[The fourth of September, 8 a.m. (Saturday)]
Jane woke up. She felt quite excited when she realized that she was going to buy her school supplies in the afternoon with Professor McGonagall.
The morning passed quickly. After having lunch, she went straight to Professor McGonagall's office, where she was taught how to use a fireplace. After putting some Floo powder into the fire, the professor encouraged Jane to step into the fireplace with her. Jane was a little nervous, but she took a deep breath and had a try. To her surprise, she could not feel the hotness of the fire.
"Diagon Alley." the professor said calmly, and Jane suddenly felt herself falling downwards. She nearly screamed! When she looked down nervously, she saw that they were no longer in the fire. Instead, they were traveling through a network of other people's fireplaces rapidly. Before she had time to look at them, however, she fell (quite unprepared) onto the stone floor. "It was quite lucky that someone put a cushion charm here." Jane thought as she stood up.
They got everything ready in a hurry. Jane stepped out of Prof. McGonagall's fireplace at 2 p.m. with a toad sitting quietly on her palms. It was her new pet called Sickle, a harlequin toad.
[The second of November, 5 p.m. at night]
"Phew," James sighed. "We can finally have a rest. Why did the professor keep talking until dinnertime today?"
"I don't know," Jane replied. "But I totally agree it was boring. By the way, how do you like our DADA class?"
"Not to mention the class, our poor old professor is definitely too old to teach. We were only in the first grade, and he had already started to teach us how to recognize werewolves!" Sirius said.
"Cheer up, guys." James said. "Though it's the end of the day, our fun has just begun. I inherited an Invisibility Cloak from my father, and it's big enough to cover all of you. What about sneaking out of the common room after curfew and exploring the castle?"
"You've got an invisibility cloak? They are really rare!" Sirius exclaimed.
A sigh came from behind. They turned around and found in surprise that it was Remus.
"What's wrong, Remus?" Jane asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright." Remus said with another sigh. "It's just- I'm afraid I can't go with you today."
"Why not?" James asked. "Don't worry, I've got my Cloak!"
"Well - my mother is ill." Remus said cautiously. "You know, she is in poor health, and - I have to go and care for her."
"All right. Then we'll have to go alone." James said with a sigh. "Do you mind?"
"Of - of course not. I have to go now. See you tomorrow." Remus said as he hurried down the stairs.
"Poor Remus. I think we should go to visit her mother with him." Jane suggested. "It won't take long, but it will bring her comfort. I bet Remus would be happy, too."
Everybody agreed.
They hid under the Cloak and followed their friend on tiptoes. They didn't dare to speak and looked around every few steps.
Remus led them from one staircase to another, until they arrived at the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey was waiting at the door. She nodded to Remus and the two of them went away. James, Sirius and Jane looked at each other and followed.
Madam Pomfrey led Remus out of the castle towards a giant willow. It had great branches that whipped the air continuously.
"My father never told me anything about that tree!" James exclaimed. "And why are they going there? They'd get hurt!"
"Please be quiet, James. Remus is not mad." Jane said.
Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand and pointed it at the roots of the tree. A wooden stick zoomed towards the tree and hit it near the roots. The tree immediately stopped moving. After that, she and Remus went towards the tree. They bent down and disappeared into the darkness.
"We'd better follow them." Sirius said. "I'm sure the tree is going to start moving again."
He was right. The moment all three of them got safely to the tree, the branches started to whip the air again.
Outside, the moon was coming out. By the moonlight, they found a hole under the roots and climbed into it one by one. They soon found that it actually led to a tunnel with a wooden door at the end of it.
"Remus must be in there!" Sirius whispered. "Come on!"
"Does Remus' mother actually live in Hogwarts? She can't be living in a tree hole, can she?" James asked.
Suddenly, they heard a howl from behind the door. Jane's hair stood on end, and her blood ran cold.
"There's a wolf in there! " She thought. The story of Little Red Riding Hood came into her mind.
The others stood petrified near the doorway. Jane pushed them out of the way and peered at the keyhole. What she saw gave her a nasty surprise.
She realized that the room behind the door was merely a shack, and far below living standards too. There was no bed, no table, and Remus' mother was not there. She came to an unpleasant conclusion that Remus had been lying.
Secondly, the wolf had a strange appearance. She had seen wolves on TV, but this one was different. It was standing on its hind legs and walking around like a human. There was a pile of clothes on the floor beside it. Her face turned pale as she realized what was happening. Taking a deep breath, she calmed down and told the others to come and have a look. A moment later, they all realized what had happened. Their best friend, Remus, was a werewolf. But they weren't angry at him at all. They felt sorry for him and knew that they would have done the same thing if they were werewolves themselves. Finally, James decided that they shouldn't let Remus notice them, so they came out of the tunnel into the moonlight.
