Wolfsbane

You What?

            

"You what?" I rubbed my hands over my face as Elias reiterated the statement for the millionth time in the last five minutes.

"I made up with Sirius. We ran into each other over the summer, and we made up. You can ask Lucius, he was there." Lucius cast me a look that was deadlier than a living death potion, and I smiled sheepishly at him. He let out a sigh as Elias rounded on him.

"It's just like she said. We ran into him and the other Marauders in Diagon Alley at Flourish and Blotts. Sirius expressed the desire to make up with her, and the two disappeared for an hour or so. When Nix came back, she told me the two of them were friendly. I don't see the problem Elias, yes, he may be Gryffindor, but that doesn't mean we can't collaborate with them. I'm not the first person to dislike Gryffindor, and I definitely won't be the last, but we could be able to use this to our advantage. Get inside those Marauder's heads, maybe knock some sense into them, Merlin knows they need it." Elias sat down, his feathers still ruffled, but he conceded that this might not be terrible. The thought of betraying the trust of my new-found Gryffindor friends made my stomach turn, but the idea of getting the four of them to stop their incessant pranks sounded nice. A prankster myself, knew that sometimes they went too far with their jokes, and I did want them to tone things down, especially with Severus. He had sat silently as Elias lectured me, but I could see his discomfort. I made a mental note to speak with him later.

My classes had gone smoothly, however, my new potions partner was a moron. I spent half my time watching their brew and working on my own to make sure the both of us passed. At dinner I sat with my usual friends, though I made eye contact with Remus half way through my meal. His eyes shifted the way they had when he had last broken through my mind to communicate

"We're going to meet in greenhouse four tonight. Will you be there?" I concentrated as intensely as I possibly could, and forced myself to make the same mental break Remus had.

"I don't think so. I have things to do with the Crusaders." I could hear the whine that released from his throat from where I was sitting. My ears and eyes had become far more sensitive since becoming an animagus, and I wondered if the effects would become more intense over the years, or if this was as far as they would develop.

"Bring one of them with you then. Whoever you trust most. Someone with an affinity for pranks." I sighed and looked away. I knew I couldn't possibly go. I assumed I would just be a fixture for the changes, but Remus had sent letters the entire summer. Sirius had also sent me several letters, and I vaguely wondered what I was getting myself into. My thoughts were broken by another familiar voice as I stared off into space.

"Moony says you don't want to come. Come on Phoenix, come plan a prank with us!" I blinked rapidly as I heard Sirius voice in my head, and I realized I had been staring blankly at him rather than dead air.

"Phoenix, you okay? You seem lost in space." My attention was grabbed by Lucius whispering to me, and it took me a moment to nod. He leaned in closer so we could speak.

"What's going on? You've been staring at those Marauders all evening. Something going on?" I swallowed thickly before looking at him and leaning over to reply.

"They want me to meet them in greenhouse four tonight." He blinked at me, before excusing the both of us, our plates empty anyway. I got up and left the great hall with him. We ended up taking the long way back to the dungeons to speak.

"How can you know that without ever speaking to them?"

"Well, it's kind of like telekinesis. Remember how Elias spoke to us during our first run to warn us about the werewolf? It's like that, but without having to be in animagus form. Since the Marauders are animagi, they can do it too, and we can communicate with each other silently as long as we maintain eye contact." Lucius looked thoughtful, and I wondered what was going on in his head. He asked a few more questions about who I had spoken with, and about what, before nodding his head and stopping in the hall. I paused as well and looked back at him. I watched his face scrunch up in concentration, and then his eyes shifted the same way Remus' did.