1. New Transfer Student by Hyacinthe
2. Moaning Myrtle by Hyacinthe
Professor Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, walked into the filled common room. It was a rare enough occurrence to see the strict thirty-year-old woman inside the Gryffindor quarters that the students became quiet instantly.
McGonagall cleared her throat. "We have a new third year student transferring to Hogwarts this year. Come on in, Remus." A thin boy stepped through the portrait hole. He had light brown hair that framed a rather feminine and attractive face, but at a closer glance one could see he was slightly drawn, not simply slender as he appeared to be. His most salient feature, however, had to be his eyes. They were a warm hazel brown flecked with bits of vivid green and seemingly endless in depth. He shuffled his feet nervously as McGonagall said, "This is Remus Lupin, and he was originally home tutored before Professor Dumbledore accepted him into Hogwarts. He has just been sorted privately â” the results are obvious. Please make him feel welcome."
She turned to address a small cluster of boys who were ignoring her and talking to each other in low tones. "Potter, Pettigrew, Black!" she barked. Two of the boys jumped while the tallest of the three swore in irritation. "No profanity, Mr. Black â” five points from Gryffindor." All the students groaned, grumbling about how Sirius was always costing them points. McGonagall waited for the room to quiet down again before continuing, "Remus will be sharing a room with the three of you." She looked at each of the boys sternly. "I trust you will take good care of him." Turning and stepping out of the portrait hole, she left Remus Lupin amongst the denizens of Gryffindor House.
Remus continued to stand in the same place Professor McGonagall had left him as the older students returned to what they were doing, uninterested in the new student. The first years, on the other hand, giggled and nudged each other when they walked by Remus, making him blush uncomfortably. Distracted, he didnât notice the three boys walking up to him.
"Looks like youâve got a rival, Sirius."
"I guess I do." There was an exaggerated sigh. Remus turned his attention to the trio, a confused expression on his face.
The middle one scratched his unruly black hair. "My nameâs James Potter."
"And mineâs Sirius Black," the tallest said lazily. "The little one here is Peter Pettigrew," he continued, pointing at the slight boy to his right.
"Iâm â”" Remus began.
"Remus Lupin," Sirius cut in, stifling a yawn. "We heard."
"Youâll have to forgive Sirius, Remus." James grinned apologetically. "Heâs not used to having competition."
"ComâŚpetition?"
"You catch almost as much attention as Sirius does with his ârebelliousâ attitude â” as the girls like to call it â” with your pretty boy looks and new student status," James explained, still grinning.
Remus looked at James doubtfully, deciding to ignore the flippant comment. "What about you then, James? It doesnât seem that girls are adverse to you." He nodded at a group of second years that were eyeing James intently and scribbling on a piece of paper.
"Oh, that? Itâs just because Iâm Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Sirius tolerates me, if only because he considers me his âfriendâ."
"Shut up," Sirius said, punching James lightly on the arm before asking Remus, "Do you want to see the room?"
"Sure."
"There are five beds to each room, and weâve had a space open since the first year. If youâre lucky, Jayson will be in there. He generally likes to keep moving around, but he likes his naps just as much," James explained, grinning wryly as they climbed the stairs toward the dormitories.
After passing various doors, they stopped at one three levels up. "Your things will have already been brought up, so you wonât need to worry about that," Sirius said softly.
"Why are we whispering?" Remus asked, his voice equally quiet.
Sirius grinned wickedly. "It wouldnât be nice to wake Jay if heâs in there." He opened the door silently and motioned towards a four-poster bed with a curtain pulled around it.
"You might want to stay back for this," James cautioned as Sirius began to pull back the curtains. "Jay doesnât mean to, but heâs rather dangerous when heâs asleep."
Sirius poked the curled sleeping figure tentatively. It muttered inarticulately and flung an arm at the offender halfheartedly before returning to sleep again. Satisfied with the response he got, Sirius proceeded to pull out his wand and point it at the napping lump.
