Marauders to the End: Year Two, Chapter Four
TITLE: James's Brilliance
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, Severus Snape
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: Swearing
SUMMARY: James has an idea to help Remus.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: As I recall, becoming an Animagus was a three-year process, so I figured I'd better get started.
The problem with the Hogwarts schedule, Remus decided the next day, was that school started on September first every year, no matter what. That wouldn’t have been a problem, except for the fact that September first happened to fall on a Friday that year, meaning that there were two days before class actually started, and none of his roommates wanted to spend their first weekend at school settling in.
Getting caught the night before didn’t seem to have perturbed James and Sirius at all. They figured that Lily must have ratted on them, but, oddly enough, they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they were already working on coming up with something else to do.
“Can’t you two give it a rest?” Remus asked wearily Saturday afternoon. “I mean, don’t you have anything better to do?”
“No,” Sirius answered promptly. “I’ve been shut up in an old house in London for three months. I’ve got to do something to use up all this energy before classes start. Unless you’d prefer for us to torture our teachers?”
“Actually,” James said, silencing Sirius instantly. “I have been thinking over the summer about your furry little problem, Remus.”
“My what?” asked Remus, confused.
“Your furry little problem. You know... you’re disability.”
“Oh,” Remus said, turning red. “I wish you’d just forget it.”
“How can we forget something like that?” Peter asked. “How could anyone forget?”
“My father has,” Remus muttered. “Or at least, he acts like it.”
No one knew what to say to that, so James just plowed on with his speech. “Well, anyways, I’ve been thinking about it, and I have to ask a few questions. Can the infection be spread to other animals?”
“No,” Remus said. “We usually rip other animals apart in about thirty-five seconds, depending on size.”
“But the infection can’t be spread to them,” James repeated.
“No.”
“Is there any way wizards can turn into animals without losing their minds?” James continued.
“Sure,” Remus answered. “They’re called Animagi. I don’t know how it’s done, exactly, but there’s a way to turn into the animal of your soul or some rot like that. But the Ministry keeps tabs on wizards who can do it so the power isn’t abused, and it’s supposed to be incredibly difficult. The only person I know of who can do it is Professor McGonagall. Some of the older students told me she turns into a tabby cat.”
Remus was quite alarmed to see that James’s eyes were shining with the light of mischief. Sirius had by this time caught on to what his best friend was thinking. “Do you really think we can do it?” he asked James, his excitement mounting in him.
“I don’t see why not,” James replied. “If we can go with Remus on the full moon, he can attack us as animals and not go as crazy... and we won’t be turned into werewolves ourselves... and there are so many possibilities once we succeed, not only to help Remus... think about it, Sirius! We won’t even need the Cloak!”
“Oh no,” Remus said, figuring out what James was saying. “You can’t do it. It’s illegal, and you’d get hurt... don’t worry about me, guys, I’m used to it. I don’t need you to injure or kill yourselves doing something so incredibly stupid... it can go horribly wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up stuck in a half-human, half-animal state, and that would be too difficult to explain to a teacher... come on, no twelve-year-old wizard could learn to do that, it takes a mature wizard to do something that advanced, NEWT-level students often can’t do it...”
“Last year our pranks were beyond our abilities as wizards,” Sirius pointed out. “Then you said that with us you’d believe anything. You know how good James is at Transfiguration. And if it takes years of training, even with mature wizards, so if we start now, we’ll be able to do it when we become mature...”
“You’ll never be mature, Sirius,” Remus said.
“I mean fully grown,” Sirius countered. “We’ll be able to do it by the time we’re... I don’t know, but we’ll do it somehow!”
“We’ll do what?” Peter asked, growing steadily more confused the more the others talked.
“We’re going to become Animagi and keep Remus company on the full moon,” James explained. “And we’re not going to register.”
“Please, James,” Remus said. “Don’t do something illegal just for me. It’s okay, really.”
