eloquence | sirius black ✓

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE PATRONUS CHARM

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"Come on, Peter, you can do it!" exclaimed James, supporting his dear friend. He had to encourage Peter to do so. He believed in him. If Peter didn't manage it, then James wasn't going to go on with his plan. Peter was a part of the Marauders, and he was just as important as the others. They had to wait for him, otherwise it would mean leaving a Marauder behind, and Marauders stick together. They didn't leave each other, no matter what. They had already sworn an oath to be there for each other, at all times.
It was the twenty-first of September, 1975, and the Marauders were training to become animagi in order to accompany their fellow Marauder and werewolf, Remus John Lupin. One of the parts of being Animagi was casting a Patronus Charm to know what their Patronus would be. James did it first, getting a stag. Sirius finished next. His was a dog, which was ironic, since Sirius was the Dog Star. James and Peter had laughed when they found out that Sirius' Patronus was a dog. Sirius laughed too, in matter of fact. It was funny for the three of them, and each of them knew it.
But if it were up to the two boys, James would've been a lion and Sirius would've been a dragon. Peter would've been an eagle, since he wanted to be able to fly. That would've been great, if James had to be honest with himself.
"Ex-expecto Patronum!" exclaimed Peter nervously.
A white wisp burst out of the small boy's wand. James eyes' lit up in excitement. He was almost there, and James knew it. He had to do it. He had to do it, for Remus and the rest of the Marauders. C'mon, Peter, James thought silently, with the urge to jump up and down and cheer for Peter, but he had to keep quiet to let Peter concentrate.
James gave the boy an encouraging smile. "Once more, Pete! You can do it." James put a hand on the pudgy boy's back.
"Expecto Patronum!" said Peter, a little more confident this time. A full Patronus burst out of his wand. It was a rat. A small, wispy, blue-white rat. After all those days of trying, the three Marauders did it. They were successful of doing the Patronus Charm, after all the hard work they had done. All the hard work they did really paid off. The three were engulfed in a hug. They went out of the Room of Requirement, which Peter found during his fourth year, with smiles on their faces.
Before they arrived at the Gryffindor Tower, they bumped into Remus.
"Hey, Remus." said Sirius nervously, as he waved his hand awkwardly to the Marauder. Remus raised an eyebrow. Peter sweated nervously, and James stayed there, speechless.
"What were you doing?" asked Remus questioningly. "I searched the whole of Hogwarts," said Remus, panting. He looked so tired that James couldn't help but feel pity for him. James' smile suddenly faded.
"Nothing!" James and Sirius chorused.
Remus gave them a suspicious look and looked at Peter, glaring at the boy with the deadliest stare the three Marauders had ever seen. Now the three of them were sweating nervously, and they didn't know what to do at all, trying to figure out something to say to him, perhaps a reason to cover up their absence.
"Trying to cast a Patronus," said Peter quickly, cowering to the wall behind him.
Remus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He had already have a Patronus. A wolf. But the other three Marauders didn't really like to learn. Why would they consider being able to cast a Patronus? That was quite suspicious. Remus decided that he would have to ask them further about it. People didn't just learn to cast a Patronus. That was, unless they were like Remus.
"To get extra points in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Sirius, lying smoothly. A painful attempt to lie, in James' opinion, but he hoped that it would work.
"You're lying, Sirius," said Remus softly, his hazel eyed filled with an emotion that James didn't recognize. "You always keep your eyes open; without blinking, when you lie. Tell me the truth," he demanded. No, not demanded. Pleaded.
James raised his hands up in the air as a sign of giving up. He couldn't lie to Remus. He just couldn't, especially with the fact that they were best friends. Best friends don't lie to each other. They tell each other the truth. No matter what. No matter how painful the truth was, the truth was the truth. "We're training to become illegal Animagi. It's just that we know you're a werewolf and maybe we can keep you company during the full moon. We had the lunar charts down and everything, Rems," James confessed to the werewolf. He looked surprised, and he stepped backward one step, then moved forward once more. James let out an exhale; he finally told Remus the truth about what they were going to do.
Remus didn't know what to say.
"You can't do that! W-when it's the full moon, I'm vicious, Potter!" said Remus angrily. He had his hands tangled in his hair, and James almost instantly reached out to him.
"Since when do you call me Potter?" lashed James harshly, raising his chin up high.
"You don't understand! I could - I could hurt you! You don't need to accompany me during the full moon - you'll - you'll get hurt! I'm a beast during the full moon! I'm a monster!" said Remus, pacing around the hallway, panicking. James touched Remus' hand lightly, an attempt to calm him down. Sirius and Peter had each a hand on Remus' shoulder.
James and Sirius looked at Remus in the eye.
"We want to help you." said Peter, hand still on Remus' shoulder, relaxing the werewolf slightly. Peter always knew how to calm everyone down, and James himself was thankful of that fact. Otherwise, James would not know what he would do without Peter. He was a lifesaver at rare times.
Remus decided to accept their help. "Fine. But let me warn you - animagi training is hard."
"We'd do anything for you," said Sirius softly. It was rare to see him talk softly like that, that James' glare began to soften.
