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 63: Piecing it All Together
The inclement weather inside the castle lasted until dinner that evening. The students reluctantly made their way back inside, their stomachs churning in anticipation of dinner. The professors who weren't trying to get the school in order had managed to conjure up galoshes for the students so that they could splash through the corridors without risk of wet feet.
The Slytherin table was unsurprisingly empty that evening, but that was all well and good since a jungle seemed to have formed on that side of the Great Hall. Most of the Slytherins were still by the greenhouses trying to have different body parts pruned. It was rumored that Rabastan Lestrange, a sixth year Slytherin, needed to go to St. Mungo's since he had grown a Whomping Willow sapling out of his shoulder and had taken a rather harsh beating.
Professor McGonagall was livid. She knew that someone or some people were behind the events of the day but there was not enough evidence to pinpoint anybody. She tried to intimidate the students with warnings of what the headmaster would do when she brought him the culprits, however when Dumbledore casually picked a lemon from a tree that had sprouted from the Slytherin table, cut it and squeezed a little into his tea, the students decided that he didn't seem angry enough to inflict a harsh punishment.
Alice was certain that Sirius and his friends were at least partially responsible for the monsoon as well as the new foliage. She hounded Sirius all day trying to get him to confess. He was rather amused by her persistence but never directly answered her questions. He would either redirect the conversation or simply wink in response. Her suspicions were all but confirmed when she noticed that Peter had grass growing out of his fingers.
Sirius yanked Peter to the side and hissed, "Wormtail! Why do you have grass on your hand?"
Peter gave a nervous laugh and said, "Well…erm… I was the one who filled the balloons with the Instant Garden Glitter. I guess some of it got on my hands."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Haven't you ever heard of wearing gloves? Or maybe wiping your hands?"
Peter shrugged and with a sheepish look left to find a pair of gloves in order to hide the lawn forming on his hands.
Though the Marauders were immensely proud of their feat, they did not claim responsibility. They preferred their anonymity and realized its usefulness for their future adventures. The map, along with James' invisibility cloak, gave them a large amount of freedom to cast mischief wherever they saw fit.
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As the days passed and the weather grew warmer, the students were well aware of the added responsibilities. The fifth year and seventh year students were especially stressed and short tempered due to the upcoming exams. Whenever the noise level in the study areas became too loud, the fifth year students made a point of reminding the fourth year students that next year they would be in the same predicament.
James and Sirius shrugged it off, feeling that a year was a very long time away. Whenever they realized they were stepping on too many toes, they would sneak down to the kitchens or to Hogsmeade to bring back peace tokens for the older students. They would never tell them who left the packages of goodies - they would simply leave a note stating 'Compliments of fellow Gryffindors'.
The Animagus training was nearly complete. As each month passed, when Remus wearily returned from his transformations, it further motivated the other boys to finish the training. The day after Remus' last transformation of the school year , while he was in the hospital wing, the other three Marauders were practicing in their dormitory while Frank was studying for the end of year exams in the library. Over the past few months they had mastered transforming individual traits of their Animagi. Now they were working on piecing them all together.
That morning, James was sprawled on the floor in hysterics at the sight of Sirius. He could feel a pain forming in his side from the force of his laughter.
"Ha, bloody ha, Prongs," muttered Sirius. "Personally, I think I'm looking pretty good."
That sent James into further laughter, rolling onto his side and trying to catch his breath. Sirius frowned and strolled up to the mirror to inspect himself. He had a snout coming out of his face with some shaggy fur replacing his usually elegant hair. He had pads on his hands and feet and a large shaggy black tail sprouting out of his backside. Sirius turned to Peter, who was trying to not look at Sirius, out of fear he would soon join James in his laughter.
"Wormtail, you don't find this funny, do you?" asked Sirius.
Peter's nose twitched a little. "I-erm, well…"
"Admit it, Padfoot," said James. "This half-man/half-dog, or rather 'mog', is just too much. I mean, it's hard to have conversation with you when you're wagging your tail."
