Mischievous-A Marauders Fanfic

12-The Beginning of A Beginning

Thursday rolled around surprisingly quickly after Sephy's duel with Snape. Halley's arm healed pretty much overnight, and everything seemed back to normal until Remus hit them with a stinging blow during lunchtime break.

"Guys" he announced, as the seven of them sat stuffing their faces at the Gryffindor table. "We've a problem. The Animagus Process ends tonight."

"Why's that a problem?" James asked, through a mouthful of pork pie.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"As in, it ends tonight. As in, while you, Halley, Sephy and James are all serving detention with McGonagall, you're supposed to be drinking the final potion in order to become full Animagi. And it has to happen at 8pm."

A heavy silence fell, broken only by Sephy swearing violently under her breath.

"You can't be serious, Remus" Halley groaned, putting down the sausage roll she was about to eat, having suddenly lost her appetite.

"He's not. I'm Serious" Sirius joked, at totally the wrong moment. Sephy slapped him.

"What are we gonna do?" she fretted, which was odd, as the one thing Sephy Cardale never did was fret.

"Skip detention?" James suggested.

"No" Remus argued. "If we do that, McGonagall could put you on something more permanent. We've skipped detention too many times now."

"Bloody hell" Halley groaned. "Who knew a bit of harmless skiving would come back to bite us like this..."

"Hey" James argued. "Are we really just gonna give up like this? Are we forgetting who we are, gang?"

"We're not your gang" Sephy quipped dryly.

"No" Sirius cut in, hand on his cheek where Sephy had slapped him. "James is right. We're not just gonna give up. I've got something that might help."

He fumbled in his pocket, and pulled out a small silver object that looked like a cigarette lighter.

"What is that?" Peter asked.

"Drommie got me it" Sirius explained. "For Christmas. She called it a Put-Outer."

"A put outer?" Sephy repeated, a little scornfully. "How's that gonna help us?"

Sirius grinned.

"You'll see. Watch that candle."

He pointed at a candle a little way down the table. As his friends watched, he flipped open the top of the Put-Outer, slid a knob up the stem, and then clicked it once.

The candle flame leapt off of the stick, soared towards Sirius, and alighted on the tip of the Put-Outer. He then slid the knob back down the stem, and the flame was sucked inside.

"Whoa" James commented.

"Sirius, give that here" Remus ordered, holding a hand out for the Put-Outer. "That's a Deluminator, that is. Or at least, I think it is..." The young werewolf trailed off as he turned the little silver object around in his hands.

"What's a Deluminator?" Halley asked, taking a mouthful of the offending sausage roll she had attempted to eat earlier.

"It's a thingummy" Remus explained. "A thingummy that stores light. But-I thought it was something that Dumbledore created...it's totally unique...how did Drommie get hold of it?"

"She'll have nicked it" Sirius sighed. "Trust Drommie to pull something like that. My meagre present of a box of Bertie Bott's now isn't looking so bad."