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Preparations


None of the teachers could understand what made Peter Pettigrew suddenly start asking so many questions and trying so hard in classes. Especially Professor Moody in Defense. Moody eyed Peter with his one functional eye and licked his lower lip with interest and wonderment as Peter’s grades started going up. Of course James, Sirius, and Remus knew why. It was because Peter Pettigrew had suddenly become very, very motivated to know everything he could possibly about defending himself against the Dark Lord.

Actually, all of the boys were throwing themselves quite extensively into their studies in preparation for executing their plan - which they referred to as “Operation Moldy Voldy”. They had all agreed during the more extensive planning process that they needed to boost their arsenal of potential spells to fight back with, just incase He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named managed to resist their stunners. They’d referred to their textbooks and immediately gotten to work, practicing any spells, charms, and hexes that they thought might help them out in the midst of a heated battle.

The spells weren’t the only thing they were working on for preparations, either. They’d found the map that James and Sirius had hoped for, the one showing the grounds of Hogwarts and where they cut off in relation to the Forbidden Forest. It was Peter who first pointed out the main problem that the map presented. “How do we know how far that is, once we’re in the forest I mean, that we need to go before we reach the end of the grounds?” He asked, looking around at the other three. “How do we measure how far we’ve gone?”

“Well - blimey - never thought of that, did we?” James said.

“We’ll count our steps,” Sirius suggested.

So the boys spent several long free periods out on the muddy grounds, walking from the castle to the edge of the forest, counting their steps as they went so that they were just a cluster of mumbled numbers as they moved in a herd from the entrance doors to the first tree, where they wrote down the count they’d gotten and proceeded to walk back, waving to Hagrid, who was out in his vegetable patch, planting.

Because of the many preparations that had come up - and Remus’s insistence that they not rush through them - they had decided to put Operation Moldy Voldy into action in April, rather than before the next full moon, as Sirius had originally decided. Sirius was antsy, though, nervous about delaying it so long and buried the mirror even deeper into his trunk, refusing to open it unless he absolutely had to, afraid that the Dark Lord might be looking back at him. If nothing else was true about the plan, it was absolutely necessary that it be a secret.

“I am very glad to see you all working so studiously,” Professor McGonagall told them one afternoon, surprised to find them huddled around a table in the school library. “If you ever need any help at all with your homework, please feel free to stop by my office,” she added, smiling through her stiff Scottish accent as she moved on through the rows of books.

“If only she knew what we’re really up to!” Murmured Sirius, “Doubt she’d want to help with that, ey?”

“Highly,” James agreed.

The weekend of the full moon, Remus very firmly reminded them all that they were not - under any circumstances - to go after the Dark Lord until he was back. “Remember,” he said. “Promise me,” he added.

“Of course we wouldn’t go without you,” Sirius seemed quite appalled. “When have I ever done a thing like this without you, mate?”

Remus raised his eyebrow. “How about when you brought that bloody mirror back in the first place, then?”

Sirius shrugged, “That was entirely different, of course.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t got a clue, but I’m sure that it was,” Sirius answered.

But he was true to his word this time - mostly because the more firepower the boys packed, the more likely their success was. Remus returned two days later, quite relieved to find that they hadn’t gone, and they spent the evening continuing to practice their spells while he recovered from the peaky look about him that the full moon always caused.




At Hogwarts, there is no holiday quite as widely celebrated by the students as April Fools Day. The halls were pockmarked with boobie traps waiting to be set off and Peeves the Poltergeist zoomed about the castle blowing raspberries and turning somersaults as he cackled out rude little rhymes. Every teacher was extra careful in picking up the essays that were turned in, afraid to get a bit of trick parchment - especially after word spread around that Professor Flitwick had regretfully picked up a scroll turned in by Bilius Weasley, which popped like a firework, sending colorful sparks every which way and accidentally lighting the peak of his hat on fire.

“This is the best holiday ever,” Sirius announced in the Great Hall at lunch, starry-eyed with appreciation.

James, Remus, and Peter were still snickering at Alice Bell, whose teacup Derek had transfigured as she lifted it to her mouth, making her kiss a giant toad where she’d expected her Twinnings. “You’re vile,” Alice snarled at him, scraping her lips with a napkin, desperate to clear off the frog germs.

Lily glared at Derek, “Honestly!”

“Positively brilliant,” said Sirius to the other boys, quietly enough that Lily couldn’t overhear him.

The pranks didn’t stop there, either, they went on and on all evening. In the hallways, students were being got left and right, and stories of this student or that student and the faces they made when they were tricked ran through the student body like wildfire. The boys spent the entire day wary of everyone, careful not to become the prankees.

“Next year, we celebrate April Fools right,” Sirius vowed that night as they sat in the safety of their dorm, hearing somebody squealing downstairs at whatever latest joke had been played. They had their text books out across their laps and, though Remus was still tuckered out from the full moon, the other boys were quite full of energy, and Sirius was all talk. “We’ll come up with something really legendary.”

