Shades of Gray: Year Two

Chapter Thirteen:

The Wizard's Guide to Animagi

by PotterScar

Sirius, for one, was glad Michelle Potter had healed his bruised eye.

As James and Sirius weaved through the crowd, he felt a sense of relief as eyes passed over him (as opposed to last Christmas, when they openly stared at his bruised cheek).

"Will you hurry up?" James hounded him, trying vainly to pull him through the crowd. "We're never going to get a good compartment!"

"James, you know as well as I do that Remus gets here, like, three days early," Sirius responded with a sigh. The train whistled and began to blow steam.

"Best hurry up, boys," came a voice from their left. Wilson stood there, supervising the students. He grinned at them, looking much better then he had before break. The train whistled again.

Sirius and James entered the train through the nearest door and dodged around a gaggle of fourth-year girls, peering through windows as they went.

"Bloody hell, he had to choose the last compartment," Sirius grumbled fifteen minutes later, when they reached the very end of the train and had peered into the very last compartment, where Remus sat, reading happily.

"Hey," he said, when Sirius and James had dragged themselves into the compartment. James gave him a withering look. "What?"

"Way to go to the back of the train, Rem," James said, flopping down.

"I found us an empty compartment!"

Sirius flicked his hair, giving a very dramatic eye-roll. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Whatever? Whatever?! Sirius, do you have any idea how hard it was to get this compartment?!"

"Jeez, Remus, don't be such a girl," James said, with a frown.

"Remus is a girl?" Peter had just come into the compartment, and was raising his eyebrows at the three boys. Sirius raised a hand in greeting to Peter. He'd come to like the boy over the past year, and didn't really consider him the hanger-on he appeared to be before. No, Peter Pettigrew was one of them, a loyal Marauder.

"Hey, Pete," James said, from the corner of the compartment. "Yeah, Remus is kinda in denial about the whole thing… won't admit it…"

"Oh, be quiet," Remus said, rolling his eyes and putting his book away. His robe sleeve slipped and a long, dark scar was lingering on his arm.

"Oh… Remus, we forgot it was the full moon," James said, trying hard to keep a note of shame out of his voice as remembered, for the first time, that the full moon had occurred two days before Christmas. Hell, he'd even looked at it that night and it hadn't even occurred to him that Remus might be out,"How was it?"

Remus shrugged. He was adjusting to James, Sirius, and Peter knowing, but it was still a bit odd to him. He was so used to absolute secrecy that it felt almost uncomfortable and threatening with non-family knowing. Remus silently chastised himself; how could he ever think that of his friends?

"Earth to Remus!" James was prodding the other boy. "Wanna go find the food cart?" His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes were communicating a silent message; he wanted to talk to him, alone.

"Sure," Remus said, taking his time marking his page delicately. James made a noise of impatience, and Remus rolled his eyes, continuing to go at his own pace.

"I'll hold down the fort," Sirius said cheerfully, taking out his Sneakoscope and shaking it. "This thing is broken," he said with a frown.

"Nah, there's just no one untrustworthy around," Peter said. Sirius looked at him, startled.

"How'd you know what this was?" he asked. "I mean, I'm not making a dig at your Muggleborn-ness, but…"

Peter smiled, unconcerned. "I found one in the corridor last year. When I turned it in to McGonagall – you know, I thought someone might've lost it, I tend to do that a lot – she mentioned what it was. I decided to look it up in the library."

"Why don't you do that for classes?" James asked, and Remus elbowed him. "What?"

Peter didn't seem to mind the question, though. "Dunno," he said simply. "If you guys are going to the food cart, can you bring me back a Pumpkin Pasty?"

"Sure thing," James said, grabbing Remus' arm and dragging him out.

"Alright, Potter, spill," Remus said, as the pair traipsed down the hall. James looked unsure now. "If you dragged me out here, you better have something to tell me."

