Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 36: Metamorphosis
As the school year drew to an end everyone eagerly anticipated the final Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had a flawless season so far thanks especially to James, who was able to catch the Snitch quicker than any Seeker that had played at Hogwarts in over fifty years. Ravenclaw had also had a perfect season so the upcoming match would determine the victor of the Quidditch Cup.
James had quite a rivalry brewing between him and his cousins, Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. They played on the Ravenclaw team as Beaters. At one point Sirius and James made a bet with the Prewitts that if Gryffindor won, the Prewitts would have to go to class for an entire day painted in the Gryffindor colors, wearing only their skivvies. The Prewitts accepted with the understanding that if Ravenclaw won James and Sirius would do the same, only painted in Ravenclaw colors.
As the day of the match drew nearer Sirius began to get a little nervous about the bet and constantly hounded James about getting outside to practice. It became so annoying that James finally had to hex Sirius' mouth to stick shut. It stayed that way for the entire day until Remus finally took pity on him and reversed the hex.
When the day of the game arrived James woke up early, unable to sleep. He groggily made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast only to find most of the Gryffindor team already present. Carlton Wood had his head bowed like he was deep in prayer. James sat and picked at his breakfast, unable to eat much since it felt like there was a Quidditch match occurring in his stomach.
Eventually the Great Hall filled with students, either dressed in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw paraphernalia. Sirius sat next to James and started to give him a pep talk, however it sounded more like a plea for him not to lose the bet. Remus elbowed him in the ribs and Sirius glared back before digging into his breakfast. Carlton waved at James to let him know the team would be heading out to the pitch.
James got up and walked along the Gryffindor table hearing many words of encouragement from his house mates. Several of the younger girls were wearing Gryffindor rosettes with his picture in the center. James smirked as he saw them. When he reached the door of the Great Hall he almost ran straight into Lily. To his surprise she was wearing a rosette (though not with his picture) and was carrying a Gryffindor flag.
"Evans!" he exclaimed. "Are you actually going to the match?"
She tossed him a patronizing glance that landed somewhere around his chin and said, "Of course I'm going to the game, Potter. I AM in Gryffindor, aren't I?" She walked past him into the Great Hall. James started to walk away but froze when he heard her silently add "good luck" as she made her way to the Gryffindor table. When the words reached his ears he turned back suddenly only to see her sitting down at the table in conversation with Alice about something. He shook his head, convinced that he had imagined it, and rushed to catch up with his teammates.
On the way to the pitch James saw his cousins approaching. Gideon ran over to him and said, "Nice day outside eh, James? Spring weather…hope it's this warm on Monday when you're wearing your skivvies to class."
Fabian added, "I do say, James, that our colors will suit you."
James' nervousness about the upcoming match was replaced by a determination to beat his cousins. He turned to them with a wide grin and said, "You don't stand a chance today. Care to make the bet a little more interesting?"
"Do tell!" said Fabian. "We're always up for a challenge."
"When Gryffindor wins today, you will still do the Gryffindor body paint and skivvies routine, however instead of wearing it to class you will have to wear it during your NEWT examination…" James paused a moment, thinking, before adding, "…you Transfiguration NEWT examination."
The twins gave each other a nervous glance. They knew McGonagall would not be very tolerant about such silliness during a major exam. Both boys were applying for positions as aurors, and if they did not receive good marks then that could jeopardize their careers. Nevertheless, Gideon turned back to James and said, "Okay, but when we win then you will have to do the same for your final exam this year in Potions."
"Deal!" said James.
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James felt the familiar excitement as he stood near the entrance to the pitch from the Gryffindor locker room. The stands had filled up and the noise from the crowd was deafening. As the announcer introduced them, James mounted his Nimbus 1900 and followed his team onto the pitch. As he circled the pitch he took the time to look at the crowd. He saw Remus and Peter sitting with Alice, Marlene, and Lily. For a moment James' thoughts drifted back to the Great Hall where he thought he had heard Lily wish him good luck. Then as he snapped out of it he realized that he didn't see Sirius sitting with Remus and Peter. As James approached the Ravenclaw section he chuckled as he finally found Sirius hiding in the back charming Gryffindor decorations onto several of the Ravenclaw students.
As James completed his lap he was a little surprised to see his mum making her way to an empty spot in the Gryffindor stands. He caught her eye and she smiled. He felt a small knot in his stomach form as he looked at the empty spot next to her that should have held his dad. He plastered on a smile and waved back at his mum.
After Carlton Wood shook the Ravenclaw captain's hand, Mr. Levine released the four balls and the game started. James kicked off the ground and allowed his love of flying to take over for his nervousness. His one focus was on finding the Golden Snitch as soon as possible. He stayed at a higher altitude than the rest of the players, flying around and watching for a golden glimmer. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Harvey Patil, decided to stick close to James in case he found the Snitch first.
