The Infamous Marauders
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured in my story they belong to the wonderful and amazing J. K. Rowling.
2nd September 1976
The first morning back at Hogwarts for the Marauders was of course a mess, Sirius overslept, Remus was flustered trying to pack all his books in one bag for the first day, James spent the entire time before breakfast ruffling his hair up only to flatten it a minute later, unsatisfied with the result, and Peter complained that he was hungry and needed his breakfast. The boys eventually made it to the hall after Remus' insistence they hurry up to get their timetables which was strongly backed up by Peter however his concern was more for his stomach, as they entered the hall Remus noticed the glare being sent there way from Severus Snape.
"Padfoot, what did you do to Snape on the train?"
"Moony why are you asking such a thing?"
"Sirius?" He questioned sternly.
"I may have suggested he make improvements to his hair care regime" He answered flippantly.
"Go on?"
"Then I may have used agaumenti to dump water on his head to speed the process along"
James begun to laugh loudly attracting the eyes of many students, Remus sighed sometimes he couldn't help but feel sorry for Snape but no matter what he said to James and Sirius they wouldn't end their tormenting. The boys took their seats and tucked into a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausages, and bacon with crunchy buttered toast. Professor McGonagall and the other House Heads made their way up the tables providing the students with their new timetables. As she arrived around the Marauders she gave them a tight-lipped glare, she was sure they would have done something to deserve it before lunch time today, they were handed their timetables and given quick warning to behave themselves.
"I know you boys will undoubtedly be causing some form of mayhem this year but be warned your NEWT lessons from today onward will have officially begun, these are a big advancement on the OWL work from last year so please do try to take it seriously and do your house proud, I will not hesitate to put you boys in detentions and deduct points, as a prefect I expect you to reign these boys in Mister Lupin"
"I always take things seriously Professor, my name is Sirius after all" Sirius answered in a most sincere voice.
McGonagall sighed and shot the boys one last stern look before continuing along the table to the next group of. As they all began to look at their timetables Sirius loudly exclaimed "Do we have to do NEWTs?"
"If you want to have a good career then yes" Remus replied matter-of-factly.
"I was thinking we could just run away together, you and I, the whirlwind romance that is Padfoot and Moony" Sirius responded.
Remus shook his head and continued to look at his timetable, James sniggered whilst Peter seemed oblivious to his timetable and the conversation altogether as he was trying to eat as much as possible before his first lesson.
"Let's see… we have Transfiguration first, well we know we are fine for this" James said smugly.
"If you had read The Guide to Advanced Transfiguration you would know there is a big difference in the types of transfiguration we will be performing this year and that some types are completely different to others" Remus retorted, making sure not to utter the word Animagi, he knew they would understand his meaning.
"Relax Moony, let us see yours then" Sirius interjected whipping Remus' timetable out of his hands glancing down at it "Merlin! Moony how many lessons have you taken?"
"Only eight"
"You know our Moony he is the books man; he means serious business with these NEWTs" James smiled at Remus.
"How about you Peter what are you taking?" Remus asked, he was always sure to include Peter as he sometimes felt he was overlooked.
"Here" He managed to say in between bites passing the timetable to Remus, Sirius looked down at it as Remus read over it.
"You aren't doing Potions with us?" Sirius asked passing the timetable back to Peter.
"I didn't get an E in our OWLs" Peter admitted.
Remus looked up from his own timetable noticing the great hall was beginning to empty "Come on we best get to Transfiguration"
Sirius and James shoved their timetables into their bags whilst Remus carefully placed his in between his textbooks, he had already committed it to memory, but it was useful to keep it at least readable he thought to himself. Peter looked forlorn to be leaving the food so soon as they left the Great Hall to head for the Transfiguration classroom.
The boys arrived at Transfiguration with little time to spare and took their places at the back, everyone knows the back was the best place to be for mischievous pranksters. Soon enough McGonagall strode in to the room to begin her lesson. After explaining the importance of NEWTs and reiterating her lack of tolerance for disturbances in her classroom she began the lesson.
