When the Marauders got settled into the library, James decided to speak first. "Everyone needs nicknames," he announced. "I'm Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot and Remus is Moony. What about the rest of you? What do you want your nicknames to be?"
Everyone stared at James in confusion. "Er, how did this topic even become a thing?" Mary asked curiously.
Sirius decided to answer before James could make things more confusing. He couldn't wait for the day when James would mature, and date Lily.
"You see," Sirius began. "Most of us have mastered our animagus forms. Lyanna, you haven't yet, because you're still in your first year, but the point is, almost all of us have mastered our animagus forms, or at least know what they are. So, I thought of nicknames. For example, I'm Padfoot, which makes sense because I'm a dog. Or, I suppose you could call me Snuffles." The other Marauders laughed. Little did they know, this was what Sirius had been called sometimes in the original timeline. "Anyway," he continued. "James is Prongs, and Remus is Moony. No, he may not be an animagus like the rest of us, but I am sure you can see why that nickname fits him perfectly."
"Yes, that makes sense," Capella said with a nod.
"So," Sirius went on. "What if the rest of you come up with nicknames? It can be based on your animagus form, or your personality in general. What do you all think?"
"I think that's a great idea!" Lily said excitedly.
"Brilliant," Sirius said. He then turned to Lyanna. "Lyanna, you just found out what your animagus form is, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," she confirmed. "I'm an Ermine."
"Nice!" Remus said.
"Wait, you didn't tell me you just found out what your animagus form is, and I'm your SISTER!" Capella exclaimed. "How dare you!"
"Sorry, I just found out yesterday!" Lyanna tried defending herself.
"Yesterday?!" Capella shrieked, receiving a glare from Madam Pince for her voice volume. "Yesterday?!" she exclaimed a little quieter. "That means you could have told me yesterday, or this morning at breakfast, or at lunch! Or, you could have written me a letter!"
"Why would I write a letter to someone who's in the same castle as me?" Lyanna asked.
Capella glared at her. "Fine, maybe not a letter, but still! You could have told me before now! I'm your sister!" Sirius, Regulus, and Severus exchanged glances.
"Sorry, Sis," Lyanna said with a sigh. Before Capella could say anything else, Regulus decided to jump in.
"I'll call myself Leo," he stated.
"Nice one," Alice said. "Since I'm a frog, I'll call myself Hopscotch."
The others burst out laughing. "Hopscotch?" James asked, still laughing. "That's great!"
Alice smiled. "Yes, Hopscotch," she said.
"Brilliant," Regulus said.
"Lyanna, since you are an ermine, what should your nickname be?" Sirius asked.
"Er, I'm not sure," she responded.
"What about Snowball?" Capella asked, no longer angry at her little sister.
"That's perfect!" Lyanna said excitedly. "What about you, Sis?"
"Well, if you're Snowball, then I should be Fuego," Capella said with a grin. Before anyone could react, another voice cut into their conversation.
"What are you talking about?" Rita Skeeter asked, stepping out from behind a bookshelf. She looked as though she had been listening, though she wouldn't admit it.
"We're coming up with nicknames to go along with our animagus forms," Regulus said. "Now, if you don't mind, we would like to get back to coming up with nicknames."
Rita widened her eyes in mock surprise. "Animagus forms?" she asked excitedly. "I've always wanted to become an animagus! How do I do it?"
Despite Rita being an ally now, she was still very annoying, in Sirius' opinion. He glared at her. "Where does it look like we are? A library! Look for a book!"
"Yes," Severus spoke up. "There are plenty of books on it. I would suggest, however, that you talk to Professor McGonagall first."
"But I want to learn it by myself," Rita said stubbornly.
"But it's dangerous to do it yourself, without any adults supervising you," Mary informed her, remembering what Professor McGonagall had told them from day one.
Rita huffed in annoyance, but nodded. "Very well," she said. "I'll talk to her. What do you think I would be?"
"A beetle," Sirius said immediately. Regulus, Capella, Lyanna, James, and Severus smiled at him, knowing that of all people, he would know. The others, however, gave him confused glances.
"What makes you so sure?" Lily asked.
Sirius shrugged. "Just her personality," he said vaguely.
"So, you think I would be a beetle?" Rita asked, imagining the people she could spy on to get a good story for her mother.
"Oh yes, definitely," Sirius answered. "There's no doubt about it."
At that moment, another voice interrupted the conversation. "Hem, hem!"
"What is it, Dolores?" Capella asked, already getting irritated.
"I want to be an animagus too!" Dolores stated.
"Er, really? You hate animals!" Regulus exclaimed, then burst out laughing. "You would be a toad!"
Dolores glared at Regulus. "How dare you!" she shrieked.
"Out! Out of my library!" Madam Pince demanded, shooing Dolores out of the library.
On her way out, Dolores turned and said, "I will learn how to do it, and it will not be a toad! I'm better than that!" They all burst out laughing when she left the room, with Rita following her.
Finally, Mary said, "Since I'm a mouse, I'll be Queso."
"I'll be Echo," Severus stated.
"That's perfect, since you're a bat," James said.
"Since I'm a doe, I'll be Flora," Lily said.
"Nice!" Remus said with a smile.
"Well, we all have nicknames now," Sirius said. "I like them! Now, we should create a map of Hogwarts!"
This time, not even Regulus, Capella, Lyanna, Severus, and James knew what he was talking about. He got stares from everyone.
"A map of Hogwarts?" James asked, sounding interested. "Tell us more!"
"I will, but first, let's go get some dinner," Sirius suggested. "Then we can come back here." The others agreed, and they all headed out of the library to head to the Great Hall. Sirius couldn't wait to give them the idea of the Marauder's Map.