The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Books

Books

Sirius was very careful to keep his nose clean over the next week, leaving early to classes and working extra hard on his assignments so that none of the teachers had anything to complain about him for. He did not want to be expelled. Even in Potions, Slughorn was amazed by the changes in how hard Sirius was working and praised him eagerly for the improvements - which spilled over onto James, who was working side-by-side with Sirius at their table. Severus Snape glowered from across the room at them as Slughorn blustered on and on about how grand a job they'd done. Snape's disapproval was possibly an even larger highlight than the praise of Slughorn!

It was going on the second week of Sirius's carefulness - and the beginning of February - before James was able to talk him into their next adventure. They needed to get a book on becoming animagi from the restricted section of the library if they planned to see Remus out to the Shrieking Shack anytime this century. "The way McGonagall talked, we'll be muddling through this for eons," he reminded Sirius, "So it's best if we can get started as soon as possible, isn't it?"

They waited until late in the evening and took out the invisibility cloak from James's trunk. Peter watched on anxiously as Sirius and James ducked under the cloak. He had agreed to stay behind to make sure Remus didn't become suspicious - and also to open the portrait hole door for the boys to sneak through without attracting the attention of the other Gryffindors milling about in the common room. The idea was to collect the book from the library and make it back to the dormitory without anybody noticing they'd gone at all.

Remus was sitting in the common room with Lily Evans, working on some homework assignments together and smiling shyly. James rolled his eyes under the cloak as they snuck down the stairs behind Peter, headed for the door of the common room. "Bloody hell, they need to get on with it if they're going to," he whispered.

"You want them to be laying about the common room snogging instead?" Sirius jibed.

"No," James replied too quickly, "I do not."

"Me thinks we are quick to reply," Sirius teased, "Look, James, just because you're jealous of Remus and Lily and all of the snogging he'll eventually be doing with her --"

"I'm not jealous of Remus and Lily, I'm --"

"Shhh," Peter hissed. Alex Tinnamin had looked 'round from the chair he'd commandeered by the fireplace, as though certain he had heard them. Sirius and James both promptly shut up and Peter scurried quickly to the portrait hole door. "Going for a walk," he announced, a little too loudly and too practiced.

"Good on you, mate," said Bilius distractedly from the table where he was hard at work, biting his tongue, writing on a bit of parchment. He turned about in his seat, "Oi - Alex - the cost of my Weasley's Guide to Dating Attractive Muggle Girls has just gone up a sickle as I've come up with yet another brilliant strategy!"

Alex's face soured, "You've got to stop raising the price, mate."

"Trust me, it's priceless information you're receiving, for the mere cost of two galleons and three sickles."

Alex grumbled, "It can't both be priceless and have a price, you git."

Peter quickly opened up the portrait hole and scrambled out, keeping the door open long enough for James and Sirius to follow along before letting it close. He stood awkwardly in the corridor, unsure where his friends were. "Well, good luck," he told the empty space about him.

"You too. Keep him out of the dorms," said Sirius, "And if he finds we've gone, then you don't know where we went and we'll think of something when we get back."