Love Can Be Found In the Darkest of Places (A Marauders FanFiction)

Chapter 2: The Plan

A/N: This is probably my favorite story/plan I have up on Wattpad, so if anyone likes it and is interested in me continuing please do let me know! I’m leading up to writing about them as teenagers during their 5th to 7th years at Hogwarts where all the good stuff’s going to happen, and hopefully beyond into adulthood. I just wanted to provide some background first!

The first year at Hogwarts flew by for our five young friends, and before they knew it, they were boarding the Hogwarts Express again to leave Hogwarts for the summer. Rose Garland was no longer a frightened young girl in a new, confusing world that she didn’t understand – the school year had completely unmugglified her (for all intents and purposes) and she now had one year of magical education under her belt, along with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

James and Sirius, being the more mischievous ones of the group, got into a fair deal of trouble (and often times inadvertently got Rose, Remus, and Peter into some trouble) however they were just as bright as the rest of them. James spent much of his time fawning over Lily Evans, who, other than Severus Snape, was one of the only people who wouldn’t give James the time of day. He rather enjoyed attempting to win over her affection, but his and Sirius’ troublemaking and constant feud with Severus kept her at bay.

As for young Peter Pettigrew, he lacked the natural talents that the other four seemed to have, and practically worshipped the ground that James, Sirius, and Remus walked on. He was a follower at heart, and would follow and attempt to mimic anything that the boys would do, including the bullying of Severus Snape. He also had an irrevocable crush on Rose, but was too cowardly to say even a word to her.

Remus Lupin was often mischievous like Sirius and James, but was by far the most troubled of the bunch. For reasons unknown to the rest of the group, once a month during the school year, Remus would disappear to somewhere, always under the ruse of having to visit his “sick mother.” What Remus wasn’t telling them was that he was suffering from an incurable curse, lycanthropy. Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey worked diligently to protect Remus during his transformations and tried to make it as easy as possible for him, however it clearly took a toll on him. The other four were growing increasingly suspicious, and would stop at nothing to discover what was truly wrong with their friend.

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The summer dragged for all five of them, each wanting desperately to return to Hogwarts. Peter Pettigrew mostly waited by the window for owls from his friends, the Garland’s summered in Ireland, while the Lupin’s remained at home where Remus spent his days resting and preparing for the next full moon. His young age made the transformations far more painful, and it was enough to wear anyone down.

The Potter’s, who tended to spoil James, took him on a European tour of all magical landmarks, from which he sent dozens of postcards to his four friends. Sirius returned home to a furious family of pure-blood-elitism lunatics. They spent their summer harassing him for being sorted into Gryffindor, and on several occasions, threatened to disown him. Sirius tried to remain positive, and set them all on edge by boasting about his new muggle-born and half-blood friends (aside from James, who was pure-blood).

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In their second year at Hogwarts, after a great deal of sleuthing, Rose, Sirius, James, and Peter discovered the reason behind Remus’ disappearances. They determined that he was a werewolf, and instead of abandoning him like he feared they would were they ever to find out, they stuck by his side.

Remus took several steps away from them, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. They had been taking a walk out on Hogwarts grounds alone when they told him that they knew. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sputtered, shaking his head several times. “I’m not a werewolf, that’s preposterous!”

Rose, being the most gentle of the bunch, stepped towards him and grabbed his hand. He tried to pull away but she held on firmly. “Remus, if you thought we’d think less of you, you’re wrong.”

“She’s right you know,” Sirius interjected. “You’re one of us, which means your shit is our shit. You don’t have to be alone in this – I won’t let you.” Peter nodded his head up and down vigorously, agreeing with Sirius. “And there’s no use in telling us you’re not, my friend. We’ve seen where you go during the full moon.”

Remus was visibly shaking, out of what could’ve only been nerves. It was he who was now holding firmly onto Rose’s hand. “I don’t want you to pity me,” he said, keeping his eyes focused on a point on the ground. “I don’t want you to think of me as ‘poor Remus the lycanthrope’.”

“I think I have a plan to make this a lot easier for you, Remus,” James spoke up, a grin spreading wide across his face. Remus and everyone else looked confused, so he kept talking. “Werewolves attack humans, but they aren’t known to harm other animals when they transform.” He waited for everyone to catch on, but when they didn’t, he carried on again. “So Remus faces this alone every month because he’d kill us all, but what if we were animals?” He paused and gave Sirius, the “get it?” look.

Understanding lit up in Sirius’ eyes and he gave an excited fist pump. “I’m horribly confused now, and also slightly concerned,” Remus sighed, waiting for the explanation.

“We become Animagi,” Rose said, the idea finally dawning on her. “It’s the perfect plan, except how do we actually become Animagi?” Everyone seemed to be collectively thinking the same thing at that moment: how do a bunch of second years learn how to transform into animals?

“We’ll bloody figure it out,” Sirius said, giving Remus a clap on the back. “You’re not doing this alone anymore, mate.” And so for their next three years at Hogwarts, Rose, Sirius, James, and Peter worked and researched tirelessly to learn how to successfully make the transformation.

At the beginning of their fifth year, it all came together.