Disclaimer: I'm J.K. Rowling *notices the lawyers edging slowly towards her*. Okay... I lied, but shame on you if you believed that- if I was JKR do you think I'd be here writing fanfics? I'd be writing book 7!
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“Alright, everyone, pay attention,” came Professor Curunir’s crisp, no-nonsense voice. “I understand that you have already covered boggarts in your third year, but I have reason to believe that they will come up in your exams.”
“‘Reason to believe’,” a voice muttered audibly. “You make the exams up.”
Professor Curunir glared at the speaker. “James Potter.”
A handsome, sixteen-year-old boy, with hazel eyes and untidy, raven-black hair, adjusted his glasses and mustered a mask of false innocence. “Yes, Professor?” he asked innocently.
“Five points from Gryffindor for being a distraction in class.” James nodded. The boy next to him snickered; James smacked him lightly on the back of the head. “Shut up, Sirius!” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
The young, haughty-looking boy, the heartthrob of the female population of Hogwarts, straightened slightly at the sound of his name. His long, black hair fell elegantly over his grey eyes. He swiped it away impatiently; somewhere in the back of the room, a girl sighed in wistful longing, and was quickly silenced by her friends.
Satisfied that the commotion was over, she turned back to the rest of the class. “Now that the,” her nostrils flared, “disturbance is over, we can get back to business. Now,” she said, clapping her hands. “Boggarts. Who can tell me what a boggart is?”
Two hands shot instantly into the air, closely followed by the rest of the class- except for one. The owner of that absent hand, a boy named Peter Pettigrew, squeaked in fear as Professor Curunir pointed at him. “Pettigrew.”
He swallowed, his watery brown eyes darting back and forth, as if he was searching for a way out. He flattened his light brown hair and said, “I don’t know, Professor.”
“Tut, tut, Mr. Pettigrew, you should study your lessons a little more carefully. Ah, yes, Mr. Lupin.”
Remus Lupin, the owner of one of the original hands up, lowered his hand and said, “A boggart is a shape-shifter, one who takes the shape of whatever you fear most.” He shuddered, thinking of the one thing that scared him the most: the full moon. Remus John Lupin was a werewolf, bitten at a young age. Based on his appearance, however, nobody ever would have guessed about his ‘furry little problem’, as James Potter, one of his best friends, so fondly called it. Remus had sandy brown hair that was badly in need of a haircut, as it was always hanging into his brownish-green eyes, and he was constantly shaking it out in order to see.
“That is correct, Mr. Lupin. 5 points to Gryffindor. Now, who can tell me what really finishes off a boggart, and the incantation? Ah, yes, of course. Miss Evans.”
James straightened in his chair slightly when her name was called. She, Lily Evans, had captured his heart. However, Lily wanted nothing to do with him.
Lily had long, fiery red hair and startlingly emerald green eyes. She was on the short side, but she had such an aura of life and strength around her that that hardly mattered. She was known for her incredible temper, which was mostly aimed at James, and nobody ever wanted to get on her bad side. Lily was one of the brightest witches at Hogwarts. Lily was Muggle-born; she proved to everyone that Muggle-borns are as good as purebloods.
“A boggart is mostly defeated by laughter. That is one thing you should keep in mind while saying the incantation, which is ‘Riddikulus’. This incantation will change the thing you fear most into something humorous. Also, it is advised to take on a boggart with a large group, like this class, as that will confuse it. Should it become, say, a snake with two heads, or a rabid dog?” Several people in the class whimpered; everyone else laughed, albeit slightly nervously.
“Very good, Miss Evans, 10 points to Gryffindor. Now,” Professor Curunir said briskly, “I have managed to procure a boggart for us today. Now, everybody line up, starting with Mr. Pettigrew here, as he was unable to answer my previous question.”
Peter squeaked and turned white, then scurried to the front, closely followed by the rest of the class. He was at the front of the line, followed by Lily, then (of course) James, Sirius, and Remus. Sirius looked haughty, as usual; Remus looked nervous and mildly interested. James looked excited, mostly because he was close to Lily, and he wanted to know what he was afraid of, and what humorous image it would turn into.
