On a freezing November night, we ran circles around the empty Gryffindor common room at 2 in the morning, laughing.
"I can't believe it!" James almost yelled, transforming and knocking a table over with his antlers. "We're Animagi!"
I ran in circles, unable to believe it. We actually did it! I look down at my black paws and let out a howl of excitement. Sirius Black, Animagus. Bloody amazing.
"Shut up, you'll wake the entire House," laughed Remus, who was lounging in a corner with an amused expression on his face.
Peter shot between my legs, up the leg of a chair, and flopped happily on the armrest, his little rodent body quivering in excitement.
James lumbered up to me and transformed from a stag back into a human. I jumped on top of him, wagging my tail and barking softly, and he laughed and pushed me off. I transformed, straightened my cloak, and Remus walked over, smiling.
"Hey, so now I'm not alone being Moony," he grinned. "Prongs, Padfoot, and," ---he paused, scrutinizing Peter, who was now back in his human form----"Wormtail."
"Hey!" Peter protested, but we were all laughing and he went with it.
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," I announced, testing it out.
Remus grinned. "The Marauders of Hogwarts!"
It was the same year that we created our Map. After a long debate, we named it the Marauders Map, after Moony's earlier statement.
"Wow," Peter murmured in a hushed voice, watching the ink blossom across the page.
Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs proudly present:
The Marauders Map
I grinned as a map of Hogwarts spread out across the page. There we were, huddled in Remus's bed, our names hovering over us. Snivellus sat in the Slytherin common room, Lily was downstairs in our common room, and we could even track Dumbledore, who was pacing around his office.
James leaned back against the headboard of Moony's bed and smirked. "We're invincible, mates," he laughed, mussing up the back of his hair. "The Marauders claim Hogwarts forever!"
