Professor McGonagall sat in Dumbledore's office, her arms folded, and face visibly disappointed. She had listened patiently as Dumbledore explained the peculiar request concerning James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. And she was very much prepared to say no.
"Albus," she said, her voice firm, "they are children. Mischievous children."
Dumbledore, simply leaned back in his chair. "Indeed they are."
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "Still, You want me to give them special attention? Do you realize what kind of precedent that sets?" She shook her head. "It would be unfair to the rest of my students."
Dumbledore said nothing.
McGonagall adjusted her glasses. "Besides, I know these boys. I know what kind of nonsense they get up to. And I can assure you, it is rarely for academic purposes."
Dumbledore let the silence stretch before finally speaking.
"They are not doing this for themselves, Minerva."
McGonagall scoffed. "And you believe that? You truly believe that James Potter, of all people, is pursuing advanced Transfiguration out of the kindness of his heart?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, but his voice was gentle. "They want to protect a friend."
Dumbledore studied her for a moment before he saw her getting soft, then added, "And you know, Minerva… the will to protect and love is the strongest will one can have."
McGonagall sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "they are little kids Albus, with the ongoing problems in the castle, the growing influence of the You know who and its implications on the whole wizarding world and Transfiguration is not a childs play! They can die!"
"More the reason to help them! So they don't get into wrong hands, or end up getting expelled or found dead in these grounds."
Minerva let out a defeated sigh. She knew she was talking useless and with Dumbledore at that, who always had reasons, though the reasons often seemed pretty unreasonable at times, but were never so.
"You always were too good with words, Albus." She said finally.
Dumbledore chuckled. She exhaled, straightened, and then adjusted the square set of her shoulders.
"If they behaved in any way inappropriate, I am telling you, I will expel them myself. "
….
During transfiguration lecture, Minerva was teaching, Branches of Transfiguration, "as you all knowTransfiguration is divided into four branches: Transformation, Untransfiguration, Vanishment, and Conjuration. Today we will study conjuration. This branch involves creating something from nothing, or transfiguring something from "thin air"."
She was teaching the students, but all this while she was looking crossly at James, Sirius, and Peter sitting almost nearby to each other. And feeling pretty awkward. As soon as lecture ended, james tried to rush out of the class when he heard.
Mr. Potter! Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew! All of you stay!
James shut his eyes tightly with disdain and turned to look at Minerva.
"yes professor…" james said with a smile. Sirius and petter followed him from behind. Remus looked at them with a hint of isolation and left the class.
Minerva didn't say anything until everyone left and only the four of them remained in the transfiguration room.
She wasted no time.
"If you are to attempt this…" she gave them a stern look, " let me be clear, I am not encouraging you to do so, you must understand the consequences. One mistake, one miscalculation, and you may find yourself permanently stuck between two forms. Or worse, completely lost to the transformation or even killed. Do you understand?"
Peter gulped.
James and Sirius exchanged an eager glance.
"Are you still sure to do this?"
Peter though reluctant nodded, following james and Sirius.
McGonagall sighed. "and mind you, its not something, you can do it in a day or two, it will take time and patience."
"Alright?"
She said finally seeing the determined look, "Well, very well. Let's begin."
What followed was weeks of intensive training. And it was not easy. The boys learned first how to channel the essence of an animal, a process that required a deep understanding of one's own magical core.
James was naturally adept, picking up the exercises quickly. Sirius struggled at first but powered through with sheer determination. Peter…Well…. Peter's first attempt at partial transfiguration left him with furry ears for two days.
It surely started with small things.
Peter accidentally gave himself whiskers during dinner.
Sirius grew a tail in his sleep.
And James… well. James got stuck with hooves for one entire afternoon.
McGonagall was not amused.
"If you are going to continue this madness, at least do it with some dignity, Boys!"
Despite the setbacks, they continued their secret training. And Remus well he was feeling neglected and abandoned. He knew something was up with the three of them, but he didn't know what was going, nor he wanted to pry on them. But he was feeling very bad.
At first, it was just a feeling. A small, nagging thought in the back of Remus's mind. It was clear to him they were hiding something. James, Sirius, and Peter had always been up to mischief, but now they were sneaking off without him. They'd exchange looks when he entered a room, conversations would abruptly stop when he approached. Even their usual study sessions had changed.
Remus was starting to become suspicious.
One evening in the common room, Remus looked up from his book and saw James and Sirius muttering in hushed voices near the fireplace.
Peter, sitting beside him, was too quiet.
Too nervous.
When Remus turned to ask him what was going on, Peter jumped so violently that he knocked over his ink bottle.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Peter blurted, scrambling to clean up the mess.
Remus narrowed his eyes.
Something was definitely off. And what hurt the most was that they weren't telling him. At first, he tried to ignore it. But as days turned into weeks, the feeling grew. And Remus Lupin had never felt more alone.
And then one day after divination class as James motioned to Sirius and peter to go, remus cried from behind, "I thought we were in this together! I thought we were friends!"
Everyone who heard this, looked shocked as they heard him so loud and clear. But still james expression didn't change. He just came back to him and putting a hand on his shoulder said, "believe us." And left remus alone in the classroom to his poisonous intrusive thoughts.