"What is Sirius going to do?" Remus asked, giving James a sidelong glance.
James rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He might try cursing Jayson."
"What?"
"Donât worry. He wonât cast anything that canât be remedied by Madam Pomfrey, our schoolâs head nurse." When Remus continued to look uncertain James chuckled and said, "Just watch."
"S-Sirius does this all the time. Jaysonâs always beating him badly in d-duels." Peter fidgeted. Remus started; he had nearly forgotten Peter was standing behind them.
"Yeah, so Sirius will try to beat him in whatever way possible." James chuckled.
Remus frowned. "But what about you?"
"Me?" James sighed theatrically and winked. "Iâll only attack Jay when heâs in a coma â” itâs far safer. Sirius and I might be considered the cleverest of our year, but Jayson's the best at dueling out of all of us. When I duel with Sirius it usually comes out to a draw. The rest of the time we each win and lose enough to each other to keep us both humble."
Sirius cleared his throat pointedly.
"Keep alert, Remus," James advised.
Sirius muttered an incantation and an emerald needle shot out of his wand. It sped towards Jayson, but just before it reached him a fierce white fire flared, making the green light bounce in Jamesâ direction. The Quidditch player ducked almost lazily and pulled out his wand as the spell blasted a hole in the wall behind him.
Without even having to turn and look back, James pointed his wand at the hole and said, "Reparo," with well practiced ease. The wall restored itself, and Jayson continued to sleep.
Sirius began swearing loudly and yelled, "Jayson Riven! You and your accursed elven blood! Wake up, you cheater!"
Jayson made a small waving motion with his hand and answered blearily, "Not now, Sirius. Iâm sleeping. Go âway."
James cut in before Sirius had time to respond, "Weâve got a new roommate for you to meet, Jay."
In a flash, Jayson was up, and Remus found himself looking at a pair of clear blue eyes bright with unfettered excitement and curiosity.
"My name is Jayson Riven," he said, shaking Remusâ hand jovially. "And let me guess. Your name is Remus Lupin."
"Yes, thatâs right. Howâd you know?"
Jayson ran a gloved hand through his short, spiky blonde hair, "Your bags." He grinned and pointed at a bed with luggage piled unceremoniously on top of it.
"Donât be fooled by him, Remus. Riven here could beat you senseless and not break a sweat." Sirius glared at Jayson malevolently.
"Siriiiiuuuuuuus," Jayson whined, tugging on Siriusâ arm insistently and pouting pitifully, "you make meeee look like the bad guy! Why are you so mean to me? Siriiiuuus!"
Sirius, looking thoroughly irritated, tried to pry Jayson from his arm to no avail. "James, get this thing off of me," he groaned.
"Aw, but Sirius, I reckon itâs sweet," James smiled wickedly.
Remus was caught in between feeling deeply amused and utterly perplexed. Noticing this, Peter leaned sideways a bit and whispered, "I wouldnât worry too much, theyâre always like this... Fighting over one thing or another..."
James looked over his shoulder at Remus and commented in a louder tone, "Itâs like a cycle. Sirius complains about how Jayson wins duels because heâs part elf. Then he sets out an elaborate plan to attack Jayson when heâs asleep or when heâs still groggy in the morning. In the end, Jayson wins every time... Well, except for that time when Jayson was drunk..." James chuckled at the memory.
Remus had heard Sirius say something before, but wasnât quite sure about it until James mentioned it again. "Did you say Jayson was an elf?"
"Part elf, to be exact," Jayson said matter-of-factly. "My grandmotherâs an elfâ”"
"â”and one of the most gorgeous creatures in the world," Sirius added in solemnly.
Jayson laughed at the look of confusion on Remusâ face. "Not house elves, mind," Jayson soothed, correctly interpreting Remusâ expression. "Sheâs of the northern breed. They're tall, proud creatures and very different from house elves."
"But what does that have to do with you winning duels?"
