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Thursday, July 19, 1973.
Shortly after the exhausting, violent cycle of the July full moon had passed, the three young lion cubs of Gryffindor finally found the time and the elaborate excuses needed to reunite for the very first time at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
Sirius had clearly sent highly detailed, enthusiastic owl post to James and Remus sharing the dramatic, ongoing saga of his magical "hide-and-seek" war with The Invisible Book of Invisibility. The absolute second James stepped through the Floo, he aggressively and enthusiastically suggested they immediately organize a raid on Flourish and Blotts to find more "lost legacies of invisibility," much to Regulus's quiet amusement.
However, to maintain a strict, absolutely necessary low profile within the deeply prejudiced house (and entirely at Regulus's paranoid insistence), the four boys quickly raided the kitchen for Kreacher's snacks and permanently moved the secret meeting up to the safety of Sirius's sprawling bedroom.
James, who had immediately claimed the plush window seat, seemed to possess a literal, endless reservoir of chaotic things to talk about. It was painfully clear just how utterly, desperately bored the energetic Seeker had been while trapped in the quiet, aging village of Godric's Hollow.
"Thank you so much for the energy tonic, Regulus," Remus said softly, seizing a brief lull in the conversation while James was frantically using his hands to reenact a near-death experience he'd had while flying his broomstick through a Muggle cloud bank. Remus's warm, amber eyes brimmed with deep, unvarnished sincerity. However, having only just recovered from his agonizing lunar transformation two days prior, his complexion was still sickly pale, and his movements were stiff and slightly unnatural.
Remus had barely finished speaking his thanks when the boisterous bedroom suddenly fell completely silent.
James blinked, halting his wild hand gestures. He scratched the back of his messy hair sheepishly; swept up in the excitement of seeing his friends, he had actually, temporarily forgotten that the entire, highly illegal purpose of their secret meeting today was specifically to discuss how to save Remus's life.
"I'm always happy to be of help, Remus!" Regulus smiled warmly. He naturally, absolutely wouldn't mention the highly ironic fact that some of the restorative potions he had supplied were actually brewed flawlessly by Severus Snape on his behalf.
Snape secretly brewing high-grade potions to comfort Lupin after a full moon, Regulus thought, suppressing a smirk. How incredibly, terrifyingly heartwarming. If either of them knew, they'd probably throw themselves out the window.
Seeing that three pairs of eyes were now fixed heavily and expectantly on him, Regulus cleared his throat. He dropped his voice into a serious, conspiratorial tone.
"Let's officially discuss that 'fuzzy topic' today," Regulus began, crossing his arms. "Personally, I want to focus my research entirely on the potion aspect of the problem. Our Head of Slytherin House is a highly connected Potions Master, and I have... other avenues of alchemical research I can pursue." He glanced over at his older brother. "Besides, I know Sirius has recently come up with some incredibly brilliant ideas regarding the physical side of things—"
Three pairs of eyes immediately swiveled to focus on Sirius.
Sirius paused, dramatically soaking in the attention, before speaking in his usual, highly pleasant, arrogant drawl. "What I've been heavily researching is the absolute, fundamental magical nature of this 'fuzzy problem'—that is, the highly restricted, incredibly dangerous field of 'Human Transfiguration.' And while pursuing that specific line of thought in the library downstairs, I found some fascinating historical information regarding a specific branch of magic called an Animagus."
"An... Ani-ma-gus?" James frowned, repeating the unfamiliar Latin term slowly and uncertainly.
"Yes. An Animagus," Sirius nodded firmly, leaning forward to explain his findings. "It's an incredibly rare, highly advanced form of human Transfiguration. Once the process is fully mastered, a wizard gains the ability to switch completely freely and painlessly between their human body and a specific animal form. But here is the critical part: when an Animagus transforms into their animal state, apart from losing the physical ability to speak human language, they entirely retain their human consciousness, their memories, and their complex reasoning abilities."
Sirius looked directly at Remus. "And that, Moony, is the absolute fundamental, magical difference between a registered Animagus... and someone who is violently forced to transform into a mindless beast by a curse."
"An Animagus... exactly like Professor McGonagall, right?" Remus said softly, his eyes widening in sudden understanding. "I've seen her turn into that silver tabby cat during our first Transfiguration lecture."
