FIC: Double Trouble - Part 1 of 8
Title: Double Trouble
Rating: PG13 (rated on the side of safety)
Word Count: 15,800
Genre: Romance/Friendship
Summary: If one group of Marauders is trouble, imagine what two would be...
Warnings: Slash and some bad language
Notes: Unbeta’d. Previously posted at fanfiction.net and blacklupin.org, and now polished up a little.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.
Chapter 1 - Doorways
“Moo-neeey!”
The voice carried into the room long before its owner appeared in the doorway of the sixth year Gryffindor boys’ dormitory.
Remus Lupin sighed and knew that he’d been found.
“There you are!” Sirius rushed into the room and flung himself onto Remus’s bed. “Mr Moony’s presence is required in the common room immediately, on a matter of the utmost importance,” Sirius said in a mock serious tone.
Remus took a last longing look at his book, but knew that it was hopeless.
“What are you doing schoolwork for?” Sirius asked. “It’s the Christmas holidays.”
Remus wondered whether it would be worth the effort of explaining that the book was actually a mystery thriller he’d received for Christmas, and had nothing whatever to do with schoolwork. One look at Sirius’s face was enough to dissuade him of making the effort. In Sirius’s mind, Remus’s books were boring, no matter what was contained within the pages.
Without waiting for Remus’s answer Sirius picked up the discarded bookmark, took the book from Remus’s hands, and after marking his place, carefully placed the book on the bedside table. Remus smiled at the care his friend had taken.
“Something amusing?” Sirius asked as he turned back to his friend and caught the look.
“Just pleased to see that you still remember my finger-reversal hex,” Remus replied, his smile turning into a smirk.
“Still say you went overboard on that one,” Sirius muttered. “It was only a book.”
“It was my book, and you slung it out the window to get my attention,” Remus retorted.
Sirius rolled his eyes as he pulled Remus to his feet and steered him towards the door.
Downstairs in the common room James and Peter were leaning over one of the tables, clearly intent on something. They barely looked up when Remus and Sirius pulled up chairs to join them.
“James Potter with his nose in a book during the holidays?” Remus asked with a faint trace of sarcasm.
James looked up at grinned. “Christmas present from my dad. I want to try one of the spells, but it seems to need more than one person.”
“Which spell?” asked Remus, as he looked closer at the open pages.
“A spell to see ourselves as we’ve never seen us before,” James said. “It’s a bit vague, but I think it’ll show us the future.”
“I’ve already pointed out to him that that’s open to debate,” Peter said. “We’re going to have to do the spell and see for ourselves to know for sure.”
“It must be complicated if it needs four of us,” Remus commented as he tried to read the instructions.
“It only really needs two,” James admitted. “But if I’m going to marry Lily, I want to make sure you all see that or you won’t believe me.”
Remus looked at the ceiling as though searching for guidance. Lily! Of course, it was always about Lily.
Fifteen minutes later James and Sirius were ready to begin the spell, with Peter and Remus standing by to witness the results.
James and Sirius took turns in reading the incantations and completing the complicated wand movements.
“Is something actually supposed to happen?” Remus asked after this had been going on for some time without so much as a spark from one of their wands.
James glared at him, but didn’t stop reading from the book.
Sirius had given up and was looking rather dejected when James suddenly let out a rather unmanly squeak.
Remus looked to where James’s gaze was transfixed and immediately saw what had caused his excitement. A few feet away, hovering in the middle of the room was a watery like substance that seemed to be expanding more and more with each completion of the wand movement.
As the substance expanded the four boys leaned forward to see what it was, and to try to make out the shadowy figures that seemed to be moving within it.
James was starting to flag a little, but when it was around six feet in both height and width it seemed that the substance had finally reached its limit, and the shadowy figures suddenly came into focus.
“That’s us!” Sirius exclaimed. “Wow! We look different.”
Remus leaned forward and had to agree with the assessment. It was clear they were looking at themselves, but there was something not quite right about them.
The other Sirius was looking at the group with an intense expression on his face that Remus had never seen before. Peter looked slimmer and far more confident than he usually appeared. James had the same messy hair, but there was something about him that was missing. Remus wondered what it was, until he took a closer look at his own double and realised that what was missing from James was the look of wild mischief, something that his own double seemed to have in abundance.
“That can’t be the future,” James muttered in disappointment. “We look the same age.”
“I think they’re trying to say something,” Peter said. Everyone leaned forward, but whilst the visual was in perfect clarity, there was no accompanying sound.
