-//-
(Pierre//Ryn Weaver)
1st of November, Friday, 1973
"You have an unhealthy addiction, and we need to discuss it," Dorcas chastised Andrea, not lifting her head off of the bed she was resting on.
Andrea pulled her lollipop out with a smack and grinned at her friend. "Dee, this is how I concentrate," Andrea explained, putting her cherry lollipop back in her mouth. "Addict," Dorcas sing-songed.
Andrea grabbed the pillow behind her and chucked it at the spare bed Dorcas was occupying. Dorcas flawlessly grabbed the pillow and hugged it.
She sat up and slowly approached Andrea's bed. Resting against one of the posts of Andrea's bed, she looked at her warily.
"What's the word, hummingbird?" Andrea asked her, closing the book she had been reading, True Animagus Transformation. "Feelin' chill, daffodil," Dorcas joked back. Moving Andrea's book out of the way, Dorcas took a seat in front of her and faced her friend.
"OK? What's really up?" Andrea questioned, moving a little back from Dorcas. "I have a question, but I don't want the question to make you stop being my friend. So - could you keep an open mind for the next three minutes?" Dorcas asked, more serious than Andrea had ever seen her.
"My mind is always open," she responded with a smile. Dorcas gave her a look. "What? My mind is so open flies could go straight through," Andrea protested. Dorcas smirked. "No arguments here," she chuckled. Andrea smacked her arm.
"Not what I meant. Come on, spill. I'm on the edge of my seat here." Dorcas took a deep breath and looked at Andrea, her eyes almost worried. "How close are you with Marlene McKinnon?" she said so quickly that Andrea almost didn't catch it. Seeing as Dorcas was keeping her serious demeanour, Andrea took the matter seriously. She considered it for a bit. "The girl in my year I've gotten closest to is Mary, but Marlene is really cool. All those girls are. She's very friendly yet very confident. Why d'you ask?"
"Do you know if she likes anyone?" Dorcas mumbled, fiddling with the loose threads of the pillow she was holding. Andrea gave her a gentle smile. "She and Sirius had a thing, last year, I think. But that's dead a buried. Since then, I haven't heard her mention anyone or seen her with anybody."
Dorcas nodded slowly and looked at Andrea, pleading with her eyes. "Could you introduce us?" she mumbled. Andrea smiled teasingly.
"Speak up. Ravenclaws don't mumble girly. They're proud and arrogant and know-it-all's and-"
"COULD YOU INTRODUCE US?!" Dorcas yelled, shaking her shoulders. Andrea chuckled, releasing Dorcas' grip on her arms.
"OK relax. Of course, I'll introduce you. But seriously, blondes? I would've thought you had better taste, Dee," she giggled. Dorcas shook her head at her. "One, you are way cooler about me coming out to you than Lucretia was. Two, as if your taste is any better. Rowdy, misbehaving brown- and black-haired boys?" Andrea pulled back.
"How are my friends my taste?" she asked, slightly disgusted. "Like you wouldn't snog any of them," Dorcas mocked. Andrea pulled a face. "Ew. Are you blind as well as dumb? Do you need to lie down?" Andrea regretted her words as soon as she saw the look on Dorcas' face.
"NO! Dee, get your fat ass off me!"
-//-
9th of November, Saturday, 1973
"Permission slips to Mister Filch!" McGonagall called loudly to the surrounding crowd. James and Andrea pulled their permission slips out and handed them over to Filch before joining the other boys.
"So you're ditching us?" Andrea huffed to James after he explained his plan. "Not ditching, scheming," James grinned. Remus rolled his eyes as he heard James' words. Sirius crossed his arm and shot a glare at James.
"It's Hogsmeade tradition to visit together and you're going to ditch us for a date! And who is this mystery girl you're going out with?" Sirius asked, clearly annoyed by James going off on his own today. "Tradition? We've been on three visits," Remus chuckled behind Sirius' back. Sirius spun and shot him a glare before turning back to James grumpily. James shot a sideways glance to Remus.
"Well, you see-" he started but was cut off when Dorcas slid up beside Andrea, smiling brightly to the group. "Hey gang. Look who managed to stay out of detention and were allowed to return to Hogsmeade," she chuckled. Sirius ran a hand over his hair and smirked at Dorcas.
