Remus pinned his prefect badge neatly on his robes.
Imagine, Hogwarts’ first werewolf, a prefect.
Four years of watching other prefects - of watching prefects taking points off of James and Sirius- and Remus didn’t feel he fit the prefect mold. All the prefects before him had appeared self-assured and driven by their new power.
He stared at himself in the mirror a few more moments, unpinning the badge again to place it a bit higher on the front of his robes, before leaving the bathroom and entering back into the dorm.
Sirius and James were chatting on Sirius’s bed, open textbooks long forgotten. Peter was hurriedly copying Remus’s notes from Care of Magical Creatures; Peter had spilled pumpkin juice on his own notes, and the ink had run to the extent that the words were now unreadable. None of these behaviors were out of the ordinary except for the unsubtle way James, Sirius and Peter kept stealing glances at the clock. Remus had the impression his friends were anxiously waiting for his departure from the dorm.
Remus strolled over to his bed and rummaged around in his bag to retrieve his patrolling sheets. “I best go meet Evans and the other prefects in the common room,” he announced.
“Bye.”
“Have fun.”
“Later, mate.”
Yes, there was a distinct urgency to their speech, but Remus had other pressing matters than to worry about that. All the other Gryffindors were already present as he descended the stairs.
Gideon Prewett and Elizabeth Gregory were the seventh year prefects. Gideon’s younger brother, Fabian, was a Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Claire Haddon and Luke Weller were the sixth years. Besides Gideon Prewett and Lily Evans, Remus knew nothing about the other prefects. Especially considering the friends he had, they generally avoided friendship with the prefect types.
Tonight was the first official prefect meeting and they had agreed to walk to it together. According to the information packet Remus had received over the summer, the meetings would fall once every two weeks. The senior prefects had already warned Remus and Lily the meetings tended to be stiflingly boring and for the most part did little to aide the prefects.
Remus, though, had different reasons for not looking forward to the meeting. The identity of the perpetrators of the hex preformed on Mary McDonald was bothering him. He knew James and Sirius were responsible, though he hadn’t seen them do the actual spell, only days before he’d heard them speaking of it. As a prefect he knew it was his duty to turn them in, but as a close friend the choice was not so simple.
It was always this behavior “ student hexing “ that Remus felt most uncomfortable with concerning his friends. The pranks tended to be less student-specific, so those did not bother him as much.
Remus had been a well-behaved, obedient child before Hogwarts. He’d been careful to control himself when he could, because once a month he was unable to. Since receiving the werewolf bite, he had tried to attract as little attention as possible to himself, a value instilled in him by his parents.
Then, knowing all the hurdles Dumbledore had overcome so a werewolf could safely attend Hogwarts, Remus had decided he wouldn’t cause an ounce of trouble. That was before he’d met James, Sirius, and Peter. His friends had pestered him the first year to join in on a prank or at the least break a school rule; any rule, they weren’t picky. He’d given in eventually and though he didn’t exactly have a penchant for mischief making, Remus had enjoyed the prank process. He supposed it was because of the camaraderie; the four of them, heads huddled, butterbeer or hot cocoa in their hands; they’d bounce ideas off each other for hours.
It quickly became apparent that Remus was good at the logistics of a prank. As Sirius had said, Remus ‘grounded’ the group. Even days later, Sirius’s statement still made him smile. It had always struck Remus how Sirius could be so thoughtless and careless with his words and then a second later say something profound and touching. He was part of the Marauders for better or worse and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Gryffindor prefects were now walking through the corridors to the meeting room on the second floor.
“I heard Joanne Finn wanted our meetings on Friday nights, but Jacob Long overruled her,” Claire Haddon gossiped.
“Why would she do that?” Lily asked. “Finn’s Friday nights would be ruined just like the rest of us.”
“Finn wants to show off her new power as Head Girl. Show us lesser beings that she controls our lives,” Gideon explained. “We all need to be on guard. If she can place every Gryffindor prefect on probation, she will.”
Remus sighed, adding this to the list of other things he needed to remember about being a prefect. Rounds assigned four times a week, and one falling on a Friday or Saturday night. As fifth year prefects they also had to be available at select times during the week for Gryffindor first years for help with homework and homesickness, and to teach them the rules and the most direct routes to different areas of the castle.
