Harry Potter: The Invincible Stag

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 24: Wolfbane 

It was late afternoon, and the sun was starting to set. The Marauders were standing near a massive-looking tree that no student at Hogwarts would dare to approach…the Whomping Willow.

"I should go… don't want to take any unnecessary risks," Remus said with a depressed expression. He should have gotten used to it by now, but the nights of the full moon were still a very unpleasant experience for him.

He had heard that it wasn't so bad for every werewolf. Perhaps it was because Remus had always rejected his condition, even calling it a curse, that the transformation was so painful for him. Still, he couldn't help but hate these days of the month.

"I wish we could stay with you," Sirius commented.

"You know that's not possible… I would hurt you, or worse," Remus shook his head. "Don't stay here for long. You don't want anyone to see you wandering around the Whomping Willow."

"It's going to be okay, Remus. We'll come back to see you tomorrow morning," Peter added.

Remus nodded at him. "I know…" His eyes moved to James, expecting him to say something.

But instead of speaking, James took a glass vial from one of the many secret pockets in his robes…pockets he had to create himself.

"What is that?" Sirius noticed the potion and its eye-catching blue color.

"A potion?" Remus was also looking at it.

"Drink it after entering the shack, before nightfall," James said as he handed over the vial.

"What is it? Calming or sleeping potions won't stop the transformation… I've already tried those," Remus examined the vial more closely now. The color and faint smell didn't match anything he had taken before.

"It should make your night a bit less unpleasant by diminishing the negative effects of the transformation and allowing you to keep some level of control over the beast," James explained.

As expected, he received looks of incredulity.

"James, there's no potion that can do that. I would know if there were," Remus wondered why his friend would say something like that. The last thing he needed was false hope or placebos.

"You're right. There were no potions like that… until now. I know it's hard to believe, but all you have to do is try it out. What do you have to lose?" James said.

"What if you made things worse for him with that thing? James, you can't make new potions by mixing random ingredients and hoping for the best. Even I know that!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yeah, James. Potions can be very dangerous if not done correctly. Professor Slughorn has talked about that very often," Peter added.

"James…" Remus stopped what he was about to say when he saw the absolute confidence in James's eyes. His friend had never been like this before, and it was hard to respond to him when he was making that expression.

"I will never give you something that could hurt you, Remus. But if you don't trust me, you can throw away the potion. I won't take offense," James told him. He could understand that someone would be hesitant to try a new concoction made by an uncertified potion-maker who hadn't even finished his O.W.L. tests.

Remus looked at him for a bit longer before glancing down at the potion.

Before anyone could react, he took off the cork and drank its contents.

"Remus!" Peter shouted.

"What did…" Sirius stared in shock.

Remus made a face of disgust. "You have to work on the taste…" he said before returning the empty vial to James. "But of course, I trust you."

"I'll see what I can do about that," James took the vial. "Have a good night, Remus. And let me know tomorrow how it went."

He was confident that Remus wouldn't suffer any negative effects from the potion, but he wasn't sure how effective it would be until he got the recounting from his friend.

This was because the potion he had given Remus was a modified version of the Wolfsbane Potion.

Normally, one would need to take seven doses of the potion, one on each of the seven days preceding the night of the full moon.

Because of his lack of time, this method wasn't going to work, so James had created a more concentrated version that only needed one dose. This also meant that the effect would be lessened, so Remus might not have complete control over his actions during the night.

'Still… I'm sure it will be better than nothing,' James hoped that it would at least be of some use. He could always prepare the normal version for next month. The ingredients were expensive, but he was already starting to make decent money from the sales of his concoctions.

They said their goodbyes, and Remus proceeded toward the trunk of the Whomping Willow.

The branches began to react to his presence, but Remus hurried to press a specific knot on its trunk, and the tree calmed down immediately. Then, several large branches at the bottom moved aside, revealing an entrance.

Once Remus was inside, the branches closed up, leaving no trace of the small opening.

"I hope it's not too bad this time…" Peter said.

Sirius turned to James. "Are you sure that potion isn't going to screw him up even more?"

"I have confidence in my skills when it comes to that particular subject," James responded.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Last year, you couldn't go for more than a month without blowing up a cauldron or producing some black sludge that forced Professor Slughorn to evacuate the classroom… and now you're suddenly a Potion Master?"

James shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I always had the potential and just recently discovered it."

Sirius sighed. "Forget it… if we really want to help Remus, what we should be working on is something else."

"You mean… that thing you mentioned last year?" Peter asked.

Sirius became more excited. "That's right! We should become Animagi. I read that werewolves don't become immediately aggressive when next to other non-human creatures. We could keep Remus company during these nights."

"Animagus…" James repeated. Of course, he recalled the Marauders being Animagi, but it had completely slipped his mind that, right now, he was one of those Marauders.

'Would I turn into a stag like the original James, or perhaps it would be something else?'

He now wished he had delved deeper into this side branch of Transfiguration during his past. All he knew was that the process to become an Animagus was long and arduous, and he was always too busy with something else to give it proper consideration.

After becoming a Potion Master and later an Alchemy Master, he chose to put all his focus on that.

"But Sirius," Peter started, "that book you found at the library didn't mention any specifics about how to become an Animagus."

'That's because it's not exactly legal for a minor to become one,' James thought.

Sirius chuckled. "You can leave that to me. I hav

e everything planned out."

"Oh…" Peter got a bad feeling while looking at Sirius's happy face.

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