"Oh! I get it! It's exactly like Babbitty from Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump! Being able to just turn into a bloody rabbit at will!" James exclaimed, snapping his fingers as he quickly connected the complex magical theory to the classic children's story from The Tales of Beedle the Bard that his mother had read to him as a child.
James paused, his brow furrowing again. "But... turning into a small house cat... or a fluffy rabbit... how on earth is that supposed to help Remus survive a werewolf?"
"Well, obviously we aren't aiming for cats or rabbits, you idiot," Sirius scoffed affectionately. "Regarding the Animagus transformation... based on my preliminary research into the family grimoires, the specific animal a wizard eventually transforms into isn't chosen consciously. It's dictated by a complex combination of internal factors: your physical weight, your innate personality... and your deepest, most primal desires."
Sirius looked around the circle, his expression turning deadly earnest. "I think... if we could somehow manage to transform into massive, highly lethal animals—preferably apex predators—we could physically accompany Remus in a non-human form throughout his entire furry period. We could keep him company and keep him in check. Like... a massive pack of wolves. Or a giant bear."
Apart from Regulus, who already knew the canonical outcome, the other two Gryffindors still seemed slightly confused by the sheer scale of the plan.
"As far as I know from reading Newt Scamander's texts," Regulus chimed in smoothly to clarify the danger, "in its fully transformed state, a werewolf possesses a singular, magical drive: it only actively desires to hunt and attack humans. Other naturally occurring animals are highly unlikely to become their targets, and the werewolf won't pass the curse onto them."
Remus nodded slowly, his expression incredibly serious as the theoretical reality of the plan hit him.
Sirius had clearly done an exhaustive amount of homework on the subject. He continued his pitch, "There have only been seven officially registered Animagi in this entire century across all of Britain, and Professor McGonagall is one of them. Because actively cultivating the magic required to become an Animagus is... well, it's considered to be incredibly, terrifyingly difficult and massively risky. The Ministry of Magic strictly requires all Animagus transformations and identifying physical characteristics to be heavily documented and registered with the Improper Use of Magic Office."
"However, it's a widely known historical fact that many dark wizards simply refuse to register after they've successfully mastered the form," Regulus added dryly, leaning back. "As Professor Dumbledore himself once wrote in an academic paper: 'This specific branch of magic is undoubtedly incredibly useful for those who wish to do sneaky, highly shady things... or even commit untraceable criminal activities.'"
"There have only been seven registered in this entire century?" Remus repeated, his voice wavering with deep uncertainty. "You said 'it's quite difficult and risky'... exactly how difficult are we talking about here, Sirius?"
"Extremely difficult. The process might realistically take us... several years to complete," Sirius admitted, though his grey eyes held a calm, absolutely resolute determination. "Just as Professor McGonagall warned us on our first day: 'Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts.' And self-inflicted human transfiguration is the absolute, undisputed pinnacle of that danger. During the physical practice, one might horribly go astray. For example, you might permanently mutate yourself. Only your ears might turn into a cat's, or you might sprout a tail, and you might be completely unable to reverse the spell and return to being a normal human ever again..."
"Furthermore," Regulus added, driving the academic reality home, "Human Transfiguration is strictly a sixth-year, N.E.W.T.-level course. And Professor McGonagall only accepts students into that advanced class who have achieved an 'Outstanding' on their fifth-year O.W.L. exams."
The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence as the sheer, terrifying magnitude of the magical undertaking washed over them. They were twelve years old. They were actively discussing attempting N.E.W.T.-level, highly lethal, Ministry-restricted magic.
"That is so bloody cool!"
After a brief, tense silence, James Potter belatedly, violently exclaimed. He practically vibrated out of his window seat, his dark hazel eyes shining with sheer, unadulterated excitement and a deeply concerning amount of adrenaline. "This is absolutely, unbelievably cool! Switching between a lethal animal and human form at will?! Only seven people in the entire bloody century have managed it?!"
James slammed his fist into his palm. "I absolutely want to learn this!" he declared resolutely. He turned and looked directly at the pale, sickly Remus sitting beside him. "And the fact that it will actually help Remus survive? That makes it mandatory."
Seeing his incredibly dangerous, highly illegal idea instantly gaining fanatical supporters, Sirius visibly exhaled, looking deeply relieved. His tone became firm and fiercely proud. "I agree. Me too. Honestly, I think if seven other random wizards can manage to do it, there is absolutely zero reason the four of us can't figure it out. Our practical Transfiguration marks are all easily the highest in our year."