James was vaguely aware of the goals that were being scored by both the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw chasers. So far the match was pretty close. James started to get irritated by Patil's constant tailing of him and decided to have a little fun. He suddenly turned and dove to a lower altitude at a high speed. Both of the Prewitt's, seeing James dive, started to pound the bludgers in his direction. This backfired, however, because James was quick enough to dodge them and Patil was right behind him. Patil yelped as a bludger hit his arm, knocking him to the side of his broom and almost sending him flying to the ground. He was able to hang on and right himself as James flew back to his original altitude. As he passed by the Prewitt's he grinned and waved.
From that point on Patil decided to change his strategy and look for the Snitch on his own. James circled the pitch until some sunlight reflected off a golden object about fifty feet away. He raced toward it feeling victory was close at hand since Patil was on the other side of the pitch. He was about a foot away when he felt something slam into his leg with great force. It caused James to slide off the side of his broom. With his quick reflexes he grabbed onto the broom with one arm, dangling about forty feet off of the ground. He turned and saw the Snitch starting to fly away. Somehow, while still dangling from the broom, James commanded it to follow the Snitch and within a few seconds he was able to reach out and grab it, winning the game.
As he carefully made his way down to the ground he looked up in the stands and saw Professor McGonagall jumping up and down and screaming like a giddy school girl. Once James landed he was bombarded by his teammates who all joined in a group hug. Carlton was bawling and wouldn't let go of James until Dumbledore called him to the podium to receive the Quidditch Cup.
James was feeling elated at having won the cup however his leg was rather painful from where he was hit by the bludger. Even though he couldn't put his weight on the leg, there were several girls who had made their way down to congratulate him who insisted that he lean on them for support. Sirius ran up to him and grinned at the display of James and his fan club. Remus and Peter caught up with them. Remus had a gigantic smile as he congratulated James. Peter was jumping up and down and beaming at James in admiration.
James turned and saw his cousins approaching him. Gideon smirked as he saw James leaning on a few fourth year girls. "Sorry about the bludger, James. It was all about the game, right?"
James grinned and with a mischievous tone said, "I understand completely. Don't worry about me, I'll be feeling much better when I see you boys coming out of your Transfiguration NEWT examination in a few weeks." The twins paled.
"What do you mean, the NEWT exam?" asked Sirius. James told him about the modification made to the bet and Sirius howled in delight.
"We HAVE to get a picture of them. Who do we know that has a camera?" asked Sirius.
Remus answered, "I'm pretty sure that Marlene has one. Remember when she snuck into our dorm room and got a picture of you sleeping with your teddy bear?"
Sirius sent Remus a look that clearly told him to keep his mouth shut. Returning to the subject at hand, he said,
"Oh great, I guess this means that I'll have to be nice to her."
"Nice to whom?" asked Alice. The boys turned around in surprise to find Alice and Marlene standing there.
"McKinnon!" exclaimed Sirius with his most charming smile. "You're looking particularly lovely this afternoon."
Marlene raised an eyebrow and said, "Can it, Black. What is it that you want?"
"We need to borrow you camera in a few weeks," he replied.
She eyed him suspiciously and said, "What are you four up to?"
Sirius glanced at James who shrugged and nodded. He launched into explaining who James' cousins were and that a bet had been made. After he told her the details of the bet he said, "So what do you say, McKinnon? Can we borrow the camera?"
"Sure," she replied. Sirius' jaw dropped. Marlene rolled her eyes and added, "Don't look so shocked, Black. I can't wait to see those two coming out of the exam. I have one condition, though. I will be the one to take the pictures."
Sirius was about to object until Remus nudged him and whispered, "You'll get the pictures. Don't push it."
Sirius turned to her and said, "Deal. Just make sure to get one of McGonagall handing out their detentions, too."
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During the following week Remus had to endure another full moon while the Marauders placed the final touches on the Animagus potion. By the end of the week they were ready to test it. Remus was back and resting in the dorm room. Frank was following Alice around trying to study for the end of term exams with her. Sirius, James, and Peter decided the time was right to try out the potion. They would each take turns while the others observed for unusual side effects. They brought out a full length mirror so during the transformation they could study themselves down to the last detail.
"What color is the potion supposed to finally be?" asked Sirius.
"For the one thousandth time, Sirius, it's supposed to be gold," said James.
Sirius studied it for a moment before saying, "It looks more yellow than gold. Did we add all of the ingredients?"
"Yes!" said James. "We need to do this before Frank comes back. Lock the door, Peter." Peter did as instructed. "Okay, I'll go first." James measured out a vial of the thick gold-yellow substance, pinched his nose, and swallowed the potion in one gulp. He then aimed his wand at his head and incanted, "Animagus mutare!"
For a minute, nothing happened. James looked at the instructions to see if they had missed a step. "Why isn't anything happening?" he asked. Not hearing anything, he looked up at Sirius and Peter who were standing there gawking at him. He glanced over at Remus who had a similar expression.
"Uh, James," said Sirius. "Maybe you should take a look at yourself."
James walked over to the mirror and nearly fell over in shock at what he saw. His untidy hair, which normally stood out in all different directions, was lengthening and consolidating into antlers.