"No matter what, Remus is our best friend. It wasn't his fault and I understand him for not telling the truth. Now, does anyone know what we can do for him?" Sirius asked calmly.
No one answered. Jane finally knew why Remus was so introverted, shy and cautious. It was all because he didn't want to lose his friends. Would he be happy if they told him that they knew about his secret, and that it didn't matter? The night breeze brushed gently on her face, and she really felt sorry for her friend. Life was so unfair for him.
Everything went on as usual. Their night explorations continued, and Remus nearly always went with them. When it came to full-moon nights, the children simply pretended that they had homework to do.
[1972/2/28, 9 p.m.]
Time flies. Summer vacation was only two months away.
Remus was in the Hospital Wing because he had his hands burnt during Potions. James, Sirius and Jane had to go alone after curfew. Jane was told a few days ago that someone had discovered a hidden room on the eighth floor, and the Gryffindors simply can't wait to have another adventure.
On their way, however, the staircase they were standing on suddenly began to move. It stopped near the library.
What was worse, they heard someone approaching them from behind.
"Filch." Sirius whispered under his breath, and they quickly ran towards the library.
"The door was locked!" James whispered in panic. "We're done for!"
"Don't panic, James." Sirius said as he pointed his wand at the door. "Alohomora."
The door opened, and they came inside.
"I have never realized that our library is such a good hiding place." Jane said after Filch was gone.
"Yep. Since we are here, let's go to the Forbidden Section. Maybe we can find some good prank methods." James said with an evil grin.
"Maybe we can find a way to help Remus, too." Jane added.
The Forbidden Section lay at the end of a long hallway, and as they had expected, the door was locked.
"Alohomora." Sirius whispered again, and the door creaked open. "Let's go separately," he said.
The others nodded in agreement.
Jane walked among the shelves and tried her best not to touch the books. (Some of them could bite.) After walking among the shelves for a while, she began to feel bored. Most of the books have the word "dark magic" printed in their titles, and she knew at once that she didn't need them. Suddenly, an unusual book caught her eye. Its title was "A guide to become an Animagus" and it didn't have many pages. She hesitated for a moment before taking it out gently.
"The way to become an Animagus
I. For a whole month (from one full moon to another), you must keep a single Mandrake leaf in your mouth. You mustn't swallow it or take it out of your mouth, or the whole process must be restarted.
II. At the next full moon, take out the leaf, fill a crystal bottle with your saliva, put the leaf in it and let the bottle receive pure moonlight (If it is cloudy that night, you'll have to find a new leaf and start again.) Add a piece of your hair and a silver teaspoon of dew to the crystal bottle under the moonlight. (The dew must be collected from a place without sunshine or human contact for seven days.) Finally, add a grimace moth. Put the mixture in a quiet and dark place, and don't look at it or disturb it until the next thunderstorm.
III. While waiting for the storm, you should do the following things at sunrise and sunset: Pointing the tip of your wand at your heart and saying the spell: "Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus."
IV. Waiting for a storm can take weeks, months, or even years. During this time, the crystal bottle must remain completely undisturbed and away from the sun because sunlight pollution will lead to the worst situations. If you continue to say the spell at sunrise and sunset, you may feel a second heartbeat as the tip of your wand touches your chest, but everything must remain unchanged as usual.
V. When lightning strikes, go to your crystal bottle immediately. If you complete all the steps above correctly, you will find a mouthful of red potion in it.
VI. You must immediately go to a wide and safe place to ensure that the transformation process will not attract attention or put yourself in danger. Point the tip of your wand at your heart and say the spell "Amato, Animo, Animato, Animagus". Finally, drink the potion.
VII. If everything goes well, you will feel strong pain and two kinds of powerful heartbeat. The creature you are about to become will appear in your mind. You must show no fear because it is already too late to escape.
VIII. The first transformation is usually quite uncomfortable and frightening. Clothes, glasses or jewelry will melt into the skin and become hair, fangs or claws. Don't resist and don't panic, otherwise the animal's brain may take over and urge you to do stupid things, such as jumping out of the window or bumping against the wall.
IX. After the transformation, you should try to adapt to your new body. It is strongly recommended that you pick up the wand immediately and hide it in a safe place so that you can recover it when you are back to your human form. To do so, you must focus on your appearance as clearly as possible. This is usually enough, but if the transformation does not occur immediately, don't panic. With more practice, you will be able to switch between animal and human at will.
Advanced Animaguses can transform without a magic wand."