"Miss Meadowes. Looking positively radiant today," he said slowly, winking at her. Dorcas gave him an easy smile. "Why thank you, Mr Black," she replied confidently. She turned to James. "You ready?" Every Marauder gaped at the two as James nodded.
"Hold up. What?!" Sirius shrieked. Remus grabbed his arm to stop him from going off on a rant at James right there and then, but even the werewolf was eyeing James questioningly.
"Just give me a second. I'll catch up," James sighed. Dorcas nodded and walked ahead a little. Sirius looked at him expectantly. "Sirius, be civil," James tried slowly. Sirius huffed and turned his back on him, storming off. James hurried after him.
"Black, come on mate." He grabbed his arm and Sirius spun around dramatically. "HEY!"
"Oh, I'm sorry did my back hurt your knife?" he said loudly. James rolled his eyes. "Mate-"
"Out of all the pretty birds in this school you had to go on a date with the one I wanted?" he pouted, crossing his arms grumpily again. Andrea rolled her eyes. "Really? Birds? Grow up," she mumbled. They both ignored her.
"I know! And I'm only interested in Lily! You know that. That's what this is about. Lily doesn't want my attention so now I'm gonna see what happens when she sees me giving someone else my time," he explained.
"That's – actually clever," Peter said excitedly. Remus and Andrea both turned to him with disapproving glares. "No, it's not," Remus said.
"It's disgusting," Andrea snapped. "Does Dorcas know this arrangement is only to get your precious Lily-pads attention?" she snapped at James. "Yes," Dorcas said, having walked closer to the group again when she had overheard their not-so-private conversation.
"And I told James I'd be happy to do it because then he could help me get Marlene's attention," she explained. Remus already knew Dorcas had a crush on Marlene, so he stayed quiet. Understanding crossed Andrea's face as she remembered the conversation the two had shared last Friday.
"I told you I'd introduce you. You didn't have to fall to James' level of schemes," she said, shooting James a look. "I am an excellent schemer, thank you very much," he pouted at her. Andrea rolled her eyes and turned back to Dorcas. "Tell me how it goes," she smiled, waving her off. Everyone else didn't know what to say.
James had promised not to mention it but now that Dorcas was being upfront on her own, he had nothing to say. Dorcas hadn't shared this with a lot of people.
After her kiss with Remus, she had come out to Kingsley, Xavier, Lucretia, and then Andrea last week, but other than her closest friends, she hadn't told anyone. "Yeah, yeah, calm down, " Dorcas groaned back in response to Andrea's nosiness.
"You ready now Potter, or do you and your husband need another minute?" James turned to Sirius with a pout. "Am I free to go?" he asked sweetly. Sirius looked away from Dorcas for the first time since she had mentioned Marlene.
"Oh - uhm - y-yes. Go ahead. Have fun," he stammered awkwardly. Peter sniggered quietly. "Smooth," he said, letting out a snort of laughter. Sirius hit him over the head. "Shut up," he growled through clenched teeth, embarrassed by his and Andrea's sniggers.
With a wave, James and Dorcas headed off, in search of the two Gryffindors they wanted to make jealous. Sirius turned to Andrea. "Did you know?" he asked as they all walked to the village together.
Andrea shrugged. "She asked me to introduce her to Marlene, but I didn't know if she'd told a lot of people, so I decided to keep it to myself for the time being." Thankfully, no one questioned Remus on the subject.
The rest of the day the four remaining Marauders wandered Hogsmeade together, visiting the best shops. Zonko's Joke Shop for obvious reasons, Dominic Maestro's Music Shop to see if they had any Muggle Records there. Honeydukes to calm Remus' chocolate addiction, Andrea's lollipop needs and Peter's sweet tooth, until finally ending the shopping at Spintwitches Sporting Needs for some Quidditch supplies.
On their way back, Remus said he wanted to show Andrea something. So, taking the long way back, they reached a sloped hill, looking out over an open field that stood between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. In the field, one house, standing crooked and creaking in the wind. "You wanted to show me a shabby old house?" Andrea questioned him with a slight chuckle.