“I don’t think we should do it, either,” Peter said. “I mean, we could get hurt.”
“Are you afraid of a little pain, Peter?” Sirius asked mockingly. “Are you scared of a few scratches and bumps and maybe some minor Transfiguration problems?”
“I’m not afraid!” Peter said quickly. “I just think that if Remus says he doesn’t want us to help, we shouldn’t do it against his will.”
“You do a lot of other things against his will,” James pointed out. “After all, I don’t remember Remus approving last night’s attempt at welcoming the Slytherins.”
“But this is something that directly affects him!” Peter said. “It’s his problem and he should be the one to decide what to do about it.”
“Okay, fine,” Sirius said. “We’ll do it, even if you’re too cowardly. You can sit up here and twiddle your thumbs while James and I go help a friend.” He grinned at Remus. “Whether he likes it or not.”
“I’m not a coward!” Peter practically shouted. “I’ll do it!” He paused. “But you’ll have to help me. I’m not as good as you two in Transfiguration.”
“Don’t worry,” James assured him. “We’ll all have to help each other. It won’t be easy.”
Remus sighed in resignation. He was worried about the consequences. If anything went wrong, they’d be caught. If they were caught, they’d all be expelled. If they were all expelled...
Still, it was nice to know that James and Sirius were willing to take risks to help him, and not just to impress other people. And even if they had bullied Peter into agreeing, they hadn’t had to bully too hard.
“Thanks,” Remus muttered grudgingly. “I supposed I’ll have to help since you are doing it for me.”
James grinned. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find as much information as we can about becoming Animagi.”
That didn’t work out as well as they hoped. There were plenty of books on the subject, but they were long and boring and written in Smart Person. Remus had no trouble reading them and could translate them for the others when necessary. Sirius could decipher most of what they were saying, but was starting to yawn within a few minutes. James got the gist of what to do, but the details were a little fuzzy, and the details were essential to the process. Peter was hopelessly lost.
Plus there was the problem that second years don’t usually sit in the library reading books on advanced Transfiguration. The fact that James and Sirius were sitting quietly in the library was enough to make certain people suspicious.
Certain people like Lily Evans and Severus Snape, both of whom were sitting in the library to get a head start on their work.
The Marauders would have thought it was a little strange for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin to be studying together if they had been paying attention. Indeed, James glanced at the odd couple a few times, wondering how a girl as pretty as Lily Evans could stand to be that near someone as greasy and awful as Severus Snape, but he didn’t say anything about it. He was too busy trying to get through the long, boring, and difficult book he was reading, although it was difficult since Lily and Snape were whispering and glancing at the boys every five seconds.
After four or five hours of intense study, the boys gave up trying to read in the library and checked out as many books as they were able, so they could continue their research in the relative privacy of their dormitory.
“Right,” James said when they had carried the large, heavy volumes up the stairs. “We have a general idea of what to do, correct?”
“Sort of,” Peter said. “I didn’t catch much of it, though. It was really hard to read.”
“I’m proud of you, though,” Remus said. “There were two people who you don’t exactly get along with not three feet away and you didn’t do anything to bother them.”
“I was busy,” James said. “Don’t worry, Snape will get hit soon enough.”
Remus let out an exasperated sigh.
“Anyways,” Sirius said. “I think we can do this. It’ll just take a lot of work in addition to homework and classes.”
“I just hope the new Defense teacher doesn’t set us any long essays,” Peter moaned.
“I doubt it,” Remus said. “He won’t be able to stay awake long enough to grade them.”
“What makes you say that?” James asked. “The fact that Sirius can go on about curses until Hogwarts runs out of parchment?”
“No,” Remus said. “The fact that Professor Zephyr was able to fall asleep in the middle of dinner.”
“Oh,” Sirius said. He grinned. “I don’t think this professor’s going to last long.”
“Probably not,” Remus sighed. “You’ll have him running for his life in a matter of seconds.”