"Wow, Rem, someone's cranky," James sighed. "Okay, it's two things. First: how was the full moon? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Remus insisted quietly. "And can you please keep your voice down?"

"Sorry, sorry," James flushed.

"And number two was…?"

"Sirius," James finished, looking a little grim. "Oh, would you look at that, there's the cart!" He nearly ran up to the witch pushing it. Purchasing himself an armful of food, along with Peter's Pasty, he started walking back to the compartment.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Remus said, grabbing James' shoulder. "Get back here. What about Sirius?"

James chewed on his lip. "Rem… look, you can't tell him I told you. You can't mention this at all. I just want an opinion on something. You swear you'll keep it to yourself?"

"'Course, James," Remus frowned. "What's going on? Is Sirius okay?"

"I don't know," James confessed. "You know how he came over to my house after Christmas?"

"Yeah." Remus felt the tiniest pang of jealousy, but he knew he couldn't have gone anyway.

"Well, when he Floo'd in… he had a black eye. He said his brother gave it to him, but I don't believe him."

"Why not?" James seemed taken aback by this question.

"What?"

"Why don't believe Sirius?" Remus repeated. James sputtered.

"Well… well… Remus, you saw his face last Christmas! And don't tell me his brother could've given him that one too, it was way too big for that!"

Remus sighed. "James, we shouldn't assume anything about Sirius' home life. If Sirius says he got it from his brother, then you should believe him."

James was silent for a second. "But what if his parents are hurting him?" he quietly asked.

"When he wants us to know, he'll tell us," Remus replied, with a slight frown. He and James were both silent.

"Merlin, Remus, I hope you're right," James said, sighing, before the two headed back to the compartment.

-

"What took you two so long?" Sirius asked as the other two boys walked through the boys. He didn't notice the slightly awkward glance shared between them.

"Long line," James lied. "Chocolate Frog?"

"Excellent," he said, holding up a hand and turning away from he and Peter's game of chess as one of his knights brutally slaughtered one of Peter's pawn, then began laughing raucously.

James tossed him the frog, which Sirius gobbled as he looked at the card. "Aw… Montgomery Jordan again, I must have ten of him…"

Peter, meanwhile, was snacking on his Pasty, while Remus sighed and settled back to read. Sirius' eyes suddenly gleamed, and he dug through his things, pulling out the dog-eared book.

"Aw, Sirius, not now," James groaned, recognizing the book immediately. Sirius just shoved the book under Remus' nose. "Sirius, we were going to wait until later! You agreed, you jerk!"

"What's this?" Remus queried.

Sirius just said, "Open to the marked page and read the circled paragraph." Remus frowned, opening the book, ignoring James' protests.

"Sirius, you stupid idiot…" James said, as Remus' frown deepened as he read the paragraph.

"Is this some kind of joke?" the werewolf asked softly. Sirius shook his head.

"No! We could totally do it - "

"Are you off your rocker?" Remus exploded. "Do you know how dumb this is? How dangerous? It's illegal, you moron!"

"What's illegal?" Peter asked, having finished his pasty.

"We're becoming Animagi," Sirius said offhandedly.

"No, you aren't," Remus said sharply.

"C'mon, Remus, we wanna help you!" James said, deciding that it was too late to go back and participation.

"You can help me by not doing this!" Remus slammed the book shut, his eyes gleaming angrily. "What's wrong with you two? Can't you see how dumb an idea this is? Even if you guys do pull it off – which you won't! – I'm not letting you come with me! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Remus," Sirius whined. "We can do it. We'll find something in the library – sneak into the Restricted Section!"

"Oh, geez, now you're sneaking into the Restricted Section…"

"Do you like being alone during transformations?" James asked sharply. "This says having Animagi around can calm you. You'll hurt yourself less! Please, Remus… let's at least try…"

Remus and James stared at each other. Remus then turned to Sirius, receiving the same defiant stare. Even Peter looked set on becoming an Animagus. Before their eyes, he seemed to deflate.