"The northern elves have lived in conjunction with nature for a long time. For so long, in fact, that the ability to manipulate raw magic without some kind of channel or medium runs through their blood."
"Like wands or spells," Sirius elaborated.
Jayson nodded and grinned. "Luckily, I inherited the ability from my grandmother. It makes life a great deal easier." He winked. "But all this is a secret. Dumbledore figures that it wouldnât be a good idea for the rest of the school to know. Theyâd probably all avoid me or think I was some odd magical creature. See?" He pulled something out of a nearby trunk to show to Remus. "I even carry around a wand for when Iâm doing magic."
"Oh, I see. Iâll keep it a secret, I promise," Remus said seriously.
Jayson burst out laughing at the solemnity on Remusâ face. "Iâm not asking you to take it to the grave or anything! You donât have to look so somber."
"I know what it feels like⌠to have a secret," Remus murmured, thinking his silent lament would be swallowed in the din created by Jayson and Jamesâ mirth filled voices. Wrapped in his reverie, he didnât notice Sirius glance at him quizzically before returning his attention to the persistent blonde hanging on his arm.
---
That night, as Remus lay in bed, he considered the new people he had met. He was still adjusting to being around so many people. Before, he had been kept in the house at all times; his parents feared the contaminating beast that resided within Remus. Remus wasnât naĂŻve, not any more. He had heard about how Muggles and wizards treated creatures like giants, vampires, and lastly, werewolves. He had heard stories of how Muggles stoned, abused, and burned the unnatural. Wizards were no different. The same degree of fear and hate was still evident, just stifled by respect for the law.
When Remus was ten, he ran away from home, hoping against hope that not all people were truly as hateful as his parents said. The moment he reached a nearby town he told the first child he saw his secret. The child took the werewolf in hand, eager to show off his new playmate. He spoke bluntly and truthfully, as children are wont to do, and the childâs parents pushed the confused Remus into the dirt of the street and slammed their wooden door shut. When Remus returned the next day, parents in the street took their children by the hand and whispered amongst themselves as they threw nervous glances at Remus. A few of the older children found rocks and drove Remus from the town. By the end of the day, Remus was found back at the front of his house, crying and bleeding profusely.
Since that time, Remus had been content to simply stay at home and remain immersed in his books and studies. Then Dumbledore came. Remus never wondered why Dumbledore had come to him specifically and supposed he wouldnât ever know. But the man called Albus Dumbledore insisted on having Remus enroll at a school called Hogwarts. Remus only had two reservations: being away from his overprotective parents and being around people again. Dumbledore allowed Remus to think about it, giving Remus the time to consider.
For various reasons, Remus eventually decided to go, and that was how he ended up sleeping in the dark room with four people he barely knew. They were nice people, to be sure, but strangers nonetheless. Remus rested the back of his palm on his forehead and sighed.
First there was James Potter with his messy black hair and chocolate brown eyes. With his ready smile and perceptive comments, Remus found James to be the easiest to talk to at first. Remus assumed James had snared the attentions of many girls with a kind smile and a helping hand. Though it also seemed that he could be quite unreasonable when too caught up by Siriusâ fervent enthusiasm for life and excitement.
Then there was Peter Pettigrew, the nervous shadow. He was short and had waxy hair, beady eyes, and a nose that quivered constantly. Whenever anyone spoke to him he jumped. Even when simply standing, Peter would wring his hands and fidget uncomfortably. When joining a conversation he always stammered and looked for approval from his friends. Peter simply adored James and Sirius, always agreeing with or supporting them. Remus couldnât tell if Sirius and James were simply ignoring it or they had been with Peter for so long it was normal, but either way, Remus wasnât sure how he felt about Peter.
After Peter, there was also Jayson Riven, the boy that reminded Remus of a little puppy. Charismatic, care-free, and forever excited by some interesting thing or another were shining qualities in the blonde. Jayson had mentioned earlier that he spent time learning all sorts of martial arts and then proved it by flipping Sirius in one fluid movement. He beamed at Remus afterward, not because he was boasting, but because he seemed to genuinely enjoy making people laugh.