"That shabby old house is the Shrieking Shack," Sirius explained with a smile.
"Why is the shack shrieking?" Andrea asked, confused, making the others laugh. "Because about, oh I don't know, let's say once a month, the villagers hear screams and crashing from the house. They say it's the most haunted house in Britain," Remus explained with a chuckle. Andrea stayed quiet for a minute.
Once a month?
She turned to her right quickly, sending her long curly hair flying into Peter's face. "You mean to tell me that that's where you change? In that shabby house?" she asked, looking at the worn-down house warily.
"Well done. You should be a Ravenclaw," Peter smiled. Sirius scoffed. "Ravenclaw? With her Potion skills? I think not." Andrea shot him a look but Remus grabbed her attention again so she wouldn't end up in a wrestling match with him.
"Yeah. Dumbledore told us the rumour had started amongst the villagers that the place was haunted, and he enforced it, telling us to whisper about it to people at school as well. So now it's a haunted house."
Andrea grinned. "Can we go inside?" she asked, bringing her hands up to beg.
"No!" They all shouted at the same time. Andrea pouted but gave up, heading back to the castle.
So now we know where to go when we finally become Animagus.
-//-
6th of November, Tuesday, 1973
Third year was turning out to be very hard on the plotting Gryffindors. With their attention on Animagus training, Quidditch, classes, homework, and pranks, they were exhausted. "You know, being misbehaved is becoming a full-time job," Peter grumbled.
"Tell me about it," Andrea groaned. "Just yesterday, I thought I was starting to learn the layout of the school but no luck, I was late to Muggle Studies again. I should just never be left alone."
Peter laughed, before pulling out a yellowed piece of parchment and showing it to her.
"You could borrow my map if you'd like. I struggled a lot with the corridors in my First and Second Year, but I've started learning it all now. Remus helped me make this in First Year and it's pretty accurate. He even mapped out which stairs are trick steps," he explained, unfolding the old parchment for her.
Andrea looked at the detailed map in awe. "Wow, you've got everything here. How did you manage this?" she asked, looking from Peter to Remus. Remus shrugged, turning to the next page in his DADA book.
"Just walked around a lot and drew up what we saw. I just wish there was some way we could get the pictures to move or show the ghosts. You know, like moving objects in other paintings."
"That would be awesome!" Andrea cheered.
Finally interested in the topic, Sirius slammed his heavy Herbology book closed and smiled mischievously at the others. "What if we didn't just show the ghosts, but everyone in the castle," he started. Intrigued, James also closed his Herbology book. "Go on," he smiled. Sirius jumped up so he was crouching in his armchair.
"Picture this. The map shows all the hallways as it does now. But what if we could get it to show everyone currently in those hallways too? All the students, all the teachers." James' face looked like it would split in two.
"We make a map that shows everyone?" he smiled. "Everyone," Sirius smiled back.
No one was doing their homework anymore, too distracted by the plan that was currently being formed. "And we could add all the secret passageways we've managed to find, and see if we can find any more," Peter cheered.
"That - is pretty smart," Remus considered. "See? I have some good ideas sometimes too," Sirius winked. "Yes. It's a shock to us all," Andrea mocked.
"Sharp tongue, New York. Wanna come over here and try it - OW!" Sirius rubbed his arm where James had punched his arm.
"Sto-op. You know I bruise like a peach," he whined.
"Keep it up and you'll be as black as your name," James said with a hard scowl. "So moody, Potter."
-//-
11th of November, Sunday, 1973
Andrea paced back and forth in the girl's changing rooms, tapping her fingers repeatedly against her thigh. In October, Ravenclaw and Slytherin had played the opening match of the season.
Now it was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's turn.
Andrea took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, but the breath stopped in her throat.
"Bambi?!" Andrea heard James' voice echo through the empty locker room. She rolled her eyes at the nickname.
"Over here, Cerva!" she mocked back. The Bambi nickname had been a running joke between them ever since the Potters introduced the two to Bambi when they were eight and Andrea fell in love with it, earning her the nickname from James.
James stopped in front of her and shot her a brilliant grin. "You ready?" "No," she mumbled. James chuckled and pulled her into a hug.