"Nothing I say will stop you," he deadpanned. Sirius whooped.

"We sneak into the Restricted Section tonight!" he crowed.

"How're we going to get in there without being seen?" Peter asked. James suddenly sat up so fast that his back cracked loudly. He winced but still seemed excited. He nearly fell down trying to get to his trunk.

"I was gonna show this to you, Sirius, but I completely forgot," he began to rant. "I got it for Christmas this year… it was from my dad… oh, where is it…"

"What're you going on about?" Sirius questioned. James finally pulled out something with a flourish.

It looked almost like silvery liquid, and as James whipped it around, it rippled slightly. A cloak was in his hands, and Remus and Sirius' eyes widened.

"That's… that's…" Sirius croaked. Peter looked questioning.

"What is it?" he asked.

"An Invisibility Cloak," Remus answered quietly. "I've never seen one before."

"My dad gave it to me," he repeated proudly. "It's been going through the family for generations."

"Wow," Sirius whispered. "And it hasn't faded or anything… not a rip or hole…" He sounded like he was wondering aloud. "A real invisibility cloak."

"Yep!" James beamed. "We can use it to sneak in. It's gigantic, it should fit all of us!"

Remus frowned. "We shouldn't all go. Maybe just you and Sirius?"

"Who'll keep us in line?" Sirius asked, and Remus snorted.

-

"Ow! You stepped on my foot!"

"Sorry!"

"Oof! Sirius!"

"Sorry!"

"Sirius, that's my head!"

"Sorry!"

"This isn't working," James sighed. They were still a corridor from the library, and they'd been walking for nearly twenty minutes. It was slow going; they had to stay together, completely covered by the cloak, and they'd passed two teachers along the way.

"Only a corridor to go," Sirius said encouragingly.

"Yeah, you'll probably shove me down the stairs," James muttered. They continued to silently shuffle. Sirius, indeed, almost knocked James down the stairs (he swore up and down it was an accident) and they finally reached the heavy wooden library door. They peered up nervously. The library was a mysterious entity during the day; who knew what horrors it would hold after dark?

"You open the doors," James hissed.

"What? No way! You open them!"

"You're closer."

"No I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are. Open the doors!"

"Who's there?"

Filch shuffled around the corner, holding up his lamp. Sirius wondered why he walked like he had arthritis. He couldn't have been much older than forty.

"Who's there?" the caretaker repeated, shaking his lamp furiously. Sirius and James remained frozen. He glared at the empty hall, before storming off, muttering about the "damn kids" in the school.

"He makes me wish Pringle had stuck around," James muttered after Filch had stormed off.

Sirius reached over, and pulled at the door handles. The door gave an inaudible squeak – Filch, if anything, kept the hinges well oiled – and they silently slipped into the library.

The pair slunk over to the Restricted section, and tore the cloak off. "Alright, we're looking for something about Animagi," James whispered, as he began to scan the shelf, using Lumos to light his way.

"I know," Sirius replied, looking at the bottom shelves.

An hour passed, with James and Sirius growing sleepier by the second and no book in sight. Finally, Sirius, yawning, picked up a tiny, leather-bound book that was almost completely hidden by a book called, "Moste Potente Potions". Sirius shoved the larger book aside irritably, and it fell to the side, where it would lay until a certain bushy-haired girl came along.

"The Wizard's Guide to Animagi," Sirius whispered. "Jackpot!"

"Let's get out of here," James hissed, and he through the cloak over both of them as Sirius tucked the book back into his robes.

The two crept quietly out of the library and back to their dormitories.

-

"Is it what we need?"

Remus scanned the book as the other three Marauders needled him, wanting to know if the book would teach them to transform into an animal.

"I think so," Remus said, flipping the pages. "Yeah… it talks about the potion we need to make… oh, no, this is going to be difficult… then we have to perform this spell... very advanced magic… then we have to take another potion… and you finish off with another spell. Guys, I don't know if we can do this."