Lastly, there was Sirius, the tallest and undoubtedly the most handsome of the four. He kept his straight black hair at shoulder length, without any particular preference as to how to dress it. From stories, Remus learned of Siriusâ infamous temper which was hard to bring out, but even harder to keep in check after being released. Sirius was also by far the most unpredictable. He constantly came up with new half-brained ideas and pranks, and always managed to get into some sort of trouble.
Remus pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. Thinking he should probably get some sleep, he turned over and fell into a restless doze.
---
"What?" Jayson exclaimed. "But you just left last month⌠and the month before! Why are you leaving again already?"
Remus continued to pack his bags silently. When the four had woken up, they found Remus a shade paler than the night before and packing up a few of his belongings. Remus made a face. "Donât complain Jayson, itâll only be for about a week or so. I have to go visit my mother â” sheâs ill." Remus left abruptly before Jayson could say anything else. He remembered leaving one of his books in the common room the other night and thought it would probably be better to put it back in his trunk if he wasnât going to be around for the next week.
Once in the common room, Remus promptly ran into a third year Gryffindor girl he remembered vaguely from his Potions class. "Oh! Remus! Perfect. If you would just hold thisâŚ" She thrust a bag at Remus, who instinctively held it. "Do not look into that bag. But donât put it down either! JustâŚstayâŚrightâŚthere." She bolted out of the portrait hole. Remus held onto the bag dumbly, not sure what he ought to do.
Before he could decide anything, Sirius came down the dormitory stairs and dropped Remusâ things onto the floor. "You almost forgot to bring your things. I donât know what you were doing coming down here â”" Sirius stopped in mid-sentence to look curiously at the bag. "Whatâve you got there?"
"Sirius, donât look into the bag!" But Sirius had already gotten a glimpse of the contents.
"Fine, if youâre going to get so defensive about it, Iâll go back upstairs." He turned abruptly and walked up the stairs.
As Sirius went out of sight, the third year came rushing back into the common room. She took the bag from Remus. "Thanks!" Then she glared at him suspiciously. "You didnât look did you?"
"No, of course not!" Remus replied automatically, not daring to mention his encounter with Sirius.
"Good!" She grinned impishly than ran up into the girlsâ dormitories.
---
Sirius ran up the stairs and into their dorm room as soon as he was sure he was out of Remusâ line of sight. There, he quickly gathered the other three boys. "Have you ever thought there was something odd about Remus?"
"Like he was keeping something from us?" James suggested.
"Yeah, thatâs exactly what Iâm thinking about."
"You know something, donât you?" Jayson asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just saw Remus carrying a bag⌠of well⌠female productsâŚ"
"Like make-up?" Jayson whispered.
"No, not make-up. You knowâŚfemale productsâŚ" Sirius looked uncomfortable. "The kind they use monthly."
"What?"
"What?"
"OhâŚOHHHâŚ"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"What do you think it means?" Peter muttered.
Sirius sighed. "It can only mean one thing. It all adds up. Remus leaving once every month, the bag ofâŚstuffâŚ"
"Well?" Jayson urged, looking around at the other two for answers. Then he saw comprehension dawn on Jamesâ face and Sirius smiled smugly.
"Remus is a girl."
Â
Â
Peter gaped. "S-Sirius, youâreâŚ"
"âŚan idiot," James finished flatly.
Peter squeaked. "N-no! I didnât meanâŚ" he trailed off and muttered inarticulately, but Sirius wasnât listening anyway.
"I am not an idiot! Just look at the evidence! The bag of stuff, his gaggle of girl friends, and have you looked at his face? Heâs too damn pretty to be a guy!" Sirius protested.
"A girl, a girl, a girl in the dorm," Jayson chanted happily as he bounced up and down, clearly not paying any attention to the ongoing argument.