The Gryffindors filed into the meeting room silently. Two-seat tables had been arranged in four distinct sections. The other prefects that already had arrived had seated themselves by House. Gideon, who was currently dating a Hufflepuff prefect, did not heed the seating, choosing to sit among the Hufflepuffs. Remus followed the Gryffindors and was pleased when Lily took the seat beside him.
“Prewett, seat yourself with your housemates,” Joanne Finn, the Head Girl, commanded.
“Why? Is this some new rule?” Gideon responded.
Finn regarded him coolly. She and the Head Boy, Jacob Long, were sitting on throne-like chairs very different from the simple wooden chairs the rest of them were on.
“Yes, it is,” Long spoke. “Finn and I have decided that in order to keep better track of attendance, everyone will be seated by house.”
Gideon looking sour, joined the Gryffindors, and Lily, indignant on Gideon’s behalf, whispered to Remus, “How are we, as prefects, supposed to unite the student body if we can’t even sit with other houses?”
Remus, unsure of the correct reply, made a noncommittal sound. He didn’t know there was any sort of movement going on to unite everyone. If such a thing were to happen, Lily would be the perfect example. She, after all, was friendly with Severus Snape; a boy disliked by a large percent of the student population and, in Remus’s opinion, a boy that embodied every one of the characteristics of a true Slytherin. James and Sirius had a longstanding rivalry with Snape, and by default so did Peter and Remus.
As Long started the prefect meeting, Remus didn’t find him as disagreeable as he thought he would. The consensus had been that he would let Finn walk over him, but so far he’d held his own.
The Heads finished their introduction, and the reports from that weeks patrolling and other student misconduct write-ups were collected. Then each prefect introduced themselves (year, where they were from, favorite class). After that, they were instructed by next weeks meeting to create, using both magical and non-magical means, a way to display the monthly birthdays of each house member. The House with the best idea would be rewarded with a day off from patrolling (excluding Friday or Saturday nights).
Next, there was a time allocated for prefects who wished to speak about a concern, suggestion, complaint or idea. No prefect at the moment had anything to say, but a few of the new prefects used the time to receive clarification of certain duties. Finn passed out a list of the most popular banned items on Filch’s list based on what the prefects had confiscated from last year. The entire list, which all prefects were strongly suggested to view, could be found in Filch’s office.
The meeting was coming to a close and Remus was ready to leave when Finn cleared her throat.
“Wait.” Her voice was low, deadly. “Where is Remus Lupin?”
Remus shrank in his seat. His stomach dropped, alarms ringing in his head.
“Here,” Remus stated tentatively, bringing everyone’s attention to him, Finn’s eyes locked on him and he was reminded of a cobra that had just spotted her lunch.
“Are you close friends with James Potter and Sirius Black?”
“Yes, I am,” Remus said softly. His face felt hot and he was sure he was as red as a tomato. He never liked being the center of attention; he never actively sought it like James, and it did not actively seek him like it did Sirius.
“You share a dormitory with them?”
“I do.”
“I find it interesting that in your last report and in the one from the week before, you have not once written-up either of your friends, Black and Potter.”
“No, I haven’t, but only because-” he paused a moment, figuring out a way to explain. “Because they haven’t broken any rules, at least not in front of me.” It was the truth, even though he still had guilty thoughts about Mary McDonald.
“Not one? I find that difficult to believe. Sirius Black received a detention the first night back from Professor Keenan.”
“Finn, we aren’t allowed to disclose other student’s records,” Elizabeth Gregory said.
Finn ignored Gregory. “I hope, Lupin, you are taking your duties seriously.”
“I am,” Remus stated quietly.
“And you do understand your duty to keep the school in order comes before any pacts of friendship.”
Such as the Marauders? Remus thought wryly to himself. He nodded, wishing the floor would swallow him up.
“Back when my grandfather and father were at Hogwarts, prefects were respected and revered,” Finn said.