"Sure we can," Sirius said bracingly, grabbing for the book. "C'mon, how hard can the potion be – oh…" The boy gazed down at the page, frowning. "Where are we going to get dittany?"

"Hospital Wing," Remus said. "When you put it on wounds, it reduces scarring. But Fluxweed… we'll have to break into Slughorn's private cupboard for that one. I can get the dittany, though. I'll just swipe it next full moon." He looked sick at the idea. "We're really doing this."

"I guess we are," Peter said, in slight awe.

Remus was still reading. "This one potion will take us the rest of the year," he said. "It has to brew for three months… at best, we might be able to perform the first spell by the end of the year. We'll have to brew another potion too… if we start it at the start of next year… but it takes eight straight months. So if we get that done by the end of third year… then we can perform the second spell by the beginning of fourth year."

"So, conceivably, we could be Animagi by fourth year?" Sirius asked. Remus shook his head.

"Nah… remember, this is if all goes well. We'll probably be really delayed doing a lot of stuff. You guys have to drink the potions and do the spells at the same time. Also, the second spell takes a ton of time to actually work, according to this. And then you have to practice a ton to actually turn into your form. Fifth year, I'd say," Remus finished.

The others seemed to deflate. "That's three years," Sirius sighed.

"Well, we'd better get started," James said.

-

The four walked the next morning to their morning Defense class, whispering the whole way.

"I need to find a place to brew it," Remus said quietly. "We need to do that before we can even start the whole thing. And then we need to either buy or steal about fifty different ingredients. We're not going to get started until third year, I can guarantee that."

"You said last night that we could perform the first spell by the end of the year!" James exclaimed.

"I was being optimistic," Remus said. "The ingredients don't expire, anyway. We can steal what we can this year, then buy the rest over the summer. But we have to find a place to actually brew the thing first."

Sirius and James looked at each other. "We're on it," Sirius said, as they opened the door to class.

Wilson was shuffling his papers at his desk. He acknowledged the four boys as they took their seats, then winced and turned away from his students, rubbing his left arm irritably.

"Right," he said, once the burning sensation had passed. "I graded your exams. Your performance grades on here," he waved the sheaf of papers, "along with your written grades." He began to distribute the papers.

"I got an Acceptable," Peter whispered excitedly. Sirius and James both hid their O's and congratulated him. Remus received an Exceeds Expectations.

"I never figured out why they only have one E in that," Sirius said, as they left class an hour later. "I mean, it's two words… shouldn't it be EE?"

"Whatever you say, buddy," James said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, when we're… you know…" He looked around at the other students. "We should have nicknames. In fact, I already have yours," he said, turning to Remus. "Wolfman."

"That's dumb," Sirius said, as they walked through the halls. "Full Moon Man."

"Why does it have to end with man?" Remus asked.

"Moon Man," James said, ignoring Remus. "Full Moon Man's too long."

"So's Moon Man!"

"If you guys want to make it shorter," Peter said, "you could always make it… I don't know… Moony, maybe?"

"Moony's dumb," James scoffed, and Sirius elbowed him.

"No way, Moony rocks!"

"It sounds stupid," James retorted.

"How about we let Remus decide?" Sirius said, and the three turned to Remus, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"How about we revisit this issue in, say, three years?" he asked tentatively, and the three shrugged.

"Eh, sure," James said. "Though I still think Moony's a dumb name."

"Maybe a little," Sirius said. "But I still like it." Peter looked happy.

"God, I'm hungry," James said, as he rushed over to the food. He and Sirius immediately began to shovel food in their mouths.

"You know," Remus said mildly, "our… endeavor may take away from pranking time."

"No way!" the other Marauders exclaimed.

"Nothing takes away from pranking time!" Sirius added. "We just won't do homework."

"I like that," James said.

Remus groaned, shaking his head.

-

Review please!

-PotterScar