"We got this Russo. Now let's go out there and kick some Puffin butts. Captain Wood said to get you into the guys changing room and we'd go over tactics." James grabbed Andrea's hand and pulled her with him to the boys changing rooms.
She sat down on the bench between James and Sirius and turned to the blackboard Captain Wood stood in front of. Nerves were especially high because the Russo's and the Potters were all here to watch them play as well.
"Alright, everyone in." They all got up and wrapped their arms over each other's shoulders.
"Each and every one of you has a lion inside of you. Now let me hear you roar!" All the players let out roars. "Nah, Nah, Nah. I said, let me hear you ROAR!"
"ROAR!" they all chanted together, hyping themselves up.
"GRYFFINDORS ROAR!"
"ROAR!"
"NOW GO OUT THERE, AND KICK SOME ARSE!"
"YEAH!"
They all picked up their brooms and as they exited the changing rooms, tapped the handles of their brooms over their heads on the doorframe, for good luck. As they entered the pitch, James quickly looked around. He spotted their friends all together, and he caught Lily's eye as she watched them come onto the field.
Quickly, while he still held eye contact, he sent her a wink and then blew her a quick kiss. Lily narrowed her eyes angrily, but James could've sworn he saw her cheeks grow a little pink. Gryffindor Capitan, Jonathan Wood, went to the middle of the pitch and met the Hufflepuff Capitan as the rest of the team formed a circle around them.
"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch called out. Andrea mounted her broom and looked to her left, meeting James' eye, matching grins spreading across both their faces.
As soon as she had stepped onto the field, her nerves had almost completely disappeared. She was at peace. She belonged here. They reached their hands out and fist bumped each other before facing forwards again.
They had been so pleased when they had been given their numbers in October, Potter 7, and Russo 6 across the backs.
"On my whistle, one, two -" The sharp sound of her whistle rang through the crisp, autumn air, and every single player kicked off from the ground.
Wood had told Andrea he wanted her to follow her instincts as much as possible and circle around the pitch to get an overview of everything. She headed for the goal hoops on the Gryffindor side first, before flying across to the Hufflepuff goals, circling each goalpost.
"Quaffle to Scamander, Scamander passes to - oh intercepted by Gryffindor Captain and Chaser Wood. Wood passes to new Chaser Potter, Bludger heading his way courtesy of Marshall Fawley. Man is he good looking'-"
"MCKINNON!"
"Right, sorry Miss MG. Bludger heading for James' head - oh, whacked away by Beater Black there, heading straight for Scamander now. Scamander ducks and leaves the way for the goals for James clear. He shoots, and HE SCORES! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Listening with half an ear, Andrea kept her eyes around the pitch looking for the glittering, golden-coloured Snitch. "Go, Russo Go!" Andrea grinned and turned to the stands to see all her friends dressed head to toe in Gryffindor colours.
"VAI!" Andrea heard a deep voice call out and over in the visitor's stand she spotted her mum and dad and Fleamont and Euphemia Potter in the visitor stands, jumping up and down and cheering on their children.
"Another goal from Potter! That's twenty-null for Gryffindor!" Andrea turned to see James and Sirius high-fiving on their brooms.
Another hour went by and neither Andrea nor the Hufflepuff Seeker, McLaggen, had spotted the Snitch yet. "And there comes another Bludger from Sirius Black, stopping Chaser Patil from passing the Quaffle to Scamander. Gryffindor steals the Quaffle, Johnson passes it to James and James - urgh, is knocked backwards on his broom by a Bludger. Quaffle caught by Hufflepuff, wait - was that the Snitch?"
Andrea had in fact spotted the Snitch just over the Hufflepuff stands and was flying towards it. At Marlene's announcement, McLaggen hurried after Andrea, several feet behind her. The Snitch changed direction and headed straight up.
At a sharp tug at the handle, Andrea headed straight up after the Snitch, McLaggen following her move. The cheers in the stands grew louder as she sped straight up into the sky.
The November chill was pricking against her cheeks violently as she flew higher and higher towards the grey clouds above her. She could feel McLaggen gaining but with him being much heavier than her, the straight-up technique was working in her favour.