“You have to understand, Lupin,” Long interrupted with a smile as if to assure Remus they were on the same side, “your friends have continually thwarted what we have attempted to establish with the prefect system. Potter and Black regularly ignore school rules. They’ve been consistently rude to any prefect that catches them in the act. They don’t appear to care about getting in trouble. The prefect system was setup in a way to have students govern students. If, by example of your friends, students feel they can question prefects, we cannot do our job properly. The rules have been put in place for everyone’s safety. If Potter and Black could be reined in, even a little, it would benefit everyone. We need your help, Lupin. Who better to do that “ who better to show Black and Potter the error of their ways, than you, Lupin, a close friend.”
Remus cast his eyes downward, his guilt only aggravated by Long’s speech. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Oh, you better,” Finn hissed.
“Now that we have that taken care of,” Long began. Some of the prefects laughed. “The meeting is adjourned. We’ll be serving cookies and juice for those who wish to stay.”
Though the spotlight was off him, Remus couldn’t wait to leave the room. He was in no mood to stay for socialization. A terrible thought had occurred to him; the only reason he’d been appointed prefect was to exercise control over James and Sirius. The school needed some way to take care of the problem, and he’d been selected. Not because he’d exhibited prefect qualities, as his parents had been led to believe, but because he was best friends with the worst troublemakers in the school.
He went out of the room, and speedily made his way down the hall.
“Lupin, wait up!”
Remus paused, more out of habit from someone calling out to him than actually wanting to speak to someone. Lily was jogging after him. Lily had always been critical of James and Sirius, so he couldn’t fathom her words mollifying him in any way. He needed an ally and not someone who’d rant about his choice in friends.
By the time Lily had caught up, Remus had reached the staircase. Lily motioned him to sit down, and she handed over two cookies wrapped in a napkin.
“Not as good as Mrs. Potter’s,” she started lightly.
Remus forced a smile.
“Finn was out of order.” Lily placed a hand on his shoulder, her green eyes expressive with concern.
“I can’t always control their actions,” Remus burst, aware he sounded whiny.
“No one expects that of you,” remarked Lily.
Except that was exactly what Remus feared he was supposed to do.
“It sounded like they do! Were you not there? Merlin, the way Finn and Long were talking…James and Sirius have caused Hogwarts to be overrun with rule breakers.”
Lily laughed; it was not the response he’d anticipated. “The Heads did give your friends more blame than even they deserve.”
“Even I’ll admit they get out of hand sometimes, but…” He couldn’t describe to Lily how much it meant that, without question, they’d accepted his lycanthropy. Many of his parents’ friends and neighbors had abandoned them after they’d heard his parents had been raising a werewolf child. You can’t purchase loyalty like that. “They are the best friends I could ask for.”
It sounded contrite, but it was the truth.
“I’m sure every prefect is guilty of ‘looking the other way’ when a friend breaks the rules. Nothing to beat yourself up about.”
Remus jerked his head upward. “You wouldn’t,” Remus said softly.
“I haven’t yet “ but I’ve still a year of possibilities. My friends aren’t like yours. You should hear Severus go on and on about Potter and Black. He’s convinced they are always up to something. And not just small things, either, expulsion worthy projects.”
“He’s not that far off,” Remus said. They both burst out laughing, and Remus felt his worry ebbing.
“I really think if you talked to them…explain that as prefect you must uphold school rules for everyone, including them. If they are as good of friends as you say, they’ll listen and understand. If plotting mischief is more important to them than your feelings, they are being disrespectful, and you need to find better friends. If they respect you…”
“I know, and you’re right.”
Only he wasn’t as confident as he sounded. He knew James and Sirius would be delighted to be named as adversaries to the prefect system. They wouldn’t be ashamed; they’d take it as the highest compliment to be bestowed on any mischief maker.
“Let’s go to the common room, shall we? Speak to them tonight. The sooner you do it, the better,” Lily encouraged.
Despite Lily’s pep talk, Remus dallied in the James-Sirius-Peter-free environment of the common room when he and Lily returned. He chatted with Lily, and some of the other girls. Mary McDonald was hiding upstairs even though all her facial features were back to their proper sizes.
Surprised his friends were not making an appearance in the common room, Remus, yawning, bade the girls goodnight. Ascending the stairs to the dorm, Remus felt nervousness for the confrontation begin to take over. He’d decided to heed Lily’s advice. His friends could laugh and admonish him all they wanted; he’d get his point across to them. The confidence Remus had built on his way up deflated upon only seeing Terry Keeler and Derek Newbell preparing for bed. Neither knew where his friends had gotten to, and glancing at the clock on his bed stand, Remus noted it was over an hour past curfew.