"Thatâs not solid evidence! Just because Remus is prettier than you are, it does not mean that heâs a girl!" James hissed.
Sirius rubbed his temples as Jaysonâs singing got louder. "I know heâs a girl, James. I know girls. If anyoneâs able to tell a guy from a girl, itâs me!"
"A girl, a girl, a girl, a girl, a girlâŚ"
"Jay! Would you just shut up for one minute?" Sirius snapped, swiping at the blonde.
Jayson danced out of reach easily. "A girl, a girl, a girl in the dorm!"
"Whatâs in the dorm, Jay?" Remus was standing in the doorway looking slightly puzzled. A lock of hair fell across his eyes and he brushed it aside with a small impatient movement.
Sirius gaped, his mouth opening and closing noiselessly. Peter jumped and looked at Remus askance, while James studied Remus intently. Jayson had frozen in the middle of his dance, one leg up as if he were running a marathon and his arms thrown in the air.
Remus glanced at each of them nervously. "What? Whatâs wrong? Did I miss something?" His eyebrows drew together, creating a striking effect on his thin face.
Sirius seemed to snap out of his stunned state. "No-nothing, Remus. Itâs nothing," he stuttered, pushing the other three out the dorm door past Remus and stumbling down the stairs.
Once in the common room, Sirius opened the Fat Ladyâs portrait and started walking backwards to face his friends. "Did you see that? How could you not think that Remusâs a girl after seeing that?" Sirius sputtered.
"For the last time, being pretty does not make Remus a girl," James said tiredly, repeating his previous statement, but looking distinctly less confident.
"Remus is so cute!" Jayson burbled happily. "We get to live with a cute girl!"
"Youâre not starting to believe the lunatic, are you?" James asked, exasperated.
"Jay believes that Remus is a girl and so does Peter! Donât you, Peter?" Sirius looked at the short boy expectantly.
"Er, SiriusâŚ" Peter stammered.
"Sirius! Turn around! Youâre going to run intoâ”"
Unfortunately, it was too late. Sirius stumbled backwards as he tripped on someoneâs foot, but a hand grabbed his elbow, supporting Sirius before he fell. "Iâm sorry," Sirius muttered, regaining his balance quickly.
"Just try to be a little more aware next time," a light male voice chided gently as Sirius turned to face the person he had tripped on.
Sirius found himself rendered speechless for the second time that day. A boy that looked only a couple years older stood smiling at Sirius quietly. His fine, waist-length hair spilled in a loose ponytail over one shoulder, and he had dark, lambent eyes. But it wasnât only the dark gold of his hair that made him unique, the fact that he seemed to exude innocence and purity made him feel completely ethereal and exotic.
"My nameâs JensenâŚ" The boy offered.
Sirius continued to gawk, and James kicked him lightly before answering, "His name is Sirius."
Sirius flushed and coughed as James introduced himself and the other two. Trying to find something else to focus his attention on, his eyes came to rest on a girl enveloped in a deep red cloak. Half of her face was covered so that only an amused smile could be seen beneath the cloakâs hood and her shoulders shook from suppressed laughter.
Seeing the direction of Siriusâ gaze, Jensen cleared his throat with a deceptively serene smile on his face. "This is Araqael; you could almost call her my sister. Donât be impolite, Araqael. Take down the hood of your cloak."
Sirius, who was done being shocked for the day, quickly looked away, anywhere but at the girl who had just pulled down her hood. Jayson and James hissed through their teeth and Peter whimpered. Because if Jensen had presence because of the rarity of his person, Araqael was distinct because of her startling beauty and the defiant strength etched in every line of her face and body. Her thick, dark hair curled in gentle waves around her face, and her eyes were a vivid blue.
Araqaelâs full lips curved into a smile and she stepped up to touch Jensenâs arm briefly. "We should get going. Weâll miss him if we donât." She nodded courteously at the small group of boys and walked through the still open portrait hole with Jensen following close behind.
Jayson looked around, blue eyes wide. "What⌠What was that?"