Their other selves seemed to be having the same problem, and Sirius’s double was gesturing with his hands over his ears that they couldn’t hear them. Peter copied his gesture to indicate that they were having the same difficulties.
“Well, this seems to be a bit of a let down after all that trouble,” Remus said.
James nodded in agreement. “I wonder how we shut it down.”
“Doesn’t it say in the book?”
“It sounded like the vision would just disappear on its own.”
Remus picked up the book and started to re-read the entire chapter that focused on the spell. It was remarkably unhelpful.
“Looks like they’re trying something on the other side,” James said. Remus looked up from the book and saw that sure enough the four doubles appeared to be trying to push the barrier inwards from the sides.
“Do you think they see us the same way we’re seeing them?” Sirius asked. “In a kind of bubble?”
“I have an idea,” James said as he raised his wand again.
Remus watched as James muttered a spell that enabled him to sketch words in the air. In this manner he asked Sirius’s question.
The four doubles nodded enthusiastically that this was indeed the case.
“Ask if they know how to shut it down?” Remus asked.
James did so, but it was clear from the expressions on the doubles that they had no more idea than they did.
For the next half hour the eight boys communicated in this manner and Remus and his friends discovered that the others were just like themselves in many respects. They attended Hogwarts, they were in Gryffindor, they were best friends, and they were staying at school for the holidays because Peter’s eight year old brother had dragon pox and they had decided to remain with him, so that he wouldn’t be the only Gryffindor left in the school.
They also discovered that their doubles had succeeded in completing the spell immediately, leading them to the conclusion that the second person required was the other James, and not one of them.
Unfortunately, they were still no wiser as to how they were going to shut down what appeared to be a window between their two worlds.
It was only when the other Sirius started to poke at the barrier that they realised that the window was in fact a doorway.
The excitement was contagious and soon they were contemplating who should step through the portal first.
Sirius was about to step through to the other side when their doubles visibly jumped and looked somewhere off to their right. Remus guessed that they had heard footsteps coming and didn’t want to get caught. Whatever the reason they appeared to make a collective decision and moments later they fell through the portal which, after all their speculating, simply decided at that point to shut down on its own.
“I bet it was McGonagall,” the other Remus said. “Old bat’s constantly sticking her nose into the common room in case she thinks we’re up to something.”
Remus gasped at his double’s words. He’d never spoken so disrespectfully about the Head of Gryffindor house in his life. She’d always been especially kind to him following the full moons, making allowances for the occasional late assignment and checking he was well.
His expression of shock was mirrored on the faces of his friends though Sirius was quick to find his voice. “Crikey Moony, never thought I’d hear you say something like that.”
Remus’s double looked blank. “Moony?” he asked with obvious confusion.
“I guess he doesn’t have my nickname,” Remus said with a shrug.
“What sort of a nickname’s Moony?” the other Remus sneered.
“It’s better than Wormtail,” Peter muttered.
The other Peter looked as confused as the other Remus had just moments before.
James interceded and gestured in turn to each member of their group. “Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,” he finished pointing to himself. “The Marauders.”
The other Remus stepped forward and introduced his own group, who all apparently went by their given names and didn’t have a collective name at all.
For a few moments there was an awkward silence and then suddenly they all started talking at once.
They soon realised that the only way to avoid total confusion was for the marauders to use their nicknames and the doubles to use their regular names. It wasn’t long before they were all chatting like old friends and had broken off into groups.
James and Sirius seemed to be delighted with the other Remus who was as big a prankster as they were.
Remus on the other hand was finding that the other Sirius was the only one who seemed as interested in the dynamics of the spell as he was, and they were soon having an animated discussion about what exactly they had achieved on this afternoon.
The two Peters and the other James meanwhile alternatively chatted together or drifted between the other two groups.
All too soon though it was decided that the doubles had to return to their own world before they were missed.
The two James pulled out their wands and began the spell again.
Nothing happened.
“It took a while last time,” Remus pointed out, though he had a dawning suspicion that that was not the problem.
The two boys continued to try to open the portal, but to no avail. Eventually it grew dark and they decided to take a break.
“I’ll bet it needs someone in each world to do the spell,” the other Sirius said. “We’re here now, so it’s not working. There’s no one to make the connection at the other side.”
Remus nodded his agreement.
“So, we’re stuck here?” James asked, with more worry than Remus had ever heard their own James display.
“We’ll sort something out,” Remus assured him. “We’ll hit the books, and between the eight of us we’ll find a solution.” The other Sirius nodded in enthusiastic agreement, but the looks from the others didn’t exactly instil him with a lot of confidence.
--
Chapter 2
--
Please click the eggs and hatchlings if you have a moment.