While shuffling around, he searched under his pillow and by his desk, looking for any clue as to their whereabouts. He’d been able to ignore the hex on Mary, but he couldn’t ignore this. Not after suffering through the prefect meeting, not after speaking to Lily about their disrespect regarding his prefect position. Tomorrow morning he’d write them up for being out of bed.
“Remus… Remus…”
There was a voice calling his name through a long, narrow tunnel. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and he tried to shrug it off; it wasn’t too late to recapture his dream.
“Remus! Wake up!” Same voice, only louder and closer.
“What?” he said groggily.
“Ssshhh!” A second, different voice.
Remus moaned, having only enough strength to open one eye. In the shrouded darkness, he could barely discern the faces of James, Sirius, and Peter.
“Leave me alone. I’m sleeping.” He shut his one eye, turning away.
“Remus, we need to show you something.” There was barely contained excitement in James’s voice. James sounded like he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Show me later,” Remus mumbled, voice still laden with sleep. If they’d leave him be, he’d be back asleep in seconds.
“Come on, get up!” Sirius said. “It’s important.”
“Not as important as sleep,” Remus said back, but he rolled out of bed.
He wrapped a warm robe around himself, padding down the stairs into the common room after his friends. His eyes battled the light; Remus forced them open, and his body struggled to deal with the reality that he was now awake.
“You should have put on trainers,” were the first words out of Peter’s mouth.
“Why? What time is it anyway?”
“Two in the morning,” James supplied.
“Have you been out the entire night?” Remus demanded.
“Yes.” The smile attached to Sirius’s words, the casualness, nettled Remus. Sirius repeated Peter’s comment. “You really ought to retrieve your trainers.”
“Why? I’m not leaving the common room and neither are you,” Remus retorted. He was annoyed that they’d broken the rules and that they’d woken him up to just continue breaking them.
“We can’t show you here,” James said. He looked anxious and unable to stand still.
“I don’t want to know. I’m writing you up for being out of bed. And did you hex Mary McDonald?”
“Mary McDonald?” James looked surprised.
“Yes, you remember her? She’s in our year and she spent the night hiding in her dorm, embarrassed by the hex. I know you are behind it.” Remus crossed his arms defiantly.
“You told on us?” Peter asked quickly. “I didn’t have anything to do with it at all “ James and Sirius-”
“I didn’t snitch on you. I should have though.” James and Sirius looked slightly abashed. “Can we just go back to bed?”
“Remus, you don’t understand,” James stated, jumping in front of him so Remus’s way was blocked. “We “ er- tonight “ we “ Sirius do you want to show him?”
“Here? Now?” Sirius looked around the empty common room apprehensively. Despite everything, Remus was intrigued.
“I’ll place a block on each of the stairs leading to the common room.” James headed over and mumbled a spell.
Remus waited, casting an annoyed look. Peter was biting his lip. Sirius took a deep breath and closed his grey eyes tightly. Seconds ticked by…
“What are we waiting for?” Remus asked, not wanting to spend a moment more out of bed.
“I need silence, Remus!” Sirius yelled crossly.
Remus glared as Sirius’s face tensed in concentration.
“What are-” Remus’s jaw dropped as his words faltered. In place of Sirius was a large, shaggy black dog. A shiver ran up his spine, His mind unable to process what he was seeing through his astonishment. The black dog padded around the room, making a quick lap. Remus couldn’t rip his eyes off the animal, afraid that if he did, he’d wake up from the dream. Sirius transformed back into human form, now smugly smiling, deeply satisfied by his accomplishment. Looking a bit drained from the transformation, Sirius lounged on one of the couches, stretching out, hands behind his head.
Thoughts were finally beginning to come together in Remus’s mind, but he was not yet able to coherently speak. James undid the blocking spells.
He had no idea his friends had been this close to becoming Animagi. Never in his mind did he believe they’d ever be successful in this endeavor. It was something he’d dreaded and desperately wished for at the same time.
Sirius, James, and Peter were all eagerly waiting for his approval.
“You’ve actually done it?” Remus voiced, sounding hoarse. He sank into the nearest red, puffy armchair, joining Sirius.