"Until the very end," said James as his hazel eyes met Remus' dark brown ones; the dark brown ones that would remind you of hot chocolate in winter, and the warmth of autumn at the same time.
"Always." Peter added.
Remus gave a weak smile to the rest of the Marauders. And at that very point, Remus John Lupin felt hope about his lycanthropy. He might be a werewolf- a monster, a beast, but his friends would always be there to support him. James, Peter, and Sirius were willing to help him, setting aside the fact that he was a werewolf of course. But at that very point, Remus felt worry. The three could get hurt. Besides, the process of being an animagus was a hard and complicated process. But once again, his friends were willing to do one of the most advanced pieces of magic in the wizarding world; being an animagus without having the ability to become one, just to help, and accompany Remus during the full moon. That thought made Remus smile at the three. With that, the Marauders set aside the fact that Remus John Lupin was a werewolf. He was their friend, and he will always be. No matter what, forever. They were infinite.
The three Marauders walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, and into their dorm room to discuss something. "We need nicknames," said Sirius all of a sudden, sitting on his scarlet bed, smirking. "I have an idea! Peter's a rat. We could call him rabies!" exclaimed Sirius in a much more excited tone that he was supposed to have. James felt the urge to slap Sirius then.
"We're not going to call Peter rabies, out of all goddamned names, Sirius," said Remus with a roll of his eyes, in a ludicrous tone.
"James's a stag. I'm a dog. Peter's a rat," said Sirius, counting his fingers slowly. James sighed, but his eyes were dancing with amusement. He wondered what creative names that the Marauders would come up with.
"James could be Prancer. Always loved the idea," said Remus with a soft smile on his face, who was interrupted by James.
"We could call Sirius 'Snuffles'. Admit it, it's a nice name!" said James in excitement, chuckling at the grey-eyed Gryffindor, who looked like he did not want to be called Snuffles at all. James simply laughed even more, as he watched his best friend's reaction at him picking that name for him. James loved the idea of it, even though it was quite ridiculous.
"Shut up, Potter, we're not going to call me Snuffles," said Sirius with a snort, throwing pillows at the bespectacled boy. That only made James chuckle even more, throwing the pillows back at Sirius. They both knew that James was just joking about it, of course. James wasn't that cruel to let his best friend live with the nickname of Snuffles. It was funny, but it was too ridiculous and James certainly would never let his best friend have a ridiculous nickname; he deserved a nickname better than that one, that was for sure. There was a pause for a moment. It allowed the four Marauders to think about their nicknames.
"We could call James Bambi," Sirius pointed out, which made Peter nod excitedly. Bambi was apparently Peter's favorite cartoon character.
"Bambi my bloody ass, Sirius," said James with a snort, throwing even more pillows at Sirius. Sirius only laughed. Bambi was an amusing nickname for Sirius, but James for James it was not amusing at all.
"I have an idea for Remus. How about Moonlight?" asked Peter.
"Moonlight sounds a bit ridiculous, Pete. Besides, it would be too obvious that he's a werewolf," said Sirius. Peter nodded, seeing the point that Sirius was making.
"I'll take Moony, thank you very much," said Remus, using the nickname Diana made for him. The other three Marauders nodded in approval. Twenty-five percent completed. Just the other seventy-five percent for the rest of the Marauders. It was just James, Sirius, and Peter left; they already got Peter's nickname.
" Especially with Remus' furry little problem," said James as he chuckled under his breath. The Marauders spent their times looking for nicknames during that very afternoon. James had suggested Sirius's nickname to be 'furry little problem the second', since Sirius was a dog and dogs were well, furry. And Sirius was a problem.
Sometimes.
Sirius disagreed to that nickname, so they had to find a better nickname for him. The nickname was too long and Sirius didn't like it at all. James loved it. At the end, they got each of their nicknames. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Remus's was from the nickname Diana made for him. Peter's were from the rat tail he had. Sirius's was from his 'padded feet'. James's was from well, the fact that he was a stag. With that settled, the Marauders had finally developed their nicknames.
"Remus. What's your Patronus?" asked Sirius after they got their nicknames.
"A wolf," said Remus, causing the three to snort and double up laughing. Remus stared at his friends confusedly. "Why are you laughing?"
"It's very ironic," replied Peter.
"Werewolf McWerewolf," added James; especially with the fact that his name literally meant wolf wolf. Remus Lupin. It was an anagram for Primus Lune, which was Super Moon or something. James didn't really know, but there was one thing he knew for sure. That he loved making anagrams. In his spare time, James Fleamont Potter made anagrams. Pots, stop. What, thaw. Simple words, and sometimes more complicated words. Listen, silent. Dormitory, dirty room. Astronomer, moon starer. Snooze alarms, alas no more Z's. The earthquakes, that queer shake. (James yelled "Eureka!" when he found out that one and told the Marauders about it.)
And with that, the Marauders trusted each other fully- not keeping secrets from each other.
But that might not be the case for the Marauders named Moony and Padfoot, for their hearts belonged to the same girl. The girl with white-blonde hair in twists and braids. The girl with violet eyes. The girl that made the two laugh. The girl that was a beacon of light, a ray of sunshine, and yet she was a gem in the darkness, a wild soul.
The girl with the name of Diana Allister.

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q: eye colour?

a: dark brown