The book ended abruptly. Jane stared at it without a word, thinking fast. Werewolves don't hurt animals as much as they hurt humans, so if the four of them become Animaguses, they can accompany Remus when he becomes a werewolf. In this way, Remus would be less lonely. She shared her idea with her friends, and they agreed to have a try.
In two months, they managed to get all the ingredients and make the potion. Then they waited for the thunderstorm.
The storm arrived unexpectedly at the end of May. That night, they were in the middle of a party when lightning struck suddenly. They looked at each other and opened their mouths in surprise. Grabbing their crystal bottles, they raced down the stairs until they reached the Black Lake, where they said the spell and drank their potion. James became a stag; Sirius became a black dog and Jane became a dolphin. She was quite disappointed, because she couldn't come with them during the full moon. However, her efforts didn't end in vain. When she went swimming in her dolphin form, she always sprayed water at the Slytherins taking a stroll nearby.
[1972/6/25, full moon night]
Two men are moving silently in the shadows of a high wall.
"Are you ready?" one asked.
"Yes." the other replied in a low voice.
With a crack, the two figures twisted and transformed. In their place now stood a magnificent stag and a terrifying dog. They ran around the corner away from the shadows and onto the grassy lawn illuminated by a golden full moon.
In their direction was an enormous willow with branches that kept whipping the air. It certainly looked frightening, but the two Animaguses seemed to be completely unafraid of it and simply proceeded without hesitation.
Suddenly, a wolf's howl came in the distance. The dog immediately stopped and nodded to the stag, which had a determined look in its eyes. Then both of them suddenly took to their heels and galloped towards the willow.
It was the Gryffindors' first "full moon operation" to help their werewolf friend, Remus Lupin. Now that the full moon had risen and the werewolf's instinct had been aroused, they must get started at once. Now there's only one obstacle before them: the mighty tree known as the Whomping Willow.
"Wait!" came a girl's voice. It was Jane. She raised her wand and pointed it at the roots of the tree, sending a wooden stick flying into the air. The tree froze.
"Go quickly. I'll wait for you outside." said Jane as she lowered her wand. "Good luck, guys."
The two animals looked at her, nodded, and ran into the shadows of the tree. In a few seconds, they were gone.
Jane sighed and collapsed on the soft grass. This was her first time staying up late!
The sound of animals fighting kept coming, and continued for a few hours. A moment later, there was a creak, and three boys emerged from the shadow of the willow tree, covered in blood. One of them had already fainted. By the faint light of the setting moon, Jane recognized him as Remus.
She immediately jumped to her feet and ran towards the boys.
"You're hurt, aren't you?" she asked.
James nodded. "Let's go to the Hospital wing. We've all got a few cuts."
[1972/6/30, 11 a.m.]
The summer holidays had arrived and all the students were excited about it, except Sirius Black. He hated his home and his parents, but he couldn't stay at Hogwarts either.
"My family will definitely beat me after I get home." he said to his friends after they got onto the train.
"Really? Is it because they are all Slytherins?" Jane asked.
"The Blacks are all mad." Sirius said without hesitation.
Everyone laughed. "I'm serious." Sirius said angrily.
"We all know that you are Sirius, my friend." James said with a smile. "Would you like to stay at my place during the holiday?"
Sirius looked at James thankfully. "Sure," he said. "I'll come on the second of July after saying hello to Andromeda and Regulus."
[1972/7/3]
Jane also had to stay at James' place because she had nowhere to go. Now, both of them were very worried about their friend Sirius because he was late for a day and a half.
At about 10 p.m. that night, Jane woke up suddenly when she heard someone knocking on the window. She immediately sat up and looked outside.
It was Sirius on his broomstick. She smiled and let him in.
"James and I had been really worried about you. Why didn't you come yesterday?" Jane asked as they walked through the hallway.
A mischievous smile appeared on Sirius' face as he said, "Well, it was because I want to have some fun at Bellatrix's wedding before I come. I didn't get beaten, nor did I get into trouble, but my cousin's wedding was totally ruined."
"What a troublemaker you are." Jane said with a sigh. Sirius smiled and opened the door to James' bedroom.
"See you tomorrow." he said with a yawn.
The next day, James woke up and saw Sirius lying beside him. He was so shocked that he nearly rolled out of bed. The next moment, he heard the sound of a camera pressing the shutter. He looked up and saw Jane standing at the door, holding a picture of him in her hands and laughing loudly. He realized in great anger that he was being made fun of.
"Give me the picture!" he screamed as he ran after her angrily, leaving Sirius to sleep soundly in his bed. That moment became an unforgettable memory of James's childhood, and the picture Jane took was put on the wall, carefully preserved till today.