September 1975

“One of my best friends is a werewolf.” Sirius said smiling, as the fire crackled in the Gryffindor common room.

“Shhhh… Someone will hear you!” Peter said, quivering.

“Hey! We’ve discussed this before so let’s get back to the issue at hand shall we..? I’ve had enough of seeing Remus injure himself once every month and I think I’ve finally found something that we can do to help.” James said with authority, as he pulled both of his friends closer to him.

“You have..?” Sirius asked, now intrigued because of James’ ridiculously wry grin.

James then sighed and,

“Let’s all turn ourselves into Animagi!” He revealed his plan.

“Oh you can’t be serious James! I mean we did try doing it once already in our second year and we both know how it turned out.” Sirius complained as he stood up.

“Come on Sirius! We’re older now and better wizards. I already procured everything we’d need to do it.” James said, as he pointed to his rucksack.

“But… But James, we don’t know what animals we’d turn into. And how would us turning into animals help Remus with his condition..?” Peter said, stuttering.

“Werewolves only attack humans and are no threat to other animals until provoked. I don’t know about you two… But I cannot just stand by and watch anymore.” James said with conviction.

“It’s settled then. Bring it in, you two.” Sirius said as he outstretched his arm to signify his agreement.

“That’s the spirit!” James said as he placed his hand on top of Sirius’ and Peter followed suit.

The three of them then climbed the spiral stairs to their dormitory, placed three mandrake leaves in their mouths and recited in unison,

“Amato Animo Animato Animagus.” which is the chant they were required to repeat daily without removing or swallowing the mandrake leaves.

The three then climbed into their beds and awaited Remus’ return from the Shrieking Shack. At dawn, Remus returned with a limp and bandages covering his hands and face, courtesy of his secret arrangement with Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore. He checked on his friends before getting into his own bed,

“I know you’re awake.” Remus said, smiling as he closed his eyes.

“I know you know.” Sirius retorted.

“Sirius!” Peter shrieked.

“Anyone ever tell you two that you two are a COUPLE OF DIMWITS!” James shouted before the dorm fell silent as the first rays of the sun entered the room and Remus chuckled.

A month of less talk than usual from the defiant and outspoken Sirius, less than usual quidditch practice for James and a tad bit more silence than usual from Peter, the next full moon finally arrived. Remus left the dorm at dusk and the three of them waited for the moon to rise as their fourth friend waited alone in the Shrieking Shack, terrified. The moon soon made it’s way to the sky and the three of them finally spat their mandrake leaves into phials that were placed in pure, uninterrupted moonlight and added the rest of the ingredients which included hair from their heads, the head of a particularly nasty moth and a teaspoon of dew that had never seen sunlight, to complete the final concoction.

“Finally!” Sirius sighed, as he could finally taste his tongue for what it was.

“We did it!” James rejoiced as he put his arm around Sirius’ shoulder.

“That was more difficult than I thought.” Peter, mumbled in a low voice.

“Now for the easier part…”

“There’s more..?” Sirius grimaced.

“Now we wait! For a thunderstorm and drink the potion. Oh and from tomorrow we need to recite our chants everyday at sunrise and sunset until the thunderstorm.” James completed, with a nervous grin.

“What about sleep..?

“But… But what if the thunderstorm never happens..?” Peter asked.

“It will. I know it will.” James reassured him, with his addictive conviction, completely ignoring Sirius’ lamenting.

A week after that night, James awoke as he heard distant rumblings in the sky.

“Sirius! Peter! Wake up! It’s time.” He called out in a low voice.

Peter woke up after a couple of tries but Sirius awoke after the thunderstorm was already upon the castle. The three then sneaked out of the common room and then the castle and reached the grounds, where they drank the special concoction and recited, one last time, in unison,

“Amato Animo Animator Animagus.”

Their bodies then slowly began turning into animals that were not chosen by them but something that represented them by their personality and inner traits. The three split up before they could find out what was happening to them. At dawn, James and Sirius returned to the common room, shivering and completely drenched, but there was no sign of Peter. Worried, the two made their way up the stairs, only to find Peter fast asleep in his bed.

“So… Why are you still under your invisibility cloak..?” Sirius asked James, who at the moment looked like a floating head.

“Because I’m naked…”

“What..?”

“… Why are your clothes all torn and tattered like you were attacked by something…?”

“I turned into a dog. A rather shaggy looking one at that.” Sirius confessed.

“Oh… That explains it. Wait… How did you know what you looked like..?”

“Look Potter! Before I snatch away the invisibility cloak and reveal your manhood to the rest of the dorm, just tell me what you turned into!” Sirius asked, threateningly.