---
Jensen shook his head. "So they think heâs a girl, do they?" he mused.
"I can see why they think so," Araqael said agreeably.
"Should we say anything?"
"I see no reason to. Theyâll figure it out on their own eventually," a slow smile spread across her face.
---
Remus shrugged off the odd reactions of his friends. He had time to talk to them later, but now he had to finish a few things before he left to go home for the next few days. It was a bit of a hassle to travel all the way home every month, but so far it was the safest place for Remus to weather out his lupine change. Of course, staying on Hogwarts grounds was out of the question. It was too much of a liability to have a wild werewolf running around school campus and endangering the entire student population.
After a few moments of attending his trunk and making sure it was locked and spelled properly (Jayson could get into nearly anything if he focused long enough), Remus started out the door. Before he even crossed over the threshold he was stopped by the two temporarily apprenticed under Madame Pomfrey. Remus had only met Jensen and Araqael a handful of times, and each time they were polite and cordial, but they had never sought him out before.
"You wonât be needing anything except for your cloak," Jensen said as he handed the younger boy the things Sirius had brought down to the common room for Remus earlier. "Weâve found a place you can stay."
"And a way to get you there," Araqael added.
After Remus locked away his belongings, the three walked out onto the Hogwarts grounds and towards a large tree with a tangle of menacing branches. As they drew closer, the tree began to thrash out at them violently. Jensen and Araqael stopped just short of the trees reach and turned to Remus.
"This is a Whomping Willow," Araqael explained. "Itâs guarding a passageway that runs from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. The passage leads to a decrepit, boarded up house where you will be staying for the next few days. Itâs a well known haunted house so the townspeople give it a wide berth. Dumbledoreâs persuaded the residential ghost to move out for us. Youâll have the whole place to yourself. The conditions arenât ideal, but itâs safe, and itâs close to Hogwarts."
"How do you get pass the flailing branches?" Remus asked dubiously. He was not looking forward to being impaled by tree branches.
"See that knot over there?" Jensen pointed. "All you have to do is press it and the tree will freeze. Take out your wand and see if you can get it."
Remus pulled out his wand and sent a spray of sparks flying at the knot. The first attempt ended in failure when the tree batted at the sparks waspishly, causing them to dissipate. The second try was successful and the tree froze.
Jensen smiled. "Thatâs all you have to do. Now, before you leave, do you have anything you need to ask us? Are you settling in alright with your friends?"
Remus shifted from one foot to another, looking uncomfortable. "They do think that Iâm weird for leaving every month, but I donât think they suspect anything" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "They have been acting a little weird today though, now that I think about it."
Araqael hid a grin as Jensen prompted, "So youâre doing fine then?"
"Well, there is another thing." Remus looked slightly embarrassed. "Thereâs no one I can talk to. I have this huge secret that I canât even tell my roommates, and I feel⌠I feel as if I might explode if I canât talk to someone who knows about it more oftenâŚ" Remus blushed. "Does that sound weird? Iâm sorry, Iâm just being silly."
"Iâd say that you could talk to us whenever you likeâŚ" Jensen began.
"But weâre never around," Araqael finished. "There is⌠there is Myrtle, or Moaning Myrtle, as some of the school likes to call her. The Ministry of Magic just got her to come back to Hogwarts, and sheâs been sulking ever since. She says thereâs no one for her to talk to. Now, if I ask her to keep your secret she will, so thatâs always an option. Itâs not a great one, but itâs an option nonetheless."
"Where would I find her if I wanted to talk to her?" Remus asked, curious despite his misgivings.
"The girlâs bathroom on the first floor," Araqael said as Jensen turned a startled laugh into a cough.
"What do you mean?"
"Moaning Myrtleâs a ghost."
---
Remus walked into the Great Hall a couple days afterwards, feeling wane and exhausted. Spotting his friends sitting in their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, he made his way towards them. Sirius was whispering heatedly to James, Jayson, and Peter and making animated gestures, but as Remus came within earshot of them, they grew quiet instantly and stared at him.