"The first part of this course will be related to human transfiguration, this is a difficult form of transfiguration that we will extensively work on this year and the following year in preparation for your NEWTs" She paused looking around the room to ensure everyone was paying attention before continuing "There are many forms of human transfiguration, one of the most infamous is the ability to become an Animagus, a person who can transform into an animal form at will" at that there were a few murmurs around the class, Sirius nudged Remus and winked at him. McGonagall shot a stern look to silence the class "As some of you may know becoming an Animagus is a highly complicated and dangerous form of transfiguration as such there are very few Animagus and those who are must be registered at the Ministry of Magic, we will not be covering this practically in any of your NEWT classes as that type of transfiguration is not only complex but is entirely different than the human transfiguration we will be performing"
Sirius looked crestfallen and whispered to James "I'm sure she's just trying to put people off; it won't be much different"
"No speaking in my class Mister Black, do not make me take points from my own house on the first day" James snickered at McGonagall's reprimand earning himself a steely look.
"We will first be looking at the theory behind different types of human transfiguration, until I am satisfied you acknowledge the risks and are familiar with this form of magic we will not begin the practical implementation" This earned a few disgruntled sighs and looks from the sixth-year students.
After lunch, it was time for Herbology a lesson which only three of the Marauders had selected, James, Sirius, and Peter, meanwhile Remus had History of Magic with Professor Binns. The boys trudged over to the Greenhouses together having bid Remus goodbye in the great hall, the September air was mild enough, although it would soon be setting in cold over the coming weeks.
"I can't believe Moony has abandoned us to do History of Magic it is so boring" Sirius huffed.
"Stop being so dramatic, I'm sure you can survive an afternoon without him"
"I need his intellectual conversation to save me from the likes of you Prongs" Sirius teased.
Upon arriving at the Greenhouses, the boys discovered they had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs the class had been split between the year as the greenhouse could only hold so many students at once, the boys had decided this should be an easy NEWT when they initially selected it. However, by the end of the lesson Peter had to be taken to the Hospital Wing after being bitten by a young Venomous Tentacula Plant, luckily the thick layers of his robes had taken the brunt of the attack. Professor Sprout gave them an exasperated look allowing them to leave ten minutes early to escort Peter to the castle.
Madame Pomfrey shook her head as she seen the three boys striding through the infirmary doors, it would be those boys to be here on the first day of lessons a mischievous bunch they are she thought to herself.
"I've been savaged" Peter wailed dramatically for the benefit of Sirius and James earning himself a few laughs.
"Will I ever get a year away from your mayhem?"
"Oh, Poppy you love our visits" Sirius attempted to charm her.
"It is Madame Pomfrey to you Mister Black, and I think it may be time for you to go to the great hall I'm sure Mister Potter can wait with Mister Pettigrew, run along"
Sirius sported a wounded look on his face as he stepped back gripping his broken heart, he was quite the performer, James, and Peter grinned wildly at his antics.
"I shall take my leave; never have I ever been rejected so harshly" He cried.
Madame Pomfrey hid her smile and shooed him out of her Hospital Wing.
Sirius made his way to the great hall to find Remus he couldn't wait to tell him all about Peters great battle with the Venomous Tentacula Plant, although Moony was considered the sensible one Sirius knew he was as much of a Marauder as he and loved his dramatic flair for telling stories. He quickly spotted Remus upon entering the hall he was sat by himself on the Gryffindor table surrounded by books and a roll of parchment, trust Moony to be getting straight on with his work, well Sirius would be sharp changing that he grinned to himself as he strode over.
Sirius plonked himself down loudly next to Remus. "Why hello there my good fellow, I do so hope you are not doing homework already?" Sirius asked in a mock serious tone.