"That's not as funny as when Moony used your antlers as a coat-rack," retorted Sirius. He took one last look at himself in the mirror before transforming back. He shook his head in frustration. "This is taking too long! We've been at this for the past year and we still can't get the full transformation down."
"We're getting closer and closer each time we practice. I don't know what else to do other than keep trying," said James.
"Maybe that's our problem," suggested Peter.
"That we keep trying?" asked James.
"No…erm…maybe," replied Peter, his watery eyes darting back and forth between James and Sirius. "It's just that, maybe we're trying too hard."
"News flash, Wormtail," said Sirius, "becoming an Animagus takes a lot of training so we have to try hard. Right, Prongs?"
"Yeah, but maybe Wormtail has a point," said James.
"I do?" asked Peter.
"Maybe we are concentrating to hard," continued James. "We have the basics down for each trait of our Animagi, but do you remember when we took the potion at the end of second year? Do you remember during that short time what it felt like to be that animal? It was like my mind had a different focus, like things were less complex. And then there was all that research we had to do that summer on our animals. We had to practically get into the mind of our creatures. Maybe that's the final step that we're missing."
"By all means, Prongs," said Sirius, "give it a shot."
James stood and walked to the center of the room. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to remember his transformation during second year after he had taken the potion. He tried to focus on the mindset of his Animagus and soon he felt his mind reaching that place. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that he was taller and standing on four hooves. He looked at Sirius and Peter whose faces were filled with awe and excitement. James slowly approached the mirror and when he reached it he saw a large stag staring back at him. Since James was currently unable to clap his hands in celebration of his achievement, he instead pawed at the floor with one of his front feet.
"Prongs!" exclaimed Sirius, approaching the stag with a large smile. He gave the creature a pat on the shoulder and said, "You did it!"
A moment later James transformed back, a huge grin settling on his face.
"So what exactly did you do differently?" asked Sirius.
"I cleared my mind and focused on what I felt during the transformation after we took the potion. I didn't even realize I had changed until I opened my eyes," said James. "I guess all the practicing we've been doing has caused a large part of the transformation to become like second nature. It just took that last bit to piece it all together."
"Wait until we tell Moony!" said Peter. "He'll flip out."
"Maybe we should wait," said Sirius. "He had the last full moon of the school year last night and Peter and I still have to complete the transformation. Why don't we all finish the training and surprise him next year during the first full moon?"
"Can you imagine his face when he sees us sitting in the Shrieking Shack waiting for him?" said James, with a sly smile.
Sirius laughed and nudged Peter, saying, "C'mon Wormtail, we have a lot of work to do to catch up to Prongs, here."
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During the final week of classes a dark cloud settled over the school. The Daily Prophet reported more attacks by the supporters of the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters. A few Muggleborn officials in the Ministry had been killed along with their families. Even more alarming, another wizard had been targeted as well - a Pureblood. This unsettled a lot of people, especially the students from pureblooded families who had thought themselves safe from the attacks. The wizard who had been targeted was well known for his outspoken views on equal rights for all witches and wizards, including half bloods and Muggleborns. The message was clear - if you were Muggleborn or in anyway supportive of one, then you were a potential target.
The mood was somber during the morning of the Daily Prophet article. Alice and Marlene were concerned about Lily, whose eyes were rather haunted and set in a sickly pale face. Lily didn't eat, feeling more like pushing her food from one side of the plate to the other to try to keep her mind distracted.
"Lily, I think you need to go to Madame Pomfrey," said Marlene.
"Hmmm?" said Lily, not really listening. She glanced down the table where she saw the Marauders huddled together over the paper. James had a stony expression and Sirius was saying something to him. James' jaw clenched as he shoved the paper away. Lily focused her attention back on her eggs, which were starting to look more scrambled than over-easy. The sight caused Lily's stomach to turn.
Alice snapped her fingers in front of Lily and said, "Really Lily, you don't look well."
Lily suddenly stood up and ran out of the Great Hall, tears threatening to fall as she felt the few bites of breakfast she had eaten starting to rebel. She managed to reach the girls' bathroom in time to empty her stomach. She sat in the stall by the toilet, feeling sobs forming, in a way purging her of some of her distress. The article in the paper had hit her hard with its implications. Even though she felt feverish she couldn't help but shiver.