“Oh… Well… I turned into a stag.” James answered, smiling.

“What about Peter..?”

“I turned into a mouse. Now get back into bed before your ruckus wakes Remus up and all of this goes to waste.” Peter whispered as loud as he could before going back to sleep.

“Yeah. He’s right.” James told Sirius, before both of them changed into James’ clothes and went to sleep.

The next day onwards, everything went back to normal, Remus’ suspicion of what his friends were up to without his knowledge died down before he began investigation. James spent most of his day on the quidditch pitch, Sirius cut class to go skip stones at the great lake, Peter slept through Potions and Divination like he always did and Remus, who was the prefect spent his time between tackling his responsibilities as a prefect and going to the library with Lily, his muggleborn friend and the only girl in their class who absolutely despised James.

In a couple of weeks, on the eve of a full moon, Remus left the dorm as usual but this time his friends followed him. Remus walked in solitude straight into the hidden passageway under The Whomping Willow that connected Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, the neighboring town that housed the Shrieking Shack. The three waited for the moon to take the sky and then entered the passageway, as they got closer to the exit, they heard Remus scream in agony until they didn’t and his cries turned into howls.

“Oyee Moony!” Sirius called out to Remus, who had now completely transformed into a werewolf.

The beast quickly entered the passageway to maim or kill the human that stood in it’s path, but before it reached the human, it turned into a black, shaggy dog. Confused, the wolf followed the dog back onto the Hogwarts grounds, where a great red stag with prong like antlers stood, waiting and shining in the moonlight and beside it,between the blades of grass, a grey fat rat with a tail that looked like a worm hid, terrified. The wolf, confused, followed the three animals around the grounds and into the dark forest, where it played with bats and other small creatures, which was uncharacteristic for a beast like that. For the first time in his life, Remus didn’t realize when dawn broke and this time, he didn’t have to hurt himself to remain restrained inside the Shrieking Shack, which meant he didn’t need to visit Madam Pomfrey either. At dawn, the four returned to the Gryffindor common room,

“Thank You, you completely mental gits.” Remus said, as Sirius carried him on his back and climbed the stairs.

“Shut it, or I drop you.” Sirius snapped back, smiling.

“You win Potter. If you can get this indubitable arse to turn himself into an Animagus, you can do anything.” Remus said, as he looked at James and gestured to Sirius.

“That’s it. I’m dropping him.” Sirius said, as he almost dropped Remus and started laughing.

“We all did it for you Remus.” Peter finally broke his silence as the other three laughed.

“And I remember someone calling me Moony. What’s with that..?” Remus asked, as James and Sirius tucked him into bed.

“I called you Moony because that’s who you are. And that’s who you’re always going to be, from now on.” Sirius said, as he punched Remus on his arm.

“Well… In that case, we should figure out names for the three of you as well. But first, let me see your Animagus forms, come on then, who’s going first..?” Remus sat up straight, excited and with hope in his eyes.

Of course, Sirius went first and the other three had a hearty laugh, James declined, because, a stag in the middle of the dorm would cause an unnecessary conundrum and Peter never got a chance because Madam Pomfrey burst into the dorm before he could,

“Why are all four of you out of bed..!?” She asked, concerned and angry.

“It’s morning Madam Pomfrey, look.” Sirius replied, pointing at the rising sun, smiling.

“Yes it is. And while it’s quite possible to believe the other three boys being up at this hour. You rising this early in the day seems highly suspicious, Mr. Black.” She said, mocking Sirius and stealing the grin off his face.

“Remus..? Are you alright, my dear boy..?” She asked, now her tone, caring and concerned.

“Yes Madam Pomfrey. I’m alright.” Remus replied.

Madam Pomfrey then left the boys and headed straight to Professor Dumbledore’s office,

“Professor Dumbledore, sir… Remus never showed up for his treatment this morning and he had no injuries.” She told him, surprised.

“I know.”

“But, I don’t understand.”

“He has found himself someone except for his family that accepts him for who he is Madam Pomfrey. Finally.” The old man smiled.

“Shouldn’t he be hurting after a full moon night..?”

“I’m quite sure he is, but he wouldn’t be a true Gryffindor if he couldn’t conjure up the bravery to smile through that pain now, would he..?” Dumbledore asked, rhetorically.

Fin.

P. S. – It should be pretty obvious by now, that I’m a Potterhead.

And I love diving in and writing stories based in JKR’s wizarding world, which brings me to the point of this P. S. And the point is I feel like I want to write stories about the Marauders’ Hogwarts moments. So this post makes it 1/5 *yes. 5. because Lily Evans is a marauder as well*. I hope my fellow Potterheads like this. *fingers crossed*