"Er, helloâŚ" Remus finally greeted them after an awkward silence.
Sirius regained his composure and asked, "So howâs your mother, Remus?"
Remus looked away and coughed. "Sheâs doing⌠better. Thanks for asking."
There was another period of uncomfortable silence.
"Oh, Remus! You wonât believe the pair we met right before you left!" Jayson burst out suddenly, apparently unable to stand the absence of noise and chatter.
"T-thatâs right. They wereâŚ" Peter trailed off, at a loss for words.
"Stunning," James supplied.
"Are you talking about Araqael and Jensen?" Remus asked, startled. When he saw the looks on his friendsâ faces he kicked himself mentally.
Sirius looked at Remus suspiciously. "How do you know them?"
"I⌠IâŚ" Remus stammered, thinking fast. Luckily, Jayson unconsciously came to Remusâ rescue with his usual flow of chatter.
"Now we know lots of pretty girls! We know my grandma, we know Araqael, and we know Reâ”"
At that moment, three things happened simultaneously. Sirius, who was sitting in front of Jayson, stuffed a large piece of toast into Jaysonâs mouth. James pulled out his wand, pointed it at Jay, yelling, "Stupefy!" and managed to stun Peter instead since Sirius unwittingly pushed Jayson out of the harmâs way when he shoved the toast in the blondeâs mouth. This, however, caused the spell to hit the unfortunate Peter, who was sitting on Jaysonâs other side.
Jayson hacked and coughed. "What are you trying to do, Sirius?!"
"Youâre too thin, you need to eat more."
"You almost made me choke to death!"
"That was the idea," Sirius muttered darkly, but Jayson had already turned his attention to James.
"And you, James! What are you trying to stun me for?"
"There was a bug," James answered lamely, trying to revive the stunned Peter.
Jayson frowned. "Thatâs not⌠Ah!" Jayson jumped up onto his chair, pointing an accusatory finger. "I know what it is! It was a sneak attack! An ambush! Thatâs a new low, especially for you James!"
James held out his hands in an attempt to help Jayson get off his chair. "Jay, now calm down. No oneâs trying to ambush you," he soothed. âBreakfast is almost over. Why donât we just forget the whole thing and just finish eating,â he continued placatingly. It didnât seem that Jayson needed more convincing though, because he only had to look at James thoughtfully for a moment before he decided to sit back down in his chair and continue eating as if nothing happened.
"Youâre forgiven," Jayson said cheerfully through mouthfuls of food.
"What was all that about?" Remus demanded as James checked to see if any of the teachers had noticed the disruption.
James shrugged. "It wouldâve been bad for Jay to get mad in the Great Hall. I still remember the last time he got angry. He called down a huge thunderbolt that near brought down the roof. Everyone thought it was just some kind of freak storm, but itâs probably better if it doesnât happen again."
"Not that. You know what I mean. What was with the stunning and the toast?"
James mumbled something and before Remus could press him further, the bell rang.
"Well then!" James said, clapping his hands together. "Itâs time for class now! No time to talk, Remus, we donât want to be late for Potions." He placed his hands firmly on Remusâ shoulders and steered the smaller boy out of the Great Hall, Peter, Sirius, and Jayson trailing after them. Sirius and James chattered loudly over Remusâ head, ignoring his questions.
"Iâve got to go to the bathroom," Remus declared suddenly, looking slightly harassed.
James raised an eyebrow, but let Remus go, nodding. "Alright, weâll see you in Potions then."
It wasnât until Remus was out of sight that Sirius exclaimed, "Wait a minute! Thatâs not the way to the guyâs bathroom! Thatâs the corridor for the girlâs bathroom!" They all looked at each other briefly before dashing after Remus.
They skidded to a halt as they neared the girlâs bathroom and watched, hiding behind a pillar, as Remus looked around carefully before opening the door.
