The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Fifteen

It had been only two days since they began their month long trial and Sirius was already frustrated. The mandrake leaf kept getting stuck in between his teeth, scratching at his gums as he tried to speak. He kept trying to make it stick to the roof of his mouth, but it refused to stay put! Not to mention it made his voice sound weird. That was why he kept trying to hide it in his cheek, but when he moved it back it'd just cause problems! He nearly spit out the leaf so many times, and it was only the second afternoon! There were still twenty eight days left! Sirius frustratedly slammed his head into his textbook. Remus, who was sitting beside him, laughed and patted his friend on the back saying "Just think, twenty eight days and then you never have to do this again!" Sirius groaned into the book, turning his head slightly to glare at Remus. Remus laughed once more and returned to his homework. Sirius found himself daydreaming, imagining just what form he would take when this was all over. Maybe he would be a lion, majestic and beautiful. He liked the sound of that. Or maybe he would be a fierce dragon! Could animagi become magical creatures? He could have some serious fun if they could. Or, heck, maybe he would be a dog. People loved dogs after all! They were cuddly and doubled as protectors. He tried to imagine what life as a dog would be like, deciding that if that was his animagus form he wouldn't mind. Later, well after curfew, the quartet snuck downstairs from the boy's dorms and found a comfortable spot in the common room. Remus insisted on being there during these meditation sessions, even though he wasn't a part of the training. He had said that he wanted to repay them for all their hard work by staying with them through each remaining step until they became animagi. They couldn't turn him away, despite the need for sleep, because really all this effort was being made for him. If he wanted to be there with them and lose sleep, then far be it from them to turn him down. The four formed a circle, shared a smile, closed their eyes and started to meditate. Two nights down, and only twenty eight more to go!

They followed their nightly ritual each night until, finally, a full month had passed. This was their last day of meditation and holding the ridiculously irritating mandrake leaves in their mouths. Sirius was ecstatic! Soon enough he would find out just what his animagus form would be and then it's on to a bit more practice, and finally being able to help Remus during the full moon! The quartet was sitting around the common room, while everyone else was preparing for class. Sirius had a thought. Since they were a special group, shouldn't they have a new name? Speaking up, he said "You know what we need? A group name! Something special that really defines us!" The other three began to think. What could they possibly call themselves? Peter was the first to speak up. "What about the Golden Gang?" The rest immediately dismissed the idea. It was utterly ridiculous! Next was James. "How about the Dynamic Dangers?" Sirius laughed at that one, but the others just shook their heads and resumed thinking. Finally Remus spoke up. "Well, since we always manage to find trouble, and half of us actively look for trouble, how about we call ourselves the Marauders?" The Marauders. Now that had a nice ring to it! Sirius said "That's perfect! The Marauders! Gentlemen, welcome to the beginning of the Era of the Marauders!" The others laughed as they nodded their agreement to the new name. Feeling more unified than ever, the four boys gathered up their supplies and headed off to their final class of the day. Sirius couldn't remember a single word that was said in that class. He was too busy day dreaming about being an animagus, and all the adventures he would get up to with the rest of the Marauders. He smiled as he thought on their new name. Remus was right, it really did suit them! Now they had a proper group name, and a plan, all that was left was to finish their training and enjoy the rest of their days at Hogwarts. A nudge from Remus jolted him from his thoughts as the friends returned to the tower, ready to see what the night held for them.

After double checking that everyone was asleep, the quartet snuck down to the common room, took their places in a circle beside the fire, and began to meditate. Sirius managed to clear his mind, finding the image of an open field appearing in his mind. As the image became clearing, bringing with it the feeling of a cool summer breeze and the sounds of wildlife, he felt his skin begin to shift. He reached up to touch his left arm, rubbing it gently as the skin changed. It felt rough at first, as it was transitioning, but then it felt soft, like fur. His hand and arm slowly started to shift as he felt the fur, changing to something that definitely wasn't human. Opening his eyes, he realised his had had become a paw, and his arm had become a leg. Looking at it more closely, he realised his arm had taken on the form of the foreleg of a black, shaggy dog. Looking up he found James had managed to shift form as well. His arm had also formed the leg of an animal. His arm was much thinner, looking both delicate and strong and the same time, and his hand had shifted into a hoof. It was clearly that of a deer. Interesting! Peter seemed to be struggling a bit, but slowly he began to shift form as well. Instead of his whole arm shifting, he seemed to be shifting in other ways. He grew whiskers near his nose, and his ears changed shape. They became perfectly round, with grey fur. If he had to guess, Sirius would say his animagus form was a rat. That could prove useful to their mischief! He wasn't sure how it would help Remus, but he was certain they would figure something out. The others opened their eyes and looked at each other. Sharing a grin, they all removed the mandrake leaves and returned their limbs to their proper state. Sirius was the first to speak. "Finally! Now all we have to do is practice shifting into our animagus form and then we are golden!" James laughed and said "McGonagall was right! That was ridiculously difficult! I can't believe we managed to pull it off in one go! I thought for sure we'd have to start over several times with those stupid mandrake leaves!" The quartet laughed as quietly as they could, not wanting to alert the sleeping Gryffindors of their new found ability. Sirius said "Tomorrow night, we begin phase two of the plan. For now, we should probably get some sleep while we still can." Nodding in agreement the four friends quietly returned to their dorm and slept.