Rating: PG13 (rated on the side of safety)
Word Count: 15,800
Genre: Romance/Friendship
Summary: If one group of Marauders is trouble, imagine what two would be...
Warnings: Slash and some bad language
Notes: Unbeta’d. Previously posted at fanfiction.net and blacklupin.org, and now polished up a little.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.
Chapter 1 - Doorways
“Moo-neeey!”
The voice carried into the room long before its owner appeared in the doorway of the sixth year Gryffindor boys’ dormitory.
Remus Lupin sighed and knew that he’d been found.
“There you are!” Sirius rushed into the room and flung himself onto Remus’s bed. “Mr Moony’s presence is required in the common room immediately, on a matter of the utmost importance,” Sirius said in a mock serious tone.
Remus took a last longing look at his book, but knew that it was hopeless.
“What are you doing schoolwork for?” Sirius asked. “It’s the Christmas holidays.”
Remus wondered whether it would be worth the effort of explaining that the book was actually a mystery thriller he’d received for Christmas, and had nothing whatever to do with schoolwork. One look at Sirius’s face was enough to dissuade him of making the effort. In Sirius’s mind, Remus’s books were boring, no matter what was contained within the pages.
Without waiting for Remus’s answer Sirius picked up the discarded bookmark, took the book from Remus’s hands, and after marking his place, carefully placed the book on the bedside table. Remus smiled at the care his friend had taken.
“Something amusing?” Sirius asked as he turned back to his friend and caught the look.
“Just pleased to see that you still remember my finger-reversal hex,” Remus replied, his smile turning into a smirk.
“Still say you went overboard on that one,” Sirius muttered. “It was only a book.”
“It was my book, and you slung it out the window to get my attention,” Remus retorted.
Sirius rolled his eyes as he pulled Remus to his feet and steered him towards the door.
Downstairs in the common room James and Peter were leaning over one of the tables, clearly intent on something. They barely looked up when Remus and Sirius pulled up chairs to join them.
“James Potter with his nose in a book during the holidays?” Remus asked with a faint trace of sarcasm.
James looked up at grinned. “Christmas present from my dad. I want to try one of the spells, but it seems to need more than one person.”
“Which spell?” asked Remus, as he looked closer at the open pages.
“A spell to see ourselves as we’ve never seen us before,” James said. “It’s a bit vague, but I think it’ll show us the future.”
“I’ve already pointed out to him that that’s open to debate,” Peter said. “We’re going to have to do the spell and see for ourselves to know for sure.”
“It must be complicated if it needs four of us,” Remus commented as he tried to read the instructions.
“It only really needs two,” James admitted. “But if I’m going to marry Lily, I want to make sure you all see that or you won’t believe me.”
Remus looked at the ceiling as though searching for guidance. Lily! Of course, it was always about Lily.
Fifteen minutes later James and Sirius were ready to begin the spell, with Peter and Remus standing by to witness the results.
James and Sirius took turns in reading the incantations and completing the complicated wand movements.
“Is something actually supposed to happen?” Remus asked after this had been going on for some time without so much as a spark from one of their wands.
James glared at him, but didn’t stop reading from the book.
Sirius had given up and was looking rather dejected when James suddenly let out a rather unmanly squeak.
Remus looked to where James’s gaze was transfixed and immediately saw what had caused his excitement. A few feet away, hovering in the middle of the room was a watery like substance that seemed to be expanding more and more with each completion of the wand movement.
As the substance expanded the four boys leaned forward to see what it was, and to try to make out the shadowy figures that seemed to be moving within it.
James was starting to flag a little, but when it was around six feet in both height and width it seemed that the substance had finally reached its limit, and the shadowy figures suddenly came into focus.
“That’s us!” Sirius exclaimed. “Wow! We look different.”
Remus leaned forward and had to agree with the assessment. It was clear they were looking at themselves, but there was something not quite right about them.
The other Sirius was looking at the group with an intense expression on his face that Remus had never seen before. Peter looked slimmer and far more confident than he usually appeared. James had the same messy hair, but there was something about him that was missing. Remus wondered what it was, until he took a closer look at his own double and realised that what was missing from James was the look of wild mischief, something that his own double seemed to have in abundance.
“That can’t be the future,” James muttered in disappointment. “We look the same age.”
“I think they’re trying to say something,” Peter said. Everyone leaned forward, but whilst the visual was in perfect clarity, there was no accompanying sound.
Their other selves seemed to be having the same problem, and Sirius’s double was gesturing with his hands over his ears that they couldn’t hear them. Peter copied his gesture to indicate that they were having the same difficulties.