"Ah HA!" Sirius yelled triumphantly.
Jayson looked like he was highly enjoying himself. "Dumdumdum, the plot thickens!"
"But nobody uses that bathroom," Peter protested. "Not even the girls do if they can help it."
"Exactly," James murmured, "because no one uses it... Itâs perfect."
"So, question is, what do we do with this information now that weâve practically proved it?" Sirius asked, rubbing his hands together.
---
Remus stalked off. It was bad enough when his friends had all stopped talking as he got to the table, but then there was the whole toast and stunning incident. Was it possible that his friends had finally found out? What if they didnât want to be friends anymore? But whatever the case, the events of the morning had convinced Remus that he needed to talk to someone, anyone really, even if that person happened to be a socially disordered, whiny ghost.
Once he got to the right bathroom, he scanned the area quickly â” he wouldnât hear the end of it if he was caught going into the girlâs bathroom. He slipped in once he was sure that no one was around to witness him entering and walked towards the stalls. "Myrtle?" he called out tentatively.
"Whoâs there?" a distraught voice wailed.
"Iâm Remus. Araqael said I could talk to you?"
"Oh! So youâre Remus!" the voice sounded considerably happier and a female ghost slid through the closed stall door. She moved closer to him, pushing up the rim of her glasses. "We get to talk then, donât we?" she squealed delightedly.
"Yes. Well, this is whatâs going on..."
---
Remus felt better than he had in months. Despite the fact that Myrtle was a ghost, she was a pretty good listener if he could keep her off her own woes. He finally had someone he was able to talk to, and he went to talk to Myrtle at least three times a week, finding that the ghost was good company and often knew about certain affairs inside of Hogwarts that other people did not, such as hidden passages and so forth.
As Remus reached Myrtleâs bathroom, he glanced around quickly and slid through the door. "Myrtle, youâll never guess what Sirius and James are trying to pull off this time!"
"What?" Myrtleâs favorite stories were the ones about Sirius and Jamesâ antics.
"Swear not to tell!"
"I know, I know. We go through this every time. I wonât tell anyone."
"Theyâve decided to work on an Animagus potion, but only enough for them and me."
"But you donât need that potion. It might not even work too, since youâre a werewolf. And what about Peter and Jayson?"
"I know I donât need the potion, but I didnât have the heart to let them down, and itâd be weird if I just told them I couldnât be an Animagi. As for Jayson and Peter, they figure Jaysonâs got enough abilities as it is, and they donât trust that Peter wonât tell a professor. So I was thinking that I could let them down gently by cushioning their disappointment with something else."
"Like what?"
"Iâll need your help, but I think I can get it to work," Remus said, grinning broadly. "I need you to find me all the passageways in the palace. Every single one made and especially the ones leading to Hogsmeade."
"Alright, I can try. But what are you intending to do? Make a map?" Myrtle asked curiously.
"Exactly. Or rather, more precisely, something that Iâm going to call the Marauderâs Map."
---
"Have you noticed that Remus has been sneaking off a lot lately?" Sirius asked during a rare moment of studious silence.
"Yeah, I wonder what he...er...sheâs...up to," James replied, not looking up from his Transfiguration book.
"Oh, I know! I know!" Jayson raised his hand enthusiastically as if he were in class.
"What, Jay?" Sirius rubbed his face tiredly, this potion was going to take a little longer to figure out than he had expected.
"Well, Sirius was acting like this a month or two ago, remember? He was all secretive and sneaky and stuff."
James looked up, "Oh yeah. What was that about? I almost forgot about it with the whole Remus mystery going on."
"Yeah! That was when he was going out with Lily Eâ”"
Sirius got up suddenly, elbowing Jayson hard in the process. "Thatâs it! Thatâs whatâs been going on!"
Jamesâ eyes narrowed. "Lily...who, Sirius?"
Sirius shook his head adamantly, "Thatâs not important now! I think Jayâs actually on to something! Remusâ got a boyfriend!"