- Text Size +
The Loco-Motion


James tried very hard that night to turn himself into a stag to show the lads in the dormitory. But no matter what he did, the form wouldn’t do. The most he could get to happen was the antlers to sprout up from his head, just as he’d always done. “I bloody did it!” he complained, “I did, I swear to you!” He balled his fists and practically shouted the spell, but to no result.

He tried several times over the next couple days - with and without the other boys watching, incase it was a bit of a stage fright thing he was having. But no, he just couldn’t seem to get his body to change into a stag a second time. He wasn’t even sure how he’d managed it the first time. He’d been running after Lily and she’d dodged off into the trees - he’d seen her from afar, seen which way she’d gone, seen Snape run off the wrong way… James had paused there among the trees, thinking how angry she’d be that he had followed after her, and as he tried to figure out how to go about explaining to her why he’d followed, he’d suddenly remembered her dreams… how she’d said the stag was always there for her when she needed him… and he’d just… just sort of done it.

“I know she’ll go back out there to talk to the stag. To me, I mean,” James said, desperate. “I can’t miss that.”

“Then you’ll have to figure out how you did it, Bambi,” said Sirius, slapping James on the back.

“Fat lot of help you are,” James said accusingly.

“I still don’t even know what I do to do it,” Sirius explained in a defensive tone. “I just sort of do it.” He shrugged.

James sighed.

The exams were that week and everyone was running about nervously studying for the last time before testing day - or E - as in exams - Day as a lot of them were calling it.

Even the Marauders spent a good deal of time pouring over books, punctuated only by the occasional pause to bite into a Zoo Cracker and burst into a wild animal sound. They’d all laugh and look up from the notes and have a bit of a comic relief. They also passed around a bottle of sherry that Sirius had knicked from the kitchens and took great swigs of it as they laughed and slowly the session dissolved from organized studying to a great ball of boys laying on the floor, laughing and passing a bottle around between the four of them, telling horrible jokes and just relishing each other’s company.

They went off to their exams next morning with splitting headaches but a good deal of grand memories. James sailed through the questions on the transfiguration course without a single hesitation and looked over, expecting to see Sirius nearly done, but there he was, not even halfway through the test yet. McGonagall cleared her throat and James got up, hurrying to the front of the classroom with his parchment and handed it in to her.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter,” she whispered, taking the exam from him.

“Professor,” he said in a whisper, “About your offer to study becoming an animagus…”

“Yes?” McGonagall looked up over the edge of her glasses.

James asked, “Are you still willing to teach me?”

A smile twitched at the corner of McGonagall’s mouth, “Yes, Mr. Potter, I believe I am.”

“So next term then?” he asked hopefully.

McGonagall nodded, “Yes. I’ll prepare a curriculum and send you an owl with the details of any supplies you’ll need over the summer.”

“Thank you, Professor,” James answered, smiling. “Or just drop it by sometime you’re at my place for the Resistance meetings,” he suggested with a wink.

McGonagall’s eyes twinkled with pride. “Or that, Mr. Potter,” she agreed. “Now, you run along. Your friends will be out when they’ve finished up their exams.”

“Yes, professor.”




Lily went out to the woods twice more that week, diverting from the path in the same place, searching until she found that same clearing and sat in the moonlight, waiting, looking about through the trees, hoping that the stag would come back to see her again… but he never came. She dreamed of him every night, and it would set her heart to racing so that she laid in bed, barely able to breathe, as though she’d run a marathon. The thought of the stag made her feel sick and wonderful all at once. More than anything, she wanted to see him again.




Lily Evans was not the only person in the castle who was losing sleep over things they’d seen the night of the End of Term Party. Severus Snape hadn’t been able to get his mind off the things that Peter Pettigrew had flashed before his eyes. One particular bit of it was bothering Severus as he laid in his bed, staring up at the green curtains of the four poster.

Mopsus sees all.

He had heard these words before, he knew he had, but he couldn’t quite place where and it was driving him bloody mental. He didn’t really know why it was bothering him so much, but it was, and no matter what position he laid in, he couldn’t seem to get comfortable because his stupid head couldn’t stop repeating the words.

Mopsus sees all.

Who the bloody hell was Mopsus and how could whoever he was see all? What all? Where had Severus heard the words before? They seemed to shiver and shake at the edge of his memory, faded like they were a bit burned around the corners. He sighed and punched his pillow and rolled over staring into the darkness.

Mopsus sees all.

Not only was Mopsus, whoever he was, haunting Severus but the plump woman with the wrinkles at the edges of her eyes and the curly blonde hair… Every time Severus tried to sleep, one of the two, or both, of those images would fade into his mind and poke and prod at the strings of his brain, keeping him from rest as he wondered...




The morning of the departure from Hogwarts came, bright and warm. The students poured out the doors and into the carriages. As they stepped through the doors of the castle, James and Peter came to a halt and Peter let out a squealing gasp. “What is it?” Sirius asked, turning about to see them. James’s eyes were wide.

“The - the thestrals,” stammered Peter. “Thestrals. I see thestrals.”

Sirius looked back at the horseless carriages, “Come again?”

“Drawing the carts,” James explained. He swallowed back the lump that had risen in his throat. “Pete, I reckon it’s because of that centaur… Nerimai.” The thestrals were shuffling in their places.