Unfortunately, the Snitch decided to head downwards again, flying right over Andrea's head, and heading past McLaggen, down to the field again. McLaggen turned and headed downwards again. Saving time on the move, Andrea swan dived backwards and flew down, the cheers from the onlookers edging her on.
Quickly, she was beside McLaggen, both inching forwards closer and closer. Both with outstretched arms were a hair strand away from each other.
"Bludger heading to intercept Russo here! STOP THAT BLUDGER! SEND IT ON A HUFFLEPUFF!"
"MCKINNON! LAST WARNING!" "Oh, come on McGonagall she's one of ours! Oh, here comes Sirius - YES! Bludger averted!"
Just as Marlene called out the update, Andrea closed her fingers around the cold metal of the Snitch. As she held it, she pulled out of her dive and held it up happily over her head. The stands exploded with cheers and celebration.
"RUSSO GOT IT! That's 210 points for Gryffindor and 50 to Hufflepuff!" Madam Hooch's whistle went through the air, ending the game. "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Descending, Andrea jumped off mid-flight and started running over the pitch, smiling widely over Gryffindor's victory. James landed in front of her and ran towards her.
He chucked his broom to the ground and hugged Andrea tightly. "WE DID IT! We beat the Badgers!"
"Yeah, we did!" Sirius quickly joined their hug, grabbing Andrea from behind and spinning her around in the air as she giggled at his excitement.
"YEAH. THAT'S ANDREA RUSSO THAT JUST KICKED YOUR BUTTS, YOU DICKS!"
"MCKINNON! OFF THAT MICROPHONE RIGHT NOW!" Andrea laughed as she heard Marlene forcibly be removed from the commentator seat. "I don't think Marlene's gonna be allowed to be the commentator anymore," Sirius laughed.
The rest of the Gryffindor team gathered around the others, and they all congratulated each other on the match. "Andrea!" Pulling away from the hug of the other Chaser Andrea turned around and saw her parents heading toward her.
"Papi!" she yelled, detaching from everyone, and running towards her parents. Marco spread his arms out wide, and Andrea leapt into his embrace, hugging her father tightly. "Well done, Andie!" came a cheerful voice. Opening her eyes, she saw Fleamont Potter grinning at her. James joined them and hugs, hellos and congratulations went around between them.
"Mia Potter. You look as beautiful as ever!" Mia laughed. "Sirius Black, charming as ever," she chuckled. "Monty. Ageing at the second old man," he smirked. Fleamont pointed a warning finger at him. "Watch it son or I'll show you where James learned his headlock techniques."
"Russo's, this is my brother, Sirius. Sirius, this is Marco and Aisha Russo," James introduced. The others had also come onto the field and Andrea proceeded to introduce her parents to Peter, Remus, and the other girls, except Mary and Corinna, who hadn't shown up because of what they all referred to as 'Bludger Sunday'. As everyone chatted away Aisha pulled her daughter aside.
"I know you guys wanted a friend for Christmas this year, but we've been invited to your aunts, so we'll be heading to Italy for most of the break." Andrea went to protest but her mother held up a hand.
"Nuh-uh, occhioni. But all these lovely kids are welcome for as long as they want for Easter and the summer break. But Christmas will have to wait for next year."
Andrea nodded, accepting her answer. They went back to the group, agreeing to meet the parents back in the Great Hall and enjoy lunch together.
-//-
29th of November, Thursday, 1973
"Are we sure there's no other option?" Peter questioned nervously, looking at his friends. James rolled his eyes. "We tried the book from Minnie's collection, and it got us nowhere. Sirius and I have both read that book, cover to cover. We're out of options," James huffed, tired of explaining himself repeatedly.
It was Thursday after their break and they were getting ready for Transfiguration. The book they had smuggled from McGonagall's collection was proving useless and they needed a new lead.
As they entered the classroom Andrea took her usual spot beside Mary.
Whispering a little at the start of class before being shushed, was the only thing she had been zoned in for. Too busy thinking of what they were going to do after class, she was paying no attention to the lecture. Which proved to be a mistake.