“I know! Hah!” James let out a cry of triumph.
“You and Peter, too?” Remus questioned.
“Yes, yes! Peter turns into a rat and I turn into a stag. Can you bloody believe it?”
He most certainly could not bloody believe it. He shook his head.
“You did this just tonight?”
“Last step was tonight,” Sirius explained. “We’ve been working on this for a mere three years.”
Remus knew they’d been working on it for quite some time, but he never had the nerve to ask them about their progress. It was a dangerous enough without him encouraging them.
“See, we weren’t creating mayhem, Remus,” James teased.
“You did this in the castle? What if someone had caught you?”
“That’s why we went to the Shrieking Shack,” Peter added.
“You knew, though, that tonight would be the night?” Remus asked.
“We had hoped,” Sirius continued. “We didn’t want to say anything to you, incase things went wrong. We did have a close call with Peter. For a moment James and I thought he was “ well everything worked out. And now we’ve all successfully changed a half-dozen times.”
“Does it hurt?” He was thinking of his own painful transformations.
“No, just a tingling sensation.”
“It’s mentally exhausting, though,” Peter volunteered. “According to the book it should get easier with time and practice.”
Remus’s anger had dissipated, dissolving as quickly as an ice cube thrown into a cup of boiling water. His words to Lily about his friendship with these boys had never rang truer. He wanted to express the warmth spreading through his body; he wanted to let them know this meant the world to him. Eloquent words escaped him.
“Thank you,” he murmured feeling the words inadequate. “You didn’t have to do this…”
“We wanted to,” James insisted.
“We wanted to help. No one should have to go through what you do alone,” added Sirius.
“It’s just “ unbelievable-”
“We have to begin preparing for the next full moon-” James said.
“Wait,” Remus said. He’d barely processed the fact his friends could turn into animals at will. He wasn’t ready to think of the next step, James, Sirius, and Peter accompanying him on full moon nights. His transformations were painful and lonely, but also very private. “You really think you’ll be comfortable enough?”
“Why not?” Sirius said. “We’ve all done it successfully a few times. We practice a bit more, and then it’s just the logistics of accompanying you.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Remus, we are,” insisted James with a smirk.
Remus laughed, and the others joined in. He already knew, despite his insistence that they wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it, that he wouldn’t write them up. How could he? They’d disobeyed curfew for him. To help him. It was no way to repay them.
James and Peter took seats on the couches as well, and Sirius, with a flick of his wand, lit the fire. Going back to sleep now would be impossible. Remus’s mind was still turning with the news. Caught up in their own cleverness, they spoke quietly for another hour or two. Interrupting each other constantly, James, Sirius, and Peter described in finer detail their night, starting with Victoria Dekker’s arrival in the dorm.
The fire eventually died out, and one by one (Sirius first, Peter last) they fell asleep in the armchairs. This was how little Jeremy Blunt and Jacob Shores found them, racing each other down the stairs with the bountiful energy of first-years. Blunt and Shore stopped short “ recognizing the sleeping forms instantly. The first years idolized James and Sirius especially, awed by their rather spectacular reputation. Seconds later, the first years scampered out of the common room, and the resulting shutting of the Portrait door woke Peter. He, in turn, rigorously shook the others awake, and they crept upstairs before anyone else came down.
The quartet was spotted yawning and stretching lazily as they entered the Great Hall. James’s hair looked more messed up than usual, and all their robes looked rumpled. Their entrance was noticed by a large percentage of the student body, but only Severus Snape studied their movement with obsessive care. He’d woken up on the floor in the fourth floor corridor, Potter and Pettigrew long gone. The Golden Gryffindors looked as though they’d been out all night; Potter and Pettigrew must have been on their way to meet Lupin and Black.
“James, over here!” Victoria Dekker called. She pointed enthusiastically to the sole empty seat between her and her friend Amy. Victoria’s boyfriend had looked up suspiciously at the sound of her voice, but everyone had to sit with their housemates during breakfast and dinner. Lunch, which was at different times depending on grade level, allowed some inter-house seating.
“You aren’t going to make me sit with her alone?” protested James.
“Afraid of a girl? Where’s your Gryffindor courage?” Sirius asked.
