"Are you sure, Padfoot?" Remus asked worriedly. Sirius did not stop scribbling furiously, bent over a piece of parchment.
"Don't worry, it'll be a laugh," said Sirius, shrugging his friend off. Remus frowned and fingered his prefect badge. Though it was only early in the year, he felt he had failed in his duty. He had let his friends go through with crazy plans that broke a dozen rules a go.
"How's this: 'Dear James, I've always noticed you but I've been too scared to admit my feelings. I'm sorry I insult you; I always panic and backtrack. You may not love me anymore after this. I understand. But I do love you, and hope you will forgive me. Please meet me sometime this evening in the Common Room. Love, Lily,'" Sirius ended with a girlish sigh.
"Hmm," said Remus, not wanting to openly approve.
"Oh come on, stop being the good boy for once. Live a little," Sirius said, straightening up and rolling the parchment into a scroll.
Lily only had a foot to go in her Transfiguration essay. She lifted her quill and yawned. What year was it in that they had first begun to use Transfiguration? She picked up her copy of A History of Magic, and began flipping the pages until she reached the page she had marked down.
She started writing again, this time with more certainty. Humans were Transfigured into cats by wizards in ancient Egyptian times. Wizards were anxious to do so, believing that being cats would grant them higher power. Cats were venerated because they were often confused with Kneazles, a similar magical creature. The first examples of human Transfiguration were incomplete, only resulting in changing their heads into animals. This resulted in the Muggles of the time believing these wizards to be gods, and otherwise—
"Hey, Evans."
Lily looked up, startled, to see James Potter standing over her. She looked back down at her essay, and saw she'd made an inkblot.
"What?" she asked irritably, tapping the spot with her wand until it was clean again.
"I know it must be hard for you," said James. Lily was forced to look up.
"Yes, with you interrupting all the time," said Lily, her thoughts still on her essay.
"Well, I know how you feel."
"Oh do you? Really?" asked Lily sardonically.
"Lily Evans, will you go out with me?"
"No."
"What?"
"No. Negative. I do not wish to. I decline your offer."
"But—but—you're madly in love with me!"
"Keep dreaming, Potter."
"You said so in that letter!"
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH MY ESSAY?" Lily finally shouted.
A flash and some smoke drowned out anything James could have said after that. A few second-years scurried off, holding their enchanted camera. James frowned.
"Fine," he said, more to himself because Lily was already scratching away with her quill again.
! #$%^&*
James woke late that morning, and marched out of the common room, yawning. The other Gryffindors had gone down to breakfast already, but James wasn't in much of a hurry, since he had a free hour that morning.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already waiting at the table.
"Morning," James muttered.
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH MY ESSAY?" Sirius shouted, making James jump. All three boys roared in laughter, while James simply crossed his arms.
"How did you know about that?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, the whole school knows," Remus said breezily.
"WHAT?" James spluttered, choking on pumpkin juice.
Wormtail giggled and handed James a piece of parchment. On it was printed a picture of Lily screaming at James, while James recoiled over and over.
Underneath was a huge headline, "WILL YOU LET ME FINISH MY ESSAY, JAMES?"
The rest of the parchment had an article explaining in detail what had happened.
"Those second years…" James growled. "You're a prefect, Moony, can't you just expel them?"
"That's not how it works, Prongs," said Remus. He calmly took a bite of his toast.
"Well, I have to save my honor," James said stubbornly.
"Three… two… one…" James whispered, and Peter transformed into a rat. The other three watched as he scurried on the floor of the common room, unnoticed.
He started to climb the armchair that held one of the second years. Wormtail disappeared into the neck of the boy's robes.
The shrieking started and James fell over laughing with Sirius. James had to wipe away tears before he could get up again. He walked over to the writhing second year, and yanked away his friend's camera. James snapped the picture vindictively.
"Go!" he shouted. He saw the rat crawl away and up into their dormitories. James followed Peter, running upstairs. It wasn't long before Sirius and Remus had joined them.
"That was great," Padfoot said. Wormtail took a modest bow.
"I can see the headlines for tomorrow," James announced. "GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!"
They all burst into another round of fresh laughter.
Review!