The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 31 - Moonlight and Malfoy

James was right about the fury of his mother. Shortly after Branwen owled Euphemia to let her know that she had missed out on three years worth of birthdays for her boys, a Howler, the most dreaded of all correspondences, found its way to James at the breakfast table.

"Ooohhh," he groaned.

"Better open it, mate," Peter gulped down his pumpkin juice and scooted a few inches away from his friend.

James opened the red envelope gingerly, holding it at arm's length. It jerked from his hand and Euphemia's voice roared through the Great Hall. "James Potter! How dare you ignore your friends' birthdays! For three years! There's a package coming later and if you think there's anything in it for you, you have another thing coming, young man!" The envelope turned to the red-faced boys sitting nearby. "Happy Birthday Sirius, Remus, Peter. Don't let my children drag you into any trouble. Love to you too Branwen, dear." The envelope dropped and shredded itself.

There was a loud chorus of laughter in the Hall, but, to James' relief, it was short-lived as most of the students quickly began to file out for their morning classes.

Branwen giggled and patted her brother's shoulder. "Honestly, I thought it was going to be worse."

A package did indeed arrive later, though it included a small gift for James, contrary to his mother's threat. Among the gifts was a trove of candies, some fine journals and quills, and several bright new ties. Even Branwen received a lovely new edition of "He Flew Like a Madman", though her birthday was still a month away.

It wasn't her birthday that excited Branwen as March drew to a close though. This was the longest the four of them had gone holding the Mandrake leaf in their mouths. The excitement was beginning to build for all of them. But something else was building as well.

With a week left for the leaves, Branwen and the boys were spending an evening studying in their usual alcove in the common room. Lily, Marlene, and Mary entered and began to gag. "What is that stench?!" Lily cried.

The others in the room raised their noses and began to sniff. It soon became obvious where the foul scent was coming from.

"Potter," Lily approached, pinching her nose tightly, "don't you ever brush your teeth?"

His face flushed and he ducked behind his Transfiguration textbook.

"And you, Lupin, how can you stand being this close to these foul gits? Lupin? Lupin?"

Remus looked up when she repeated his name. He squinted at her, then smiled, and swished his wand a few inches from his face. "Ah, Evans. Looking lovely today. Oh, dear," he paled, then swished the wand again as the stench assaulted his nose.

Lily smirked. "Bubblehead charm? Smart."

Branwen rolled her eyes. As Lily and her friends headed for their dorm (as did most of the other students now that the odour was permeating the room), she whispered impatiently, "Don't forget, we have to get those phials tonight."

Their plan was to sneak down to the Potions lab after curfew using the Invisibility Cloak. Branwen had staked out a set of phials that sat on a top shelf behind Slughorn's desk. Their only use seemed to be to gather dust. Their biggest appeal to the group of friends was that they lay just below a window, allowing them to "receive the pure rays of the moon," a necessity dictated by the Animagus process.

They stayed in the common room until they were the only ones left – which didn't take long considering the stench they were giving off. Once they were alone, James pulled out the cloak and they all huddled beneath it before exiting through the portrait hole. It was a long way down from Gryffindor tower to the dungeons where the Potions classroom was, and it was slow going. Prefects were out and about, chatting with one another as they patrolled the halls. Twice, Mrs. Norris sat directly in their path, staring as though she could see straight through the cloak. After nearly an hour, they descended to the dungeons.

They were nearly within reach of the door when a smooth, drawling voice carried down the stone hall. "Cissa....you're so lovely....mmm....so ready for me...."

The Gryffindors' eyes widened and Sirius made a motion as if to vomit.

"Lucius, please," Narcissa Black's whisper replied, "you know we have to wait. If our parents found out...."

"Damn our parents."

Narcissa giggled. "Brave words, Malfoy. We both know you're going to need daddy's money once you graduate. Which won't be long now."

"Yes," he sighed. "I hate leaving you here for a whole year. Just promise me you will stay away from that Dolohov fellow."

"Oh please. You know he doesn't have nearly as much money as you," she giggled again. "You're the one I should be worrying about, anyway. Out there in the big, wide world without me. Shall I ask Bella to keep an eye on you?"

He chuckled. "You don't have to worry about me. No one in the 'big wide world' can compare to you." There was the sound of heavy snogging, before Malfoy pulled back and said, somewhat breathlessly, "Besides, you know I'll be busy."

Narcissa huffed. "Yes. With your silly boys club. What do you call it – the Death Eaters? I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish."

"Accomplish? My dear, we'll settle for nothing less than the domination of the wizarding race over the Muggle world. We've lived in secret for too long –"

"Save me your sales pitch, Lucius, I've heard it all before. Pureblood rights and all that. Just kiss me for now."

The sound of heavy breathing, lips pressing together, and quiet moaning filled the hall. The Gryffindors took advantage of the moment of passion to slip through the Potions room door.

Once inside, Sirius resumed his gagging pantomime and James had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep him from getting carried away with his over the top noises. Peter stood stock still, his entire complexion a hot shade of red. He looked as though he had lost any bit of innocence he had left. Remus was looking anywhere and everywhere but at his friends.

"Forget them," Branwen whispered loudly. "We have to get those phials before Malfoy decides to start his rounds again."

"Oh, I think he's already going a round or two," James smirked.

Remus rolled his eyes and smacked his friend behind the head.

"Son of a banshee!"

Branwen yelled so loudly that even she froze in place, waiting for Malfoy to come bursting through the door and clap them all in detention. They waited almost five minutes before Remus finally tip-toed forward and whispered, "What's wrong, Bran?"

"The phials; they're full!" She climbed onto Slughorn's desk and reached for the glass bottles. Grabbing the four they had intended on nabbing, she passed them around. Each was brimming with a bright green liquid.

"What is it?" Sirius unstoppered his and took a whiff.

"Taste it," James elbowed him.

"Don't. You have no idea what's in there. It could be poison for all we know." Remus snatched the bottles from both of them, but nevertheless stuffed them in the pocket of his robe.

"Why don't we just use some of these?" Peter pointed at a cabinet against the wall full of empty phials.

"It has to be one that's been in the moonlight, remember?" Branwen sighed, her voice heavy. Reaching up, she yanked the leaf from her mouth. "No use going on with this if we don't have those phials."

They were all subdued as they quietly sneaked back to their dorms, avoiding Malfoy and Black, who were still snogging (or possibly more) against the wall.

"Good night, boys," Branwen kissed her brother on the cheek.

"Hey Bran?"

"Hm?" She paused with her foot on the first step of the staircase.

"Go brush your teeth," he grinned.