Professor Curunir walked towards the front, carrying a very heavy leather suitcase. Always the gentleman, Sirius hurried over to help.
“Thank you, Black. 5 points to Gryffindor. Now, Mr. Pettigrew, step forward.”
Peter complied, looking terrified. Sirius got back in line. “Show-off,” muttered James good-naturedly. “You just want to get on her good side so your next detention will be shortened.” Sirius smiled wickedly, and then let loose a short, bark-like laugh.
“You caught me,” he laughed. “Although next time, it might come in handy. You know how bad her detentions are, right? I’m gonna leave you behind next time. I’m gonna leave you all alone,” he taunted. “Poor Jamesie-poo, all alone in detention.”
“I’m a big boy, I can handle it,” said James. “Anyway, if you pull this off like you want to, and manage to make ol’ Curunir forget about your detention, I’ll be one up on you.” Sirius’ huge grin turned into a scowl. They had an ongoing competition as to who could snag the most detentions before graduation.
Sirius grinned again. “What are we up to now, 416 each?” he asked.
“More like 418, going on 419,” James said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Remus shook his head, laughing at his nutty friends. James turned serious. “But I’m serious, guys-“
“No, I'm Sirius!” Sirius said loudly. People turned to stare.
James and Remus groaned. “Sirius, that serious-Sirius joke was old in first year. Now, in 6th, it’s as old as dirt,” complained James. “Anyway, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted-” he glared at Sirius, who looked down shamefacedly. “We should give Peter some emotional support.” Remus nodded. Sirius, instead of acknowledging James, simply looked towards the front and yelled, “Yeah, Peter!”
Peter flushed, and advanced on the suitcase that Professor Curunir was now opening.
Instantly, a hissing, spitting cat the size of a small car emerged from the suitcase. Peter squeaked; behind him, Remus and James were restraining a growling Sirius. They were both laughing- because they knew why Sirius was acting like this, and because they knew why Peter was afraid of cats. Over their laughs, he managed to say, “Riddikulus!”
The cat shrunk in size, its yowls getting steadily more high-pitched as it shrunk. Finally, it ended up the size of a matchbox, and its cries were inaudible (although Sirius kept wincing); Peter quickly ran to the back of the line, listening to the cat-calls [yes, pun intended] of his fellow Marauders.
Yes, that is what those four boys called themselves. Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were like brothers inseparable from the start. Although Peter was constantly overshadowed by the other three, he didn’t mind. He worshipped them.
Last year, they had finally fulfilled the ultimate plan- three of them became Animagi, wizards who could change into an animal form at will, each person’s form decided by inner qualities. Sirius became a large, shaggy black dog; James became a magnificent stag; Peter became a rat. Where’s Remus, you might say? Remus was already a werewolf. That was the reason they became Animagi- to keep Remus company during his painful transformations on the full moon, and to make sure he didn’t hurt himself too badly. Werewolf bites and scratches do not affect animals, only humans, so they were safe. They all had nicknames based on their animals: Remus was Moony; Sirius was Padfoot; James was Prongs; Peter was Wormtail. Together they roamed the school grounds, frolicking and exploring.
Lily moved forward. Immediately, the matchbox-sized cat turned into a house-sized Black Widow spider. Behind her, Sirius stopped wincing.
She raised her wand. “Riddikulus!” she cried out.
The spider started flailing, trying to keep its balance as roller skates appeared on its feet. Finally, it fell with a crash; Lily dodged out of the way, white-faced. James stepped forward.
Although Lily was curious about what James Potter, arrogant jerk #1 of the century, was afraid of, she wasn’t about to admit it. So, even though she heard giggles and snickers, and Sirius Black’s voice saying, “Ooh, James, I don’t think she’s gonna be too happy,” she didn’t turn around. At least, not until she got to the end of the line. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, slowly turned around while counting to five, and opened her eyes.
And saw herself, lying spread-eagled out on the ground, dead. A line of blood was trickling down her face from a wound on her temple.