James grinned up at the ceiling. He was laying with his hands up behind his back, book propped on his knees, but barely looking at it. “We certainly would be,” he agreed. “Of course, by then, I ‘spect we will be legends anyway,” he added, nodding his head toward the trunk that contained the mirror, “Once we complete Operation Moldy Voldy, that is.”

Peter looked up from his textbook. “Assuming we live through it.”

James rolled his eyes, “We’ll be just fine!”

“Get some confidence!” Instructed Sirius, “You’ve got none now.”

Peter turned back to his textbook without further comment.




”Crucio! Crucio!” Sirius writhed on the floor of his Mother’s library, clutching his arms ‘round himself, tears staining his face, the world around him nothing but darkness. He was suddenly quite certain that one could go insane from pain as his mind tried desperately to close it off… it seemed far off, as though he were dreaming…

But I am dreaming, he realized.


He woke up, roaring with panic, sweating and shaking. The room was dark aside from moonlight filtering in through the window. But there were stirrings as the others woke up and then “Lumos” and Remus’s wand tip lit up the room in a pale blue light. James was fighting with his glasses, trying to shove them onto his face and Peter looked as panicked as Sirius felt.

“What’s going on?” Remus asked, his voice froggy from disuse.

James jumped out of his own bed and went over to Sirius’s, leaning over to look into his best mate’s eyes, “Are you okay?” He asked lowly.

Sirius was trying to catch his breath. His heart raced and he panted as though he’d just run up all of the flights of stairs in the entire school. He nodded, even though he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to calm himself.

James laid a hand on Sirius’s.

“What happened, what was it? Are we being attacked?” Peter squeaked.

“Bad dream,” Sirius choked.

Remus moved around the ends of the beds to come ‘round and joined James by Sirius. “Those are the worst,” he offered comfortingly. “I have them a lot, too.”

Sirius looked up at him. “I hate them.”

Remus nodded, “As do I.”

Peter clutched his blankets fearfully. “But we’re alright, though?”

“Yes, Peter, blimey, it’s supposed to be Sirius who’s upset, not you,” James said, annoyed.

“I usually dream about the full moon,” Remus said with a shiver, “That I’ve forgotten it’s full and I turn without - without being ready.” He frowned, “It’s my very worst fear.”

Sirius’s voice shook, “Mine is about my parents.”

There was a moment of silence as those words filled the darkness around them, sinking into the other boys. Remus felt rather as though his heart would explode with the very thought of it - parents weren’t meant to be the object of someone’s nightmares. They were meant to be the ones who soothed them. He remembered his mum laying cool washcloths on his forehead after he’d had nightmares when he was a child and he felt suddenly very homesick.

“That’s why I so desperately want to end the Dark Lord’s reign,” said Sirius thickly, voice still shaky. “He’s the reason they’re so terrible. He’s the one who’s ruined them. And he’ll ruin everything else and every other family and life he can possibly get his filthy hands on.” Tears stained Sirius’s face. “I don’t want him ruining anyone else’s life like he’s ruined mine.”

James and Remus looked at one another, a loss for words, neither knowing what to say.

And the words to say came from the least expected place.

“He hasn’t ruined your life entirely,” Peter said. “You’ve got us.” Sirius looked over at Peter - as did the other two. Peter was still cowering on his bed, his duvet pulled up ‘round his head, framing his fat little face - a trembling pile of blankets - but he looked very solemn. “We aren’t going anywhere because of him. Not ever. And… and we’re going to help you destroy him.”

Sirius swept his fist over his cheeks, dragging off the tears. “Thanks, Peter.”

Peter nodded.

Remus said, “Peter’s right. We’ve got your back, Sirius. Always. No matter what.”

James added, “We’re going to to stun that blast man so hard -- he’ll never know what’s hit him.”

Sirius guffawed thickly through the tears that continued to fall across his cheeks, despite his attempts to stop. He looked ‘round at the others, “You lot are so - so dramatic.”

James laughed, “Look who’s talking. You may just be the most dramatic person in the entire world, Black.”

“And you’re the most egotistical, Potter.”

James clapped his palm on Sirius’s back. “I’ve told you a hundred times if I’ve told you once, mate, it’s only egotistical if it isn’t true!”

Remus rolled his eyes, “Alright, are we ready to go back to sleep then? We’ve got classes in the morning, in case you haven’t forgotten.”

James looked at Sirius, “Are you okay?”

Sirius nodded, “I’ll be alright now. Thank you guys.”

Remus patted Sirius’s shoulder and went back over to his own bed as Peter’s form beneath his duvet flattened out as much as Peter’s form ever could. James smiled at his best mate and then crawled back into his own bed and folded his glasses onto the nightstand. “Goodnight again,” Remus said, “Nox.” The light of his wand disappeared and the silence reclaimed the dorm.

Sirius lay in bed, though, staring out the window at the silver moon hanging in the sky, and realized that the time had come. They had done enough preparing. They needed to act on their plans… and he decided that tomorrow night would be the night.