Remus had a furry little secret. For the sake of this little secret, the Marauders had hatched a bold, loyal, and naturally difficult and dangerous plan: to secretly practice becoming Animagi.
As for the Animagus transformation, Gloria knew a thing or two about it. Professor McGonagall was a registered example, and so was her mother, which meant Gloria had known about this mysterious, dangerous, and fascinating branch of Transfiguration since she was a child.
She had even thought about practicing it in the future. After all, her grades in Transfiguration were quite good, and her wand was exceptionally well-suited for the discipline.
Gloria’s wand was quite peculiar. It was made of acacia with a Thunderbird tail feather core—rare wood paired with a magically potent material. Such a combination could never be described as ordinary.
An acacia wand would refuse to serve anyone other than its true owner, and would only reveal its full capabilities to the most gifted individuals. This particularity made acacia wands very difficult to match with most people; its owner needed to be sufficiently meticulous and perceptive.
Meanwhile, a wand crafted with a Thunderbird tail feather, while difficult to control, radiated immense power and was particularly treasured by transfigurists. As the master of such a wand, Gloria was a uniquely gifted witch.
Yet even so, at the end of her first year, her mother had still forbidden her from practicing in private. Her mother always felt that her Lia was still too young, and that practicing it now was simply too dangerous.
Although her mother didn’t permit it, Gloria had read through the methods and procedures countless times and had long since committed them to memory. It was precisely because of her familiarity with the Animagus process that it wasn't hard for her to guess what Sirius and the others were up to. After all, she had started suspecting them ever since they began gathering Mandrake leaves, and now her suspicions had simply been confirmed.
When they once again set their sights on the Mandrake leaves, she hid herself in the shadows and intercepted them. As she idly twirled her wand, she finally heard some movement.
"Strange, how come the Mandrake leaves were moved inside?"
"Hiss, I suppose we'll just have to go in and get them."
"But I didn't bring my wand."
Just as the group was arguing back and forth, Gloria appeared right behind them.
"I take it you haven't planned this out at all, have you? The coming month isn't going to have the weather you're looking for."
The four boys were clearly startled by her. The moonlight was thick, yet the atmosphere at the entrance of the greenhouse felt heavy. A wave of worry welled up in Remus's chest.
"How do you..." know?
"Count me in, how about that?" Gloria smiled slyly, looking rather excited. The four Marauders froze and exchanged glances. Remus still wanted to play dumb, knowing full well that when it came to this sort of thing, the fewer people who knew, the better.
"Gloria, we were just passing by."
"Oh, give it a rest, Remus. I know the subject far too well; you can't possibly hide it. But tonight is clearly not a good time. Meet me in the library tomorrow after classes. Good night, gentlemen."
And so, by the afternoon of the next day, five second-year students were sitting in a rarely visited corner of the library.
James wore an excited expression, Remus looked worried, Peter was terrified, and Sirius kept his gaze fixed solely on Gloria.
"You said you want to join?" James asked the composed, pretty girl sitting across from him, holding a Transfiguration book.
"Obviously." Gloria didn't even raise her head; she was entirely focused on the newspaper in her hand, surveying the weather forecast for the coming month.
"You... aren't you going to ask why?" Remus's hesitant voice broke the silence.
Gloria turned a page and replied offhandedly, "Oh, the reason? Aren't you Marauders all about pulling pranks? How could I possibly miss out on something this interesting?"
Sensing that the four boys had let out a sigh of relief, Gloria flashed a triumphant grin of accomplished mischief, lowered the paper in her hands, and propped her chin up with one fair palm.
"Or perhaps it's because of Remus's little secret?"
Seeing their expressions of shock, Gloria swept her gaze over Remus’s pale face before picking up her newspaper again and offering a nonchalant reminder:
"The full moon is in just a few days. I hope you've already prepared your dittany and your leave, Remus."
It took a good long while for the four of them to snap out of it, casting complex glances at Gloria.
"Aren't you... afraid?" Remus was clearly the most conflicted of them all.
"Afraid of what? A werewolf?"
Clearly, upon hearing that word, his face grew even paler.
"Since Dumbledore allowed you to enroll, he must have made preparations and considered the consequences. What is there to be afraid of?"
"Merlin's beard! Just how on earth did you figure it out?" James looked at her somewhat exaggeratedly, his messy black hair looking even more disheveled than usual.
"It wasn't hard to guess. You lot are inseparable. Since you're practicing to become Animagi, it's obviously a group endeavor. Yet it seemed like only the three of you were actually doing the legwork—even timid little Peter Pettigrew joined the practice, while Remus only ever seemed worried and showed no intention of joining. Is that even possible?
Unless he didn't need that kind of transformation in the first place. Plus, the fact that you suddenly decided to practice something so difficult and dangerous is highly unusual, coupled with his regular leaves of absence and the scratches on his face... the answer was glaringly obvious."
After listening to Gloria's analysis, Sirius delivered the final verdict: "You really ought to be in Ravenclaw."
Gloria glanced at him, taking it as a thank-you for the compliment.
In the end, the group tacitly welcomed Gloria into their fold.
When Gloria returned to the common room, the surrounding area was completely empty and quiet. However, a boy was sitting on the sofa, his face flickering in the glow of the fireplace. Gloria paused when she saw him, said nothing, and headed straight for the girls' dormitories.
"Lia."
Gloria’s footsteps faltered. She turned around and looked at him indifferently.
"What is it, Adel?"
Adel Sisyphus, Carissa’s full brother and one of their father’s most favored heirs. In other words, he was Gloria’s biggest rival.
The atmosphere that should have been bristling with hostility was unexpectedly harmonious.
Adel walked up to her and remained silent for a few seconds. "I'm here to apologize on behalf of Carissa."
Gloria missed the turbulent emotions hidden beneath his lowered gaze; she merely felt she had just heard something laughable.
"I think that was a first-year matter. Don't you think this apology is a bit too late?"
After all, Carissa had run away the moment she laid eyes on her, going so far as to transfer to Beauxbatons. Even during the summer holidays, she would stay far away, avoiding her like the plague. How could she possibly remember to apologize now? Besides, Gloria didn't care for her apology anyway; no matter what, her cat was never coming back.
Adel clenched his fists. "I know. I just... didn't know how to face you."
Gloria looked at Adel with a complex gaze, suddenly at a loss for words. For a moment, the two of them fell into silence.
"Adel, when did you become such a coward? I don't plan on forgiving her, but we're even now."
Besides, she had given her a taste of her own medicine—a lesson carved deep into her bones.
With that, she turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation. Her robes brushed against his palm, leaving not a trace behind. When all was said and beyond, they could never go back to the way things were.
Out of Gloria’s sight, Adel watched her retreating figure, his eyes growing faintly red.
He looked down at his own hand, his face full of self-derision. A coward? What she said wasn't wrong at all.
Adel, you were the one who pushed her away with your own hands. Are you satisfied now?
No one could change the past, but no one could stop the surging tide of memories either. Adel knew that ever since Gloria started school, she had regained a sliver of her former vibrancy, but the Gloria of his memories was ultimately gone forever, never to return.