The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 46 - Valentine's in Hogsmeade

For the first time, the four of them managed to keep their leaves secure for a whole month. The hardest thing to overcome was the smell of rotting foliage that filled their mouths. They first tried the Bubblehead Charm on themselves, but Peter passed out after five minutes. After that, Branwen wrote to her mother to send a bottle of perfume and she convinced the boys to dab some around their faces during the day. Some of the more foolhardy students laughed at the feminine scent until Sirius used the Epoximise Charm on Jarvis Nott and Spenser Edgecombe, bonding them at the hip until they could hobble to McGonagall to unstick them. It earned Sirius a double detention, but it was worth it to watch the two Ravenclaws turn tail every time they saw him.

The next full moon was one of the first they had to leave Remus by himself in the Shack. Branwen herded other boys into the Astronomy Tower, which she had chosen as the location for their clandestine procedure.

She had hidden several phials in strategic locations where they would "receive the light of the moon" yet remain hidden from the nightly classes. They each deposited their leaf and one of their hairs into their own phial. Then they added one of the moth chrysalises, courtesy of Hagrid. And finally, they scraped the condensation from one of the windows and poured it into the phials using a silver teaspoon. When the phials were full, they placed them high up in one of the eaves, a "quiet, dark place" where they could hide until the next electrical storm.

Remus smiled weakly when they walked into the hospital wing later that morning. "Did you do it?"

Branwen nodded breathlessly. "Now all we have to do is say the incantation every morning and night until the next electrical storm!"

"Yeah, piece of cake," James rolled his eyes.

Branwen stuck her tongue out at him, then pulled out her wand. "All right, boys." She waited until they all had their wands pointed at their hearts. They simultaneously chanted, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

It was exciting at first, anticipating their change and guessing what animals they would be. But the monotony of the incantation and the daily disappointment of waking up to their own reflections began to wear thin. The sky snowed off and on for the next three weeks, but there wasn't a sign of lighting anywhere.

Though they didn't give up (Branwen wouldn't begin her day or and go to bed without hearing them recite the spell) but soon other things began to vie for their attention. A trip to Hogsmeade was on the calendar, and the week after was the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match.

Serendipitously, the next Hogsmeade trip fell the day after Valentine's Day.

In the week leading up to the holiday, the castle was strewn with paper-heart chains and glowing red fairy lights. Couples were even more nauseatingly clingy than usual. Filch was on high alert, ferreting out students who were snogging in the halls and empty classrooms. Rumour had it that he even caught Sturgis Podmore and Bertha Jorkins shagging in a broom cupboard on the fifth floor.

The morning of Valentine's Day, the Great Hall was full of hand holding and maudlin eye-gazing. Branwen cleared her throat while she buttered her toast at the breakfast table. "So, are you boys ready for Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to tell you Bran, I won't be able to go with you again. I have a date," James said.

"With Lily?"

"No," he sighed. "She turned me down. Again. But I think I'm making progress. This time she said 'no thank you' instead of 'never in a million years, you arrogant slimeball.'"

"Don't worry, James," Peter patted his arm consolingly. "She'll come around."

"If you're not going with Lily, who are you going with?"