"That figures…," muttered Sirius. "…messy hair turning into antlers."
As soon as the antlers were formed the rest of the transformation seemed to speed up. James felt his arms and legs growing longer and had to lean down so that his arms and legs all supported him. He watched his reflection in amazement as it transformed into a giant stag. Once his body was fully transformed he studied every detail in the mirror and planted it into his memory. When he saw the hazel eyes reflecting back at him in the mirror he felt different - less complex. As he walked over to the window and gazed out upon the blossoming grounds he felt a yearning to run outside. He wanted to gallop into the Forbidden Forest and feel free.
"James?" asked Peter hesitantly.
James turned around, startled. He had forgotten that his friends were there. He saw Peter watching him with a hint of fear in his eyes at the large animal before him. He looked over at Sirius, who was watching him with some uncertainty.
"You still in there, James?" asked Sirius.
James decided to have a little fun and stomped his front hoof a few times, pawing at the floor. He snorted and tilted his head forward so that his antlers were pointed toward Sirius and Peter.
"James?" squeaked Peter. He turned to Sirius and whined, "I think something's wrong. He doesn't recognize us!"
James started to feel an odd sensation which he interpreted to mean that he would transform back to his human self at any moment. It was now or never. He stomped his front hooves a few more times against the floor, reared back while kicking his front legs into the air, and charged at Sirius and Peter. They frantically tried to run out of the way but became cornered. It looked like James was going to gore them with his antlers, however as James charged his body transformed back to his regular human self. James fell on the floor laughing at Sirius and Peter who were wide-eyed, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Why the bloody hell are you laughing?!" yelled Sirius. "You nearly killed us!"
"No, I didn't," laughed James. "I knew who you were the entire time. I was just having some fun with you. Sorry mate!" He turned to Remus and added, "There's one born every minute!"
Remus chuckled and said, "Two in this case."
Sirius was about to tackle James however Remus reminded them that they didn't have much time to finish testing the potion. Sirius decided to take the potion next. Just like with James, it took a minute for the potion to take effect. The first noticeable change was a thickening of the palms of Sirius' hands. They morphed into paw pads, then Sirius' metamorphosis sped up as he sprouted black fur all over his body and changed into an enormous black dog. Peter stood watching in utter amazement while James wore an amused expression.
Sirius walked to the mirror and spent the next several minutes studying himself, though James wondered if he was spending the time admiring himself. Sirius turned to his friends and barked a few times. James laughed, and Sirius suddenly leapt onto James knocking him to the floor. He had both paws on James' shoulders and had his muzzle a few inches away from James' face. Sirius lifted his lip to bare his teeth and growled at James, who tried to convince himself that Sirius was getting back at him for his trickery a few minutes earlier. For a minute Sirius stared down at James, growling, until all of a sudden he snapped his teeth at James a few millimeters away from his nose. James recoiled and Sirius leapt off of him and started leaping around, wagging his tail, and barking enthusiastically.
"Shhhh! Sirius, you're going to get us discovered!" said Peter.
If it was possible for a dog to give an annoyed expression, Sirius did so in response to Peter's warning. A few moments later the potion wore off and Sirius returned to his human form. "That was amazing!" he said.
"Wasn't it?" asked James. "I can't wait until we get the transformation down. We'll be able to change whenever we want!"
Peter watched the two and started to feel an eager anticipation. He was amazed at the creatures James and Sirius had changed into. He wondered what he would become - a lion? A bear? A horse?
"Alright," said Remus. "It's Peter's turn."
Peter rushed to the cauldron, measured out his dose and swallowed it, followed by the incantation. James and Sirius watched him as he eagerly awaited the effects. Not seeing anything the three boys stared at one another wondering how long it would take for Peter to change. Suddenly they heard Remus who was trying to suppress his laughter. His face was bright pink and his eyes wide with laughter as he stood behind Peter. Peter turned around to see what Remus was laughing at and soon heard Sirius and James joining in the laughter.
Peter walked to the mirror and studied himself, only to find a large tail sprouting out of his backside. It was long and had a sparse amount of gray hair.
"What, the-?" started Peter. Before he could finish question he quickly shrank in size, transforming into a pudgy gray rat. His nose twitched as he studied the beady little eyes in the mirror. He couldn't believe it - his friends had turned into a stag and a giant dog, and he had turned into a RAT?
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A/N: Another Marauder milestone - they (minus Remus) learn what their Animagus forms are. They still have to learn how to perform the transformation on their own, and that will take a while to learn. Second year is almost over. I kind of flew through it, but that is how it needed to be.
Thanks to the latest batch of reviewers: Anonymous, Alicia (x2), delpheena, Golden Phoenix, DobbyGrl, Remus'sweetie, and urSweetiemSmia. Glad to see some new readers/reviewers, and tickled as always to see my regular reviewers! Replies are in the review section.
Next chapter: Gideon and Fabian must pay the piper! The students prepare to return home for the summer.