The Infamous Marauders
Chapter Five
Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who has been reading the story so far, I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I have been enjoying writing it I would love to hear your opinions on the story so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured in my story they belong to the amazingly talented J. K. Rowling.
Late September – Early October 1976
The night following the Marauders arguments Remus found a bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate placed on his bed, a gift from Sirius, Remus shook his head and chuckled at his friend's apology. Sirius was sometimes hot headed and he knew it even if it took him some time to realise, he had jumped to conclusions and he felt ridiculous, however the one person he really should have apologised to, which was Lily, did not receive her apology until many days later.
In those few days prior to the apology Remus had his monthly battle with the moon, the first moon of the school year always had Madame Pomfrey fussing over him with the strictness and care of a stern mother. Peter, James, and Sirius accompanied him in their animal forms, and the evening of the full moon seen the unlikely group of creatures exploring the forbidden forest together, a rat clung to the antlers of a proud stag and a big black dog playfully ran circles around a curious and deadly looking wolf. The morning after Remus was plied with chocolate from his friends until Madame Pomfrey shooed them away to allow Remus to rest, thankfully the full moon had fell over the weekend meaning Remus was not required to explain his absence from lessons to his fellow students. It also allowed him plenty of time to recover, although since his friends had cracked the Animagus transformation his moons had been steadily improving, the wolf felt like it finally had a pack, a group to defend and interact with, one of the wolf's greatest pains had been its loneliness, since it had gained its animal friends it had taken less of its anger and aching out on the body within which it was trapped.
Tuesday morning at breakfast Sirius strode over to Lily, he extended his hand "I'm sorry Lily, I misjudged you and I had no right to say the things I said to and about you, I hope you can forgive my presumptuousness and start anew with me" In that moment the grace of being raised by a pureblood and traditional family radiated for all to see. Much to everyone's surprise Lily flashed Sirius a smile and took his hand lightly within her own shaking it.
"It is all forgotten" she replied with equal grace.
"Fantastic! I don't think I could bare being on the wrong end of your wand 'll leave that to Prongsy" Sirius polite and graceful façade was smashed at his teasing of James, he took his seat at the table and proceeded to stuff his face, earning a few laughs from the surrounding sixth year Gryffindor's.
James looked at the interaction with shock and envy, why couldn't Evans shake his hand he grumbled to himself eating his bacon sandwich. Remus just smiled it was nice to see the craziness of the other week forgotten and pushed aside, it was also a relief that the Marauders were aware of his and Lily's friendship, they were his friends, heck they were more like his family and he didn't like to knowingly withhold things from them.
The week went by steadily with no further hiccups, on Friday the date for the first Hogsmeade trip was posted in the common rooms of Hogwarts, James eagerly began to plan his invitation to Lily, he was sure this would be the trip which she agreed to accompany him, James with Sirius' help had also began training and some extra try-outs for the Quidditch team as the first match of the season would be the following month.
The weekend passed by in a blur of food, homework and exploding snap, the students were soon back to their lessons, the sixth years were quite shocked at the work load this early in the year their NEWTs weren't till the end of seventh year however the professors were adamant they needed to dedicate themselves to their studies now as they had mock tests at the end of the year and their studying now would provide them with the foundation of knowledge needed to excel in their NEWTs the following year.
Potions was no different and that week Professor Slughorn announced that the class would be paired up to learn the method and brew a selected potion, however the teams and potions would not be announced until the following class, this lesson was dedicated to theory behind three potions draught of living death, polyjuice potion and amortentia. Slughorn lectured the students on the power of the three potions, each could be used in the art of trickery and deception. The draught of living death allowed the drinker to enter a deep slumber imitating death, polyjuice allowed the drinker to take on the appearance of another and amortentia the most powerful of all the love potions allowed the brewer to trick another into a deep obsessive infatuation. At the end of the class the Professor reinforced the fact that none of the potions discussed should be taken or brewed outside of the class.
As the students made their way up to the hall for lunch the corridors were filled with excited chatter, the potions they were shown today were a major advancement on the content of the previous year's classes and the speculation of their projects was a main topic of discussion. Lily was thrilled at the prospect of what was to come and Remus could see the joy in her face as she animatedly discussed the class with him, since their friendship had been revealed they spoke often between classes whereas they used to mainly only meet for prefect rounds or revision in the library.
Remus himself was feeling less than enthusiastic, he had never taken to potions well, the theory he understood however the practical aspect often overwhelmed him, his heightened senses sometimes made it difficult to function correctly inside the classroom with the strong fumes and potent ingredients. Remus had never explicitly told anyone why he had selected so many NEWTs especially one such as potions where he sometimes struggled, but he knew someone with his affliction would need all the help he could get to find a job once he left Hogwarts and therefore he applied himself completely to his studies in the hope his excellent grades would be noticed and prayed someone as understanding as Dumbledore would one day hire him. He could only hope he was paired with a decent brewer, he didn't mind working extra on the theory side of their project if he had someone who could control the practical side with more ease than himself.
At lunch the boys told Peter all about their project and although Peter had failed quite terribly at potions he still seemed quite envious of them, he was especially interested in the polyjuice potion, James and Sirius also had an interest in that very potion, scheming of the pranking opportunities a brew such as that could offer was their main topic of discussion.
That night James and Sirius had yet another round of try-outs to attend, James had decided to run the try-outs over four separate days as he wanted to give everyone the chance to display all their skills but also to allow peoples nerves to settle so he could see their true flying and not the nervous flight of someone who was worried they might not make the team. Peter had excused himself from the dormitory telling Remus he was going to visit the kitchens, Peter had always been jealous that Sirius and James were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, however he lacked the necessary skill to be a member, Remus didn't really know how the empathise with him over this as he had never really developed a passion for flying, he found the matches fun and loved to support his house team however the attention and glory surrounding Quidditch just didn't appeal to him, Remus much preferred to allow his friends to take all the limelight.
Remus settled himself in the dormitory on his bed and decided to read his potions textbook to make concise notes on the three potions discussed in class today, he had no doubt that they would either be required to brew one of the three potions for their projects or they would at least have to write a homework essay on the benefits and origins of each potion. The more he read about the potions the more he became aware of the power and danger of each brew, although Professor Slughorn had tried to press the seriousness of the brews onto his students his round belly and face covered in laughter lines took away any menacing tone from his lectures. Remus made a mental note to talk to the boys about the polyjuice potion although it seemed funny to be able to turn into another person for an afternoon to cause mischief, in the wrong hands a potion like that could be highly dangerous, especially in the hands of dark wizards.