“It’s our specialty,” James grinned.
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, Severus Snape
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: Swearing
SUMMARY: James has an idea to help Remus.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: As I recall, becoming an Animagus was a three-year process, so I figured I'd better get started.
The problem with the Hogwarts schedule, Remus decided the next day, was that school started on September first every year, no matter what. That wouldn’t have been a problem, except for the fact that September first happened to fall on a Friday that year, meaning that there were two days before class actually started, and none of his roommates wanted to spend their first weekend at school settling in.
Getting caught the night before didn’t seem to have perturbed James and Sirius at all. They figured that Lily must have ratted on them, but, oddly enough, they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they were already working on coming up with something else to do.
“Can’t you two give it a rest?” Remus asked wearily Saturday afternoon. “I mean, don’t you have anything better to do?”
“No,” Sirius answered promptly. “I’ve been shut up in an old house in London for three months. I’ve got to do something to use up all this energy before classes start. Unless you’d prefer for us to torture our teachers?”
“Actually,” James said, silencing Sirius instantly. “I have been thinking over the summer about your furry little problem, Remus.”
“My what?” asked Remus, confused.
“Your furry little problem. You know... you’re disability.”
“Oh,” Remus said, turning red. “I wish you’d just forget it.”
“How can we forget something like that?” Peter asked. “How could anyone forget?”
“My father has,” Remus muttered. “Or at least, he acts like it.”
No one knew what to say to that, so James just plowed on with his speech. “Well, anyways, I’ve been thinking about it, and I have to ask a few questions. Can the infection be spread to other animals?”
“No,” Remus said. “We usually rip other animals apart in about thirty-five seconds, depending on size.”
“But the infection can’t be spread to them,” James repeated.
“No.”
“Is there any way wizards can turn into animals without losing their minds?” James continued.
“Sure,” Remus answered. “They’re called Animagi. I don’t know how it’s done, exactly, but there’s a way to turn into the animal of your soul or some rot like that. But the Ministry keeps tabs on wizards who can do it so the power isn’t abused, and it’s supposed to be incredibly difficult. The only person I know of who can do it is Professor McGonagall. Some of the older students told me she turns into a tabby cat.”
Remus was quite alarmed to see that James’s eyes were shining with the light of mischief. Sirius had by this time caught on to what his best friend was thinking. “Do you really think we can do it?” he asked James, his excitement mounting in him.
“I don’t see why not,” James replied. “If we can go with Remus on the full moon, he can attack us as animals and not go as crazy... and we won’t be turned into werewolves ourselves... and there are so many possibilities once we succeed, not only to help Remus... think about it, Sirius! We won’t even need the Cloak!”
“Oh no,” Remus said, figuring out what James was saying. “You can’t do it. It’s illegal, and you’d get hurt... don’t worry about me, guys, I’m used to it. I don’t need you to injure or kill yourselves doing something so incredibly stupid... it can go horribly wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up stuck in a half-human, half-animal state, and that would be too difficult to explain to a teacher... come on, no twelve-year-old wizard could learn to do that, it takes a mature wizard to do something that advanced, NEWT-level students often can’t do it...”
“Last year our pranks were beyond our abilities as wizards,” Sirius pointed out. “Then you said that with us you’d believe anything. You know how good James is at Transfiguration. And if it takes years of training, even with mature wizards, so if we start now, we’ll be able to do it when we become mature...”
“You’ll never be mature, Sirius,” Remus said.
“I mean fully grown,” Sirius countered. “We’ll be able to do it by the time we’re... I don’t know, but we’ll do it somehow!”
“We’ll do what?” Peter asked, growing steadily more confused the more the others talked.
“We’re going to become Animagi and keep Remus company on the full moon,” James explained. “And we’re not going to register.”
“Please, James,” Remus said. “Don’t do something illegal just for me. It’s okay, really.”
“I don’t think we should do it, either,” Peter said. “I mean, we could get hurt.”