A scrunched-up paper ball floated magically onto her desk. She turned around in her seat and saw Remus had his wand out, but his eyes were trained on the blackboard McGonagall was writing on. Subtly, Andrea flattened out the paper ball and read.
I know you're in on this crazy idea too and I don't approve. You're all mental.
Andrea smiled to herself. Looks like one of the boys had slipped up. Him sitting next to Peter gave her a fair idea of who had cracked. Dipping her quill, she wrote back to him.
There's a fine line between crazy and brilliant.
She scrunched up the ball again and tossed it onto Remus' desk. Not even ten seconds later the ball landed on her desk again.
And you need to consider other ways of living than tiptoeing that line
But someone had scratched a line through Remus' clumsy writing, and she recognized James' chicken scratch writing underneath.
Forget grumpy Gus, are you listening?!!!!
Furrowed brows, Andrea looked up at the lesson again. McGonagall was talking about human transformation. Straightening in her seat, Andrea paid close attention to the lesson again. "Now, one of the most complex forms of human transformation is Animagi. Can someone tell me what that entails?"
Every Marauder's hand except one shot up quickly and a quiet groan was heard from Remus as he rubbed his hands over his face.
"Yes, Miss Russo?" Andrea smiled as she was called on. "An Animagus, or Animagi, is a witch or wizard who willingly shapeshifts into an animal. The animal is not chosen beforehand, but rather reflects the person itself. Personality or behaviour wise." McGonagall gave a small smile.
"Very good. Five points to Gryffindor. Now you said shapeshifts willingly. What creatures change unwillingly?" Remus and Sirius both raised their hands, but McGonagall called on a Ravenclaw student instead.
"Werewolves. They have no say in it when they change shape. And different from an Animagus, they have no control over themselves when they change." "Good, five points to Ravenclaw. Now next term you'll be studying Werewolves more deeply in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but I thought I could introduce you to Animagus before that time, so you're prepared for your exams – and yes, this will be on the exam. Right then - observe."
Suddenly Professor McGonagall started shrinking, and in her place, stood a tabby cat. The class all gasped and whooped at her transformation. McGonagall came back and straightened her squared spectacles.
"Now, I changed with no incantation. That is a skill one requires after you have been through the training part. But be warned, this is some of the most complex magic there is, and one simply does not just choose to become an Animagus. It takes years of training, fails and mishaps and that is why everyone who wants to learn this skill, must register at the ministry and train under observation. Now-"
Andrea borrowed a spare bit of parchment from Mary and continued taking notes throughout the lesson. With Animagus as the subject for today, it made the questions Sirius and James were ordered to ask after the lesson much more natural.
Everything was working out perfectly. As the others packed their things and left the classroom, Andrea, Peter, and Remus waited outside the classroom door as Sirius and James approached McGonagall's desk.
"Yes?" she asked, looking up from her papers.
"We had a question about the lesson," Sirius started with a casual smile. "Go on," she said, giving them her full attention. "Well Minnie, we were wondering. How does one become an Animagus? All the training steps and whatnot?" James asked innocently, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Hypothetically," Sirius added with a smile, clutching his hands behind his back. McGonagall removed her glasses and looked between the boys. "I'm not at liberty to tell you such things, I'm sorry."
"Oh," James said, disappointment clear in his tone. "I also can't tell you that they keep books on Animagus in the Restricted Section in the library, specifically one titled Animato Animagus: The art of Animagi Transformation. And I can't tell you that Filch is away from Saturday evening to Sunday morning." As she continued talking, Sirius started scribbling down her notes on the back of his Transfiguration notes.
"You must understand, I am not allowed to tell students like yourselves such things," she said sternly, with a knowing look at James. James smiled back and gave her a small nod.
"We completely understand Professor. Just curious beings you see. We'll get out of your hair then."
They both turned on their heels and headed out of the classroom, joining a waiting Andrea in the hallway as they told her all they'd learned. McGonagall placed her glasses back in place on her nose and smiled to herself.
Remus Lupin was a truly lucky boy to have friends like that.
-//-
Translations
Cerva - Deer
VAI! - GO!
Occhioni - Big eyes. Nickname appropriate for kids
– ACE
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