The Marauders' Era (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

Part 2

Boom. Boom.

Lightning struck across the sky and thunder soon followed, exploding far, far away with a loud blast that shook the mountains. Dark, angry clouds floated across the heavens, and down came a fierce storm.

Windows were closed, and doors shut, but who other than our favorite troublemakers strayed?

Four broomsticks raced past, and the wind caught the laughter of those flying fast--one slower than the others--and delivered it down to the grounds, where three girls rushed toward the castle with stunning speed.

One of the boys on the broomstick whistled loudly, and, upon drawing the attention of a certain redhead below, grinned. With a swish and a flick of his wand, golden ribbons flew out the end, and slowly a sentence formed in the air.

Go out with me Evans

Lily turned her head, hmphed and marched away. Her friends followed her, pretending not to hear the laughter of the boys.

"Nice try, James," said Sirius, a handsome youth of sixteen. His shaggy hair was damp against his forehead, and he shook it out of his eyes with a loud chuckle.

"Pay up, Peter," said Remus, extending his hand toward the small, blond boy. "She didn't jinx him this time."

"You can't expect a galleon on me now!" Peter wailed. "I lost my last sickles to James yesterday."

"We really should get a move on," called James. He was already ahead of the others, looking determinedly at the castle and not his friends.

"Aww, Jamie, are you sour from getting rejected? Don't be sad," teased Sirius, "this isn't the first time she's turned you down!" The other laughed, and James groaned.

"Shut up, Sirius."

"Of course not, James. I mean, who else is going to laugh at your failures?"

"Me!"

"Me too, Sirius, if you happened to remember."

"C'mon, mates," said James, the tips of his ears glowing red. "The thunderstorm isn't going to last long."

"Yeah, we can't afford to miss it," said Peter, leaning so far forward on his broomstick that he nearly fall off. "This might be the only lightning storm before the year ends."

With that the boys flew off into the seemingly peaceful sunset, the storm brewing way too close for comfort.

•

I need the place where we hid our potions... I need the place where we hid our potions... I need the place where we hid our potions...

Sirius opened his eyes and there it was, the door to the Room of Requirement. His friends had already swung it open with an eagerness more than opening Christmas presents, which was to say something. Quickly he followed them in the cramped, dark space, and shut the door behind him.

"Ow!"

"Whose arm was that?"

"Why are we all standing in the dark?"

"Lumos!"

The glow of Remus' and James' wands illuminated the small room, much like a cupboard. A small table at the side held three small crystal phials, each proudly sporting a label.

"They should each be a bloody shade of red," Sirius said, feeling slightly thrilled and scared at the result.

"And right they are." James held the tip of his wand to the three bottles, and blood-red potions glared right back at him.

"Merlin's boxers! We actually made it!!" Sirius whooped and leaped in the air, bumping his head on the low ceiling. "Ow!"

Remus sniggered. "Forgot about the roof, Sirius?"

"I can't help it if I'm so tall, good-looking, talented and a sex god--"

"Alright, alright. We get the point," said Peter, raising his hands in surrender.

James took up his vial from the table. "Hey, are you ready or not?"

"Well, I'm in," said Sirius. "What are we supposed to do again?"

Remus grinned. "I'm in, too. Oh, wait, I'm not actually in this, am I?"

"Well, we're doing this for you, you know," Peter piped up.

"Er... maybe you could guard outside, Remus?" James asked nervously.

"Oh, I don't mind," said Remus. "I understand if you don't want me to intrude on something so personal--"

"No, that's not what I meant at all!" James said quickly. "It's just that we haven't got an idea of our Animagus form yet, and if it's something big we might lose control and it might attack you or something even worse. Here, take my cloak."

Remus caught the Invisibility Cloak as James tossed it to him. "Thanks, mate." Moving toward the door with his back to his friends so that they could not see a grateful tear escape his eye, he called, "Three knocks if someone's near!"

"Just like usual," said Sirius.

"Exactly," they heard Remus say as he closed the door behind him.

"Okay. Now what?"

"Now we move to a bigger space," said James.

Suddenly the room lit up, and the three shielded their eyes from the brilliant light. Now they stood in a grand, empty hall, the candles on the chandeliers overhead shining brightly. The tiled floor reflected the rays off and kept its cold look.

"Really, James? Chandeliers?" Asked Peter.

"A little over the top, don't you reckon?" Said Sirius, walking along the sides of the room.

James shrugged. "It looked a bit better in my mind."

"Ready to begin?" Said Sirius, pulling out the stopper on the crystal phial.

"I dare you to go first, Sirius," Peter said, giving him a cheeky, lopsided smile.

"Sure," Sirius agreed. "No backing out now."

"No backing out now." The other two echoed him, pulling out their wands as well.

"Alright." He placed his wand to the center of his chest, where his heart was racing too fast and his breaths too irregular. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus," Sirius whispered, and swallowed the potion in one mouthful, embracing himself for the pain that was sure to come.