“Oh, shut-up,” James mumbled as Sirius pushed James forward. “I’ll get you back for this.”
In order to get to Victoria and her friends, James had to walk by the girls in their year. James playfully pulled at Lily Evans’ braids as he sauntered by. Evans swiveled around abruptly, raising her eyebrows at James, who flashed her a smile. Evans rolled her eyes and her friends tittered around her.
Seated almost at the end of Gryffindor table, Sirius piled eggs and toast on his plate. He downed a large glass of orange juice. Peter was strangely eating slowly, still appearing groggy. Remus, on the other hand, was tucking into his food most enthusiastically. There was a positive change in Remus, though Sirius might have been imagining it. And Sirius was convinced his friend’s happiness and confidence was because of their success last night. If things continued to go as planned, Remus would no longer be alone on those terrible full-moon nights.
Changing into an animal was a unique experience. The actual transformation was very neutral, besides a slight tingling sensation; there was nothing unpleasant nor pleasant about it. Once you were in full animal form, the world suddenly appeared calmer and simpler. Animagi retained their human mind completely when transformed along with their animals’ characteristics. Sirius was amazed by both his new sense of smell and hearing. He couldn’t wait to transform again, and test out his abilities. Being an Animagus not only helped his friend, but it opened up a new world of possibilities. Exploring the Forbidden Forest was dangerous even to the bravest wizard; it would certainly be safer as a dog, stag, and rat.
Suddenly, from where James was seated, there was an outburst of laughter. Victoria and all her friends were laughing in his direction and giggling madly, and James was smirking.
“What do you think James is telling them?” Sirius asked Peter and Remus.
Remus chuckled. “Probably that you snore…”
“I don’t snore, that’s Peter.”
“I can’t help it,” Peter mumbled.
“Or that you sleep in the nude-”
“I don’t,” protested Sirius, though on second thought, it wouldn’t have been the worst of rumors.
“James can say anything he wants. I doubt any of those girls will ever find out the truth,” Peter stated.
Loud laughter erupted again, the girls casting curiously long glances. Sirius glared at his plate and attacked it with is fork.
Peter, though, looked pleased. “He’s really getting back at you, isn’t he?”
“James doesn’t really mind Victoria…and if she’s dating that Hufflepuff he doesn’t even have anything to dislike about her company. And honestly, her friend Amy isn’t as bad as Justine Lee. Now then I could understand his anger if I made him sit with her.” Justine was a year above them, with terrible acne and hair so thick small items could certainly get lost in it. She was withdrawn and an easy butt of jokes among students.
At the end of the meal, James extracted himself from Victoria’s clutches.
“Well?” Sirius asked.
“Well what?” James responded.
“What were you saying about me?”
“Why in Godric’s name would I waste a breath on you?”
“Maybe if you used more subtlety.”
“Subtlety’s no fun, my dear friend. Let’s just say I told them about your sleeping companion.”
“Sleeping companion?”
“Fuzzy the Panda…you’ve slept with her since you were a wee little lad, and still do.”
“Anything else about myself I should know about?”
“Yes, the large pink heart tattoo above your navel.”
“What?!”
“They were very intrigued by it, said showed you had a sensitive side.”
“Sleep with one eye open tonight, Potter.”
James grinned, unperturbed. “Oh, I’d be nice to me, or I might spill about that night in our first year when you cried yourself to sleep because you missed our dear old Mum.”
“Remus, remind me why I’m friends with this git.”
“I’m not getting involved,” Remus replied, motioning the group to walk out of the Great Hall.
“I can help you there “ because I’m funny and charming “ and-” James stopped. Severus Snape was approaching the same exit as they were at that moment.
“Snivellus,” James greeted nastily.
“Have a nice fall last night, Snivellus,” Sirius asked with a haughty laugh.
Peter and James chuckled.
Snape glared at the group. “It was you then last night, Black?” Snape sounded bored, as if he were just taking stock of the situation. He didn’t even sound the least bit angry.
Sirius shrugged. “And if it was? Going to snitch on me?
“Unlike you Black, I have patience. I can wait, but I will get back at you, for last night and for everything you’ve done and are going to do.”
“Right “ as you can see we’re all quaking in our boots.”
“Let’s go. We’ll be late for class,” Remus muttered, and the four friends took off down the hall.