Once Lily calmed down enough to wash her face and rinse her mouth she left the bathroom, her eyes puffy and red. Even though she knew the reason behind her feeling ill, she decided to go to Madame Pomfrey in the hopes that she would have a potion to calm her stomach. As she rounded the corner she came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.
He drew his mouth into a wide sneer as he saw Lily's state. "Aw, what's the matter, Mudblood?" he asked. "Are you upset about the attacks? Do you think you're next, or perhaps your family?"
The small chill that had crept down her spine earlier was now seeping into Lily's bones in response to what Malfoy said. "Please get out of my way," she said, trying to move past him.
Malfoy stepped in her path and said, "You realize that the Dark Lord has his targets set, and when he decides on killing someone, there's no stopping him. He'll use anyone or anything to get what he wants."
Lily backed away, reaching a shaky hand for her wand. As she went to draw it out, Malfoy lunged forward and knocked it out of her hand, pushing her to the floor. As she fell Lily felt her head bump into the suit of armor standing nearby.
As a trickle of blood worked its way by her ear, Lily heard the suit of armor say, "Terribly sorry, Miss."
Lucius leaned over her and placed his hand around her throat, holding her down. He hissed in her ear, "It is not wise to cross certain people, Mudblood. You may not like the consequences."
Lily trembled at the feel of his breath on her ear, her stomach threatening to empty itself again. She tried to curb the feeling as he tightened his grip on her neck.
Suddenly Malfoy made a surprised, yelping noise and collapsed on top of her. A moment later he was pulled off of her and thrown to the other side of the hallway. Lily blinked to clear her vision and soon found James hovering over her looking very concerned.
"Are you alright?" asked James.
Lily slowly sat up and nodded while tentatively touching the gash on the side of her head. She winced as the stinging sensation of the wound turned into a dull throb.
"You should have Pomfrey look at that," said James, reaching over to inspect the wound. As he touched her temple he couldn't help but notice the feel of her hair against his hand. 'I had forgotten it was that soft,' he mused, his hand lingering.
Lily was feeling a bit dizzy. 'Certainly from the head injury, of course,' she thought, trying to reason that it had nothing to do with James' proximity to her or the fact that he was gently touching her face. Suddenly, she fully realized the situation and jumped back, away from James. She stood up and searched for her wand which was on the floor several feet away where Malfoy had knocked it. Sensing James' stare, she said, "I was already on my way to see Madame Pomfrey."
"Are you ill?" asked James.
Lily shrugged and said, "Just a bit under the weather this morning."
James nodded and said, "Voldemort."
Lily gasped and paled a little. "W-what?"
"The attacks," said James, "that were in the Daily Prophet this morning. It's understandable for you to be nervous - it makes me sick reading about what that bastard is doing."
Lily nodded and stared at a spot on the floor near James' feet. James took a step closer, realizing this was the most civilized conversation they had had since first year, and probably the longest. He just wished she would look up at him instead of at the floor. He noticed her trembling a bit as he approached.
"Don't worry," he said. "Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world, with Professor Dumbledore as headmaster. We'd never let anything happen to you…"
Lily's head shot up, though her gaze did not meet his eyes. "I don't need you protecting me, Potter."
"Evans, I didn't mean it like that-" James started.
Lily shook her head and in a tight voice said, "Please, Potter, just stay away from me."
She turned and hurried down the corridor, leaving a confused teenage boy staring after her. He was prepared to be annoyed yet again at her comments toward him, but he couldn't help but think about the look in her eyes as she had said her final comments. 'Was it fear?' he thought. 'Of me? Why would she be afraid of me?'
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A/N: So the Animagus transformation is pretty much completed. Now, we wait until the fall for their first full moon at the Shrieking Shack.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Mani12191, Anu, granger1191, Potterhead (x2), hpfreak, Anonymous, Jo Bob, Hermione 1309, Golden Phoenix, tigerfairy, German Wings, mystical cah, sista7, and Alicia.
Next chapter: Fourth year is finished. Sirius is once again faced with returning home for the summer.