“Well, this seems to be a bit of a let down after all that trouble,” Remus said.
James nodded in agreement. “I wonder how we shut it down.”
“Doesn’t it say in the book?”
“It sounded like the vision would just disappear on its own.”
Remus picked up the book and started to re-read the entire chapter that focused on the spell. It was remarkably unhelpful.
“Looks like they’re trying something on the other side,” James said. Remus looked up from the book and saw that sure enough the four doubles appeared to be trying to push the barrier inwards from the sides.
“Do you think they see us the same way we’re seeing them?” Sirius asked. “In a kind of bubble?”
“I have an idea,” James said as he raised his wand again.
Remus watched as James muttered a spell that enabled him to sketch words in the air. In this manner he asked Sirius’s question.
The four doubles nodded enthusiastically that this was indeed the case.
“Ask if they know how to shut it down?” Remus asked.
James did so, but it was clear from the expressions on the doubles that they had no more idea than they did.
For the next half hour the eight boys communicated in this manner and Remus and his friends discovered that the others were just like themselves in many respects. They attended Hogwarts, they were in Gryffindor, they were best friends, and they were staying at school for the holidays because Peter’s eight year old brother had dragon pox and they had decided to remain with him, so that he wouldn’t be the only Gryffindor left in the school.
They also discovered that their doubles had succeeded in completing the spell immediately, leading them to the conclusion that the second person required was the other James, and not one of them.
Unfortunately, they were still no wiser as to how they were going to shut down what appeared to be a window between their two worlds.
It was only when the other Sirius started to poke at the barrier that they realised that the window was in fact a doorway.
The excitement was contagious and soon they were contemplating who should step through the portal first.
Sirius was about to step through to the other side when their doubles visibly jumped and looked somewhere off to their right. Remus guessed that they had heard footsteps coming and didn’t want to get caught. Whatever the reason they appeared to make a collective decision and moments later they fell through the portal which, after all their speculating, simply decided at that point to shut down on its own.
“I bet it was McGonagall,” the other Remus said. “Old bat’s constantly sticking her nose into the common room in case she thinks we’re up to something.”
Remus gasped at his double’s words. He’d never spoken so disrespectfully about the Head of Gryffindor house in his life. She’d always been especially kind to him following the full moons, making allowances for the occasional late assignment and checking he was well.
His expression of shock was mirrored on the faces of his friends though Sirius was quick to find his voice. “Crikey Moony, never thought I’d hear you say something like that.”
Remus’s double looked blank. “Moony?” he asked with obvious confusion.
“I guess he doesn’t have my nickname,” Remus said with a shrug.
“What sort of a nickname’s Moony?” the other Remus sneered.
“It’s better than Wormtail,” Peter muttered.
The other Peter looked as confused as the other Remus had just moments before.
James interceded and gestured in turn to each member of their group. “Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,” he finished pointing to himself. “The Marauders.”
The other Remus stepped forward and introduced his own group, who all apparently went by their given names and didn’t have a collective name at all.
For a few moments there was an awkward silence and then suddenly they all started talking at once.
They soon realised that the only way to avoid total confusion was for the marauders to use their nicknames and the doubles to use their regular names. It wasn’t long before they were all chatting like old friends and had broken off into groups.
James and Sirius seemed to be delighted with the other Remus who was as big a prankster as they were.
Remus on the other hand was finding that the other Sirius was the only one who seemed as interested in the dynamics of the spell as he was, and they were soon having an animated discussion about what exactly they had achieved on this afternoon.
The two Peters and the other James meanwhile alternatively chatted together or drifted between the other two groups.
All too soon though it was decided that the doubles had to return to their own world before they were missed.
The two James pulled out their wands and began the spell again.
Nothing happened.
“It took a while last time,” Remus pointed out, though he had a dawning suspicion that that was not the problem.
The two boys continued to try to open the portal, but to no avail. Eventually it grew dark and they decided to take a break.
“I’ll bet it needs someone in each world to do the spell,” the other Sirius said. “We’re here now, so it’s not working. There’s no one to make the connection at the other side.”
Remus nodded his agreement.
“So, we’re stuck here?” James asked, with more worry than Remus had ever heard their own James display.
“We’ll sort something out,” Remus assured him. “We’ll hit the books, and between the eight of us we’ll find a solution.” The other Sirius nodded in enthusiastic agreement, but the looks from the others didn’t exactly instil him with a lot of confidence.
--
Chapter 2
--
Please click the eggs and hatchlings if you have a moment.