk on his face. "Hard when you're second-best, isn't it?" Afraid that Sirius would snap, James reached for his wand, but Sirius moved faster.

"Ah, stuff it, Malfoy," he said happily, drawing his wand and sending a flood of water at Malfoy's and Narcissa's feet as he passed.

"SIRIUS CYNOSURA BLACK, YOU COME BACK HERE!" Narcissa screamed, but the four Gryffindors continued walking down the hall, leaving her and Malfoy to slide unsteadily on the wet floor when they tried to follow and retaliate. Remus, who had stayed distant all throughout the last class after waking up in Potions, finally seemed to come to and gave James a questioning look as if asking about Sirius. Laughing at the angry exclamations behind them, James only shook his head as they continued down the hallway.