Once again, she squeezed her eyes shut, counting to ten this time, wishing what she was seeing would prove false. She opened her eyes.
Her body was still there.
Lily turned crimson with rage. “James Potter!” she yelled. “Stop that right now!”
James’ head turned in her direction, bespectacled hazel eyes blazing with fear. He was white and shaking uncontrollably. “I- I can’t,” was what came out of his mouth. His voice was also trembling. He looked as if he was about to faint.
Lily saw red. “JAMES BLOODY POTTER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN’T?!” she bellowed. “JUST SAY THE BLOODY INCANTATION AND GET RID OF IT! OR ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO EMBARRASS ME?”
James looked alarmed at the prospect. “N-no, Lily, I would never do that…… I just ca-can’t!”
Lily glared at him.
“Alright,” said James, shakily turning back to his boggart. He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “Riddikulus!” he cried feebly. Her body gave a feeble sort of twitch.
Sirius, filled with pity for his friend, ran forward, gently pushed James out of the way, and advanced on the boggart.
The boggart immediately changed into a bright yellow fire hydrant, complete with large, shark-like teeth, bloodshot eyes, and a very deep growl.
Sirius whimpered.
The fire hydrant glanced at him, and then slowly advanced. Sirius moved away; he and the fire hydrant began circling each other. Sirius stumbled, and the fire hydrant took its chance. It closed in on Sirius, teeth snapping. Sirius began to run in circles, being followed by his mutant fear. While he ran, he was screaming bloody murder. However, over his shoulder he managed to say, “Riddikulus!”
The fire hydrant swelled to twice its size, and then exploded, spewing water everywhere. Once the water settled, they saw a very wet Sirius standing in front of a smoldering pile of yellow wreckage.
Sirius shook himself out like a dog, and then grabbed the still-white James by the arm. They walked back to the end of the line amid bursts of raucous laughter from the rest of the class, led by Remus and Peter. James was smiling weakly, but was still dangerously white.
When they go to the end of the line, where a seething Lily was waiting, Sirius asked, “Are you alright, mate?”
James nodded, but Sirius knew that this meant, ‘I need a little time to recover.’
Lily started in on him. “You stuck-up berk!” You just-”
“Cool it, Evans,” said Sirius, interrupting her tirade. “Can’t you see he’s still shaken up? So just back off and save it for later.”
“But-” Lily started again, but she was cut off.
“Can it, Evans, if you know what’s good for you,” Sirius interrupted angrily. He shoved his face in front of hers. “Now, you just leave James alone for a while. I think that he just needs some space right now. So just shut your mouth and let’s watch Remus and the rest of the class.” Sirius then whirled around to watch Remus, leaving Lily openmouthed in shock.
Lily closed her mouth, thinking. Of course she would save it for later! How nice of Black to recommend it to her! She, too, focused her attention up front where Remus was battling the boggart. Remus was the only Marauder that Lily got along with; she had prefect duties with him. Sirius was too arrogant, James was a prat, and Peter was just…… weird.
But Lily was puzzled. What was this thing that Remus was standing in front of? It looked like a silvery orb. Was Remus afraid of crystal balls? Or was it something else?
Remus, looking nervous, said, “Riddikulus!”
The silvery orb (‘Crystal ball?’ wondered Lily) turned into a white balloon, which deflated while making loud raspberries. Remus then turned and walked back to the end of the line. Nobody was laughing, because everyone (except the Marauders) was confused about what Remus was afraid of. Still nervous-looking, Remus reached the end of the line. Misinterpreting his tense look, Lily reached over and patted his shoulder, saying, “You did fine, Remus. There’s no need to be nervous now, it’s gone.” Remus nodded but didn’t relax. Lily retracted her hand.
However, James and Sirius correctly interpreted Remus’ anxiety. James leaned in close and whispered into his ear, “Don’t worry so much. Nobody who doesn’t already know will ever figure it out. Nobody else is smart enough. So stop worrying! They probably think that you’re scared of crystal balls or something strange like that, so you’re pretty lucky that you decided not to take Divination this year, even though you got an Acceptable O.W.L.”