"Agreed. We practically have a massive academic monopoly. After all, we have direct access to the two greatest Transfiguration masters in Hogwarts history—" Regulus immediately raised both hands in a gesture of absolute surrender and agreement. "I am, of course, talking about Albus Dumbledore and your esteemed Head of House, Professor McGonagall. You lions can just casually ask them for 'theoretical' advice."
The three Gryffindor lion cubs nodded frantically in unison. It was an undisputed fact: Gryffindor House historically always produced the top performers in the field of combat Transfiguration.
Internally, Regulus was just as excited as James. Even without the noble, canonical goal of saving Remus's life, he absolutely dreamed of learning how to flawlessly transform into a lethal animal form! What the hell is an Animagus anyway? To a hardcore, modern RPG gamer like Regulus, the concept was incredibly simple: It's literally just unlocking the Druid class from World of Warcraft!
In his past life, he had exclusively mained a Druid. It was the absolute classic, undeniably overpowered all-rounder class.
Besides, Regulus thought giddily, harnessing raw natural forces, adopting physical animal forms, blending into the wild... that is such incredibly, deeply Hufflepuff energy! I told you I belonged in all the Houses!
Observing the absolute, unwavering dedication on his friends' faces, Sirius smiled brilliantly. He solemnly extended a pale hand into the center of the circle.
"Then it's officially settled," Sirius declared. "Animagus training... for Remus."
Regulus didn't hesitate for a microsecond. He placed his hand firmly over his older brother's. "Animagus training. For Remus."
James lunged forward, nearly knocking over a plate of pastries, and quickly slapped his hand on top of Regulus's. "Animagus training. For Remus!"
Remus stared at the three hands stacked in the center of the room. His tightly pursed, scarred lips slowly, shakily relaxed into a massive, tearful smile. He reached out, placing his scarred hand gently on top of the pile.
"Animagus training," Remus whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you... thank you so much, my friends."
For the next hour, the four young wizards happily charted out their wildly illegal future, aggressively discussing potion brewing schedules, obscure spells they needed to research, and their grand, sprawling plans for the upcoming term.
Eventually, the conversation naturally shifted to family gossip.
"Did you hear the news from the Prophet?" Sirius whispered conspiratorially, leaning in close. "Our cousin Andromeda... she finally gave birth. With that Muggle-born bloke."
"A Muggle-born wizard's child," James noted, his tone entirely free of the typical pureblood prejudice.
"It's a daughter," Sirius continued, a rare, genuine fondness in his voice. "And rumor in the family network is that the baby is already showing signs of being terrifyingly magically talented. She's supposedly a natural-born Metamorphmagus."
Nymphadora Tonks, Regulus thought, a brilliant, knowing smile spreading across his face.
"Of course, my mother would rather swallow a live wand than allow me to go visit them," Sirius sighed heavily, leaning back. "I'm going to need you to aggressively cover for me this weekend, Reg. I want to see my cousin."
Andromeda Black was undeniably Sirius's absolute favorite relative. She was the only Black sister who shared his rebellious spirit. Ever since she had shockingly eloped and married Ted Tonks—a wizard born to completely Muggle parents—she had been violently and permanently blasted off the family tapestry by Walburga.
"Absolutely no problem," Regulus said smoothly, his mind already spinning a flawless alibi. "Let me think of a highly academic, Slytherin-approved reason for your absence."
He paused, his dark eyes slowly sliding over to lock onto Lupin.
Hey, Moony, Regulus thought, fighting back a massive, wildly inappropriate smirk. Your future wife was literally just born!
Logically speaking, if he played his cards right, this newly born infant was effectively his future nephew-in-law's wife. Time travel was a profoundly weird thing.
Regulus leaned over and clapped a highly confused Remus hard on the shoulder. With a deeply mischievous, utterly unexplainable grin, Regulus cleared his throat.
"This child is a Metamorphmagus," Regulus announced dramatically to the room. "A literal genius baby, born with the incredibly rare, innate ability to perform flawless, wandless human transfiguration at will. Since we are embarking on a journey of human transfiguration ourselves... how about we all sneak out and go take a look at her?"