Disclaimer:

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

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

December 19, Shrieking Shack

"Here is the last potion for this month." James handed it to Remus.

Tonight was the full moon, and Remus had been taking the Wolfsbane Potions for the past six days already.

"Thanks. But I still feel bad that you have to make these every month… you refuse to tell me the ingredients, but I'm sure it's expensive," Remus said.

"You shouldn't think like that. We are friends, so of course I will make the potions for you. And don't worry about the money... my potion business is doing quite well as of late." James noticed that sales had been steadily increasing throughout the month of December.

Clients were also asking for more complex projects, which would, in turn, grant him more money.

He had even received a request for a Felix Felicis potion, although he wouldn't be able to start that one until they returned from the Christmas break.

"And I appreciate it… but…" Remus still looked conflicted.

"No buts. Just take the potions and shut up," Sirius huffed. "James is making them for you because you're friends. If you refuse to take them, it would be like spitting in his face after all the work he put into them."

"Sirius is correct!" Peter added. "And you've been so much better since you started taking them."

Remus remained quiet for a moment. "Okay, okay..." He glanced at James. "Thanks, James. I won't say anything else again."

"You better not. Besides, I'm still working on improving them. I may have something concrete soon enough," James said. He was handling too many projects at the moment, which left him little time to focus on the most important things as much as he would like.

"What are you saying? These are incredibly effective already!" Remus exclaimed. He couldn't imagine how these Wolfsbane Potions could be improved.

"Wait! Something occurred to me just now," Sirius exclaimed. "Since tonight is the full moon, doesn't that mean…"

"Right! The mandrake leaves. We can finally take them out!" Peter shouted.

"It just occurred to you now?..." James raised an eyebrow. "It's a good thing I remembered to prepare the three necessary vials and added the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth already. Tonight, we'll add the mandrake leaves and hide them in a dark room." James took a small portable parchment and began to write. "There's an incantation that you need to repeat every sunrise and sundown until the next thunderstorm… I'd better give some notes to you two."

"Hehe, it's a good thing we have James with us," Peter said.

"I wonder what kind of creature I'll turn into," Sirius said while lying down on the couch. "Maybe a dragon?"

"I don't think that's possible…" Remus pointed out.

"It's only non-magical creatures, right? Like cats, birds, dogs… something like that," Peter commented.

"I think so," Remus responded. "I've done a bit of research during my free time, but there's little information in the school library. Animagi aren't something that will be explained in class either."

"That's too bad… I wanted to be a dragon. I'd use it to scare my old folks," Sirius chuckled.

Remus turned to him. "I know you're joking, Sirius, but… keep in mind that even if you guys can become Animagi, you'll all need to keep it a secret. You could end up in Azkaban otherwise."

"Is it that serious of a crime?" Peter looked worried.

"I don't know the exact sentence for illegal Animagi, but it does involve spending time in Azkaban. Not a place you want to be, even for a short period of time. Dementors are no joke," James explained.

"Yikes…" Peter looked very pale now.

"It's going to be fine. No one will find out," Sirius assured his friends.

"Perhaps we should talk about something else," James suggested. "In two days, we'll begin the Christmas break. Is any of you staying at the castle?"

"Since my transformation will happen tonight, I can go home for the break. I wish I could tell my parents about the potions so they won't worry so much about the full moon, but…" Remus knew he couldn't say anything. James was an unlicensed potioneer, and he could get into a lot of trouble if people knew about his labs.

"I'll be going home too. I already miss my mom's meat pie!" Peter rubbed his belly with a smile.

"I wish I didn't have to go back…" Sirius frowned. "Normally, my folks would just leave me alone. But Mom sent me a letter two weeks ago, demanding that I and my brother Regulus be at the house for the break."

"Did something happen? You didn't get any detentions this year, so far at least," Peter pointed out, since this was a rare occurrence.

"Maybe that's why. They must be thinking that something is wrong with Sirius if he doesn't get a dozen detentions in the first trimester," Remus suggested.

"No, it's not that," Sirius huffed. "I don't know the details, but she said there was some important meeting for the Black family, and I had to be there. If I refuse to go, they'll probably cut my allowance to zero." Sirius turned to James. "What about you?"

"I've also been requested to return home for the break. My parents want me there for some reason." James still found it strange to speak about his parents.

"They probably just want to make sure you're doing all right," Remus said. "I mean… you almost died last summer, mate." He didn't want to downplay it. James's dragonpox had been very close to claiming his life.

"So, we'll all be home then," Peter said.

James noted the expression on Sirius. He really dreaded being stuck in the Black Manor for over two weeks. "Hey, Sirius. When is this important meeting your parents mentioned?"

"On the twenty-fifth… why?"

"Perhaps I can pay your family a visit and suggest that you spend the remainder of the break with me." James's words shocked his friends.

"You want to visit…" Peter started.

"The Black Manor?..." Remus added.

"Sure," James said nonchalantly. He had already made plans to visit that house during the break even before learning about Sirius's situation. He had some business there.

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