“We saw the centaur too,” Sirius argued.

“We only saw the body,” Remus whispered, “They saw him die.”

Sirius looked quite disturbed by the thought of it.

“They’re terrible,” James said thickly.

“I dunno,” Peter’s voice was quiet, sort of mystified, “I sort of like them… they look melancholy.”

Sirius laughed, “You’re a funny lil guy, Pete,” he said, catching Peter under his arm, “Afraid of everything except the giant death horses.”

Peter flushed.

The four boys climbed aboard a carriage and the thestral drawing it along began trotting across the grounds, away from the castle. James stared back up at the turrets and towers and a funny sort of feeling came over him as he realized next time he saw this place they’d be in their fourth year, more than halfway through their careers as students at Hogwarts already.

It seemed like only yesterday he’d been eleven and pulling on his Gryffindor trainers and prodding Charlus along to King’s Cross for the first time. Seemed like only yesterday he and Sirius and Peter and Remus had spent their first night in that dormitory, way up there in the tower. He smiled around at the three others as they talked, Sirius teasing Peter and Remus spouting facts and information about thestrals that none of them cared to know. They’d been through so much together, and they’d become so close… James knew they were doing their ickle little first year selves quite proud.

They arrived at Hogsmeade Station and it was a cluster of students rushing to get aboard the scarlet red steam engine as it hummed and sighed alongside the platform. Hagrid stood, taller than all the students, trying to organize the storage of trunks. He kept shouting instructions that appeared to be being ignored, no matter what he did.

The boys stood at the edge and Sirius said, “We’d better hurry it up or else we’ll have to duel for our compartment again.”

James laughed.

“Assuming they haven’t fixed the paneling yet to take out the initials,” Remus said.

“Then I’ll burn a new set,” Sirius said, grinning.

They stared at the engine, puffing smoke, the tendrils of it coiling and twisting high into the sky over Hogsmeade. Sirius looked left and right at them each in turn and his eyes sparkled, a smirk playing on his lips and he said, very calmly, “You know, you lot… Everybody’s doing a brand new dance now.”

James smirked, too, instantly knowing where Sirius was going with it.

“What are you talking about, Black?” Remus asked, confused.

Sirius grinned and grabbed Remus’s hand in both of his, “C’mon baby, dooo the loco-motion,” he sang in an incredibly high, rather off-key falsetto.

“Oh no,” Remus mumbled.

Peter flushed, looking around at the others on the platform.

I know you’ll get to like it if you give it a chance now…” Sirius sang.

James was laughing as several Ravenclaws looked over from a few feet away, annoyed expressions on their faces.

C’MON BABY, DOOOO THE LOCO-MOTION!” bellowed Sirius and he pulled Remus around in a loop as he danced. Peter turned even more red, scurrying after them. James hurried along, too. Sirius grabbed the hand of a random Hufflepuff girl. “My little baby sister can do it with ease -- it’s easier than learning your A - B - C’s… SO C’MON C’MON, and DOOOOO the Loco-motion with meeee!

James started clicking his fingers, “You gotta swiiiing your hips now,” he chimed in.

Sirius grinned, “C’mon baby - jump up… hmm, jump back… OH WELL I THINK YOUUU GOT THE KNAAA-AAACK OhOhhOhhhhOhh…

Hagrid looked up from where he was shoving trunks into the compartment on the train and a smile spread across his face watching as people started making space around Sirius, who was hamming it up quite a lot in the center of the platform, relishing the way everyone was looking at him. “Now that you can dooo it let’s make a chaiiin nowwww… c’mon baby… dooooooooo the loco-motion!” He wiggled his lips and grabbed hold of Remus’s hips, forcing him to dance and Remus turned scarlet red as several Slytherins snickered and Xenophilius Lovegood looked on clapping happily.

Chug-a-chug-amotion like a railway traiiin nowww!

James spotted Lily and ran over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the loop Sirius had formed quickly before she could refuse, “C’mon Lily do the Loco-motion,” he sang and she laughed in spite of herself.

Do it nice and easy now don’t lose control! A little bit of rhythm and a LOT OF SOOOUL… So c’mon, c’mon and DOOOOO THE LOCOMOTION WITH MEEE!” Sirius wailed. They were nearly to the train door way, the lot of them, and Peter scrambled in hurriedly. Sirius was still swinging Remus about, “You gottaaa swiiiiiiing your hips now… c’mon… c’mon doooo the locomotion with me… c’mon and doooo the locomotion with me…” Remus reached the door and quickly ducked through. James spun Lily and winked, grinning that way he did that she hated, and ran off, blowing her a kiss as he jumped behind Sirius, headed onto the train. Sirius was standing on the very first step and he leaned out, “C’MON AND DO THE LOCO-MOTION WITH ME!” he finished… and with a bow… he ran onto the train, leaving a crowd of baffled and bewildered looking Hogwarts students in his wake.

There was a long pause as everyone on the platform digested exactly what it was they’d just witnessed… and then a loud applause broke out. Several older students whistled loudly as they clapped - and laughter mixed with the shouts of encouragement and amusement. Several people clapped Lily on the back, as though she’d been a willing participant and her cheeks darkened several shades before she could get away.

The performance was one of the many things that would become part of the legend that was the Marauders of Hogwarts.