That brought a smile to Remus’ face. But then he looked at James, worried. “How about you? Are you alright?” he asked, concerned.
James rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mother,” drawled James. Remus, the most responsible of the group, was often called that by the other three. James ducked the playful swipe aimed at him with an air of practice, both of them laughing. Then he gripped Remus in a brotherly, one-armed hug. “Stop worrying,” James said. Lily watched all of this, fascinated.
Sirius pushed between them, whining, “What about me?” James laughed, then did the same for Sirius, only this time he said, “Back off, bozo,” and then made the most cruel move possible on him (at least in Sirius’ opinion): he messed up his hair.
“Hey!” cried Sirius. “No fair!” Both James and Remus were laughing hysterically. Lily, unable to help herself, smiled. Sirius stopped fixing his hair and stared, mouth agape. James and Remus stopped laughing and stared at him, mostly because he, Sirius Black, had stopped fixing his hair. Normally he freaked out if one hair was out of place.
Remus was the first to look at what Sirius was staring at; his jaw dropped too. He poked James, rather hard, in the stomach.
“What?” James scowled, rubbing the spot where Remus had poked him. Remus pointed. “What’s so special about-” He too stopped, open-mouthed in shock.
“What?” asked Lily. When they didn’t answer, she repeated, “What, did someone turn my nose purple? Do I have a sudden case of dragon pox? What?”
“You’re smiling at a joke that James made. James Potter. You’re smiling. At his joke,” said Peter helpfully from behind her.
“You never smile at James’ jokes. Wow. I’m both hurt and amused,” said Sirius.
“Why’re you hurt?” asked James, smirking. “Is it because she’s smiling at a joke that was on you?”
“Actually, no, but now that you mention it, I’m double hurt.” He looked at Lily. “How come you never smile at my jokes?” he whined.
“Because they’re stupid, and they hurt people,” Lily stated simply.
“But that joke was stupid, and it hurt me!” cried Sirius.
Lily arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really,” she said skeptically.
“Yes, really!” exclaimed Sirius.
“Yes, I guess it must have hurt your enormous pride, and it did not cause you physical discomfort, did it, Black? Because if it did, I shall have to take points from my own house, and I don’t want to do that, and you don’t want to make me do something that I don’t want to do, do you?” Lily said forcefully.
“Well, no, it didn’t cause me- er… what was that word you used?”
“Physical.”
“Er, right… um, fissical discomfit, or whatever.”
“Physical discomfort, Sirius,” Remus sighed.
“Right-o, mate. But it still hurt me,” Sirius explained.
“But notice you didn’t say ‘ow’, you just said ‘Hey! Not fair!’, so obviously it did not hurt, and it was simply a harmless prank, so stop complaining, Black,” countered Lily. Sirius pouted.
“Are you defending me, Evans?” asked James hopefully.
“Yes, I do believe I am,” she replied with a small smile. “But don’t-”
“I knew I would win you over eventually!” exclaimed James, looking ecstatic and refraining, just barely, from skipping.
Lily’s smile disappeared.
Sirius stopped pouting. He casually sauntered over to stand behind James, then smacked him upside the head.
“Ow! What was that for?!” asked James. Then he saw Lily’s thunderous expression, and flinched. “Oh, bugger,” he muttered.
“First of all-” started Lily, but she was cut off by the bell.
“Saved by the bell,” muttered all the Marauders in unison. Lily just glared.
“Homework!” cried Professor Curunir. “Write an essay, half a foot, on boggarts and how to handle them, due next class.” Everybody groaned, and then moved towards the door, anxious to get out of this torture chamber and get to lunch.
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A/N: Can anyone spot the ways Sirius is like a dog, even when he's not transformed? I'm gonna tell you right now, there are five ways that I can see, and a few of them are very subtle. First one to list them all gets cookies!
Gone Too Far by maraudermaniac42
Chapter Notes: This is basically the mood-setter for the story. It will get better later... I promise! Please R&R... constructive criticism please, this is my first fic!