Remus glanced up at Sirius and smiled "I'm just writing up some notes for Transfiguration"
"Well you need to stop I have a grand tale to tell you off a savage attack, some brave heroes and a broken heart"
Remus put his book aside this would be good "Please do tell?"
Sirius proceeded to describe Peters full blown battle with the monstrous Venomous Tentacula Plant, he didn't hold back on his and James heroic rescue and their treacherous journey to the Infirmary to save Wormtail's life. His story was ended with the heartbreak he suffered at the hands of Poppy Pomfrey the woman he had hoped to marry, he had concluded the only way his broken heart could be mended was if Remus stopped doing all school related work immediately and joined him outside to go flying until it was time to meet the others for tea. Remus reluctantly agreed to accompany Sirius to the Quidditch Pitch however he refused to fly saying he could sit nearby and read whilst Sirius flew.
Sirius was soon up above the Quidditch Pitch with the cold nipping at his ankles as his robe billowed behind him, he rose high before looping rapidly and going into a steep dive, Sirius loved to fly and Quidditch was his passion, when he was younger he had dreamed of becoming a professional Quidditch player but his mother, Walburga Black, had been certain to stamp that dream early on in his childhood stating it was "unbecoming and too common for the heir of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black". Sirius wasn't even allowed his broom during the holidays anymore as a punishment for his insolence and general Gryffindor attitude. So, upon his return to the castle he was eager to get out in the air as soon as possible, he felt calm when he was high in the sky just him and his broom and the breeze through his long black hair.
Sirius looked down towards the stands at Remus it boggled his mind that Moony would prefer to read and study than fly and play Quidditch but that was just one of the quirks that made Moony who he was, Sirius remembered when he had first spoken to Remus, it was at the sorting in their first year and he had found out Remus' lack of knowledge on Quidditch and had took it upon himself to enlighten Remus on the wonderful sport all the way to the dormitory, when they had arrived and found that Peters bed was on the same side of the room as Remus' Sirius just had to swap so he could continue his excited chatter, that was how the sleeping arrangements had stayed ever since.
Sirius always found his friendship with Remus to be different than with the others, Moony was more reserved whereas James was boisterous, Moony was caring and understanding, even to foul slimy gits like Snivellus, Sirius felt protective of Moony he had noticed his sickly appearance and weird disappearances before the others and putting two and two together had stumbled upon Remus' problem. Sirius was never one to partake or promote studying but he had enlisted the help of James and Peter in scouring the library and any resource available to them to find a way to help Moony.
"Sirius!" Remus' shouting cut through his thoughts.
He directed his broom down towards him "Yeah?"
"We best get going its dark, tea will be ready soon and I prefer not having to read using lumos it's not as good for your eyes it's much better to read in a well-lit room"
"Well if it's going to affect your reading we must hurry back to castle this instant"
Remus shot Sirius a friendly glare at his mocking and stowed his book back into his bag "I'll meet you next to the broom shed"
Sirius soared down to the shed and went inside to store his broom, he exited and was surprised to see Remus stood already waiting for him, he shook his head to himself it was sometimes easy to forget that Remus was faster and stronger than he, when Remus walked around in baggy robes with a book always tucked under his arm or a quill and parchment in front of him solving calculations it was hard to envision the powerful beast that dwelled within him.
"There a problem Padfoot?" Remus asked looking at him with a confused expression.
"I just forget how fast you are sometimes"
"Oh, well yes my athletic prowess is something many are jealous of" Remus replied with a laugh.
Sirius smiled at Remus and began to head towards the castle, he remembered when he had first confronted Remus about his problem, Remus had seemed to loathe himself and was so scared that Sirius and everybody else would hate him too, with the acceptance of his friends and their support Remus had reached a place where he could make the occasional joke about his affliction, Sirius sometimes still saw the doubt in Remus' eyes, and the worry, but he didn't pass comment all he could do was make sure Remus knew he had him, and that he had the others, they were the Marauders after all and they looked after one another.