“Are you afraid of a little pain, Peter?” Sirius asked mockingly. “Are you scared of a few scratches and bumps and maybe some minor Transfiguration problems?”
“I’m not afraid!” Peter said quickly. “I just think that if Remus says he doesn’t want us to help, we shouldn’t do it against his will.”
“You do a lot of other things against his will,” James pointed out. “After all, I don’t remember Remus approving last night’s attempt at welcoming the Slytherins.”
“But this is something that directly affects him!” Peter said. “It’s his problem and he should be the one to decide what to do about it.”
“Okay, fine,” Sirius said. “We’ll do it, even if you’re too cowardly. You can sit up here and twiddle your thumbs while James and I go help a friend.” He grinned at Remus. “Whether he likes it or not.”
“I’m not a coward!” Peter practically shouted. “I’ll do it!” He paused. “But you’ll have to help me. I’m not as good as you two in Transfiguration.”
“Don’t worry,” James assured him. “We’ll all have to help each other. It won’t be easy.”
Remus sighed in resignation. He was worried about the consequences. If anything went wrong, they’d be caught. If they were caught, they’d all be expelled. If they were all expelled...
Still, it was nice to know that James and Sirius were willing to take risks to help him, and not just to impress other people. And even if they had bullied Peter into agreeing, they hadn’t had to bully too hard.
“Thanks,” Remus muttered grudgingly. “I supposed I’ll have to help since you are doing it for me.”
James grinned. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find as much information as we can about becoming Animagi.”
That didn’t work out as well as they hoped. There were plenty of books on the subject, but they were long and boring and written in Smart Person. Remus had no trouble reading them and could translate them for the others when necessary. Sirius could decipher most of what they were saying, but was starting to yawn within a few minutes. James got the gist of what to do, but the details were a little fuzzy, and the details were essential to the process. Peter was hopelessly lost.
Plus there was the problem that second years don’t usually sit in the library reading books on advanced Transfiguration. The fact that James and Sirius were sitting quietly in the library was enough to make certain people suspicious.
Certain people like Lily Evans and Severus Snape, both of whom were sitting in the library to get a head start on their work.
The Marauders would have thought it was a little strange for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin to be studying together if they had been paying attention. Indeed, James glanced at the odd couple a few times, wondering how a girl as pretty as Lily Evans could stand to be that near someone as greasy and awful as Severus Snape, but he didn’t say anything about it. He was too busy trying to get through the long, boring, and difficult book he was reading, although it was difficult since Lily and Snape were whispering and glancing at the boys every five seconds.
After four or five hours of intense study, the boys gave up trying to read in the library and checked out as many books as they were able, so they could continue their research in the relative privacy of their dormitory.
“Right,” James said when they had carried the large, heavy volumes up the stairs. “We have a general idea of what to do, correct?”
“Sort of,” Peter said. “I didn’t catch much of it, though. It was really hard to read.”
“I’m proud of you, though,” Remus said. “There were two people who you don’t exactly get along with not three feet away and you didn’t do anything to bother them.”
“I was busy,” James said. “Don’t worry, Snape will get hit soon enough.”
Remus let out an exasperated sigh.
“Anyways,” Sirius said. “I think we can do this. It’ll just take a lot of work in addition to homework and classes.”
“I just hope the new Defense teacher doesn’t set us any long essays,” Peter moaned.
“I doubt it,” Remus said. “He won’t be able to stay awake long enough to grade them.”
“What makes you say that?” James asked. “The fact that Sirius can go on about curses until Hogwarts runs out of parchment?”
“No,” Remus said. “The fact that Professor Zephyr was able to fall asleep in the middle of dinner.”
“Oh,” Sirius said. He grinned. “I don’t think this professor’s going to last long.”
“Probably not,” Remus sighed. “You’ll have him running for his life in a matter of seconds.”
“It’s our specialty,” James grinned.