Chapter Four
(Ellie May)
I felt like a zombie. I'd only had 3 hours sleep. This was ridiculous! How was I going to manage at Hogwarts? I could hardly just be a zombie every day, and I could hardly sleep in the boy's dormitory. Hmph.
As I got onto Tufnell that morning I wondered how I could sneak in with James that evening. I could always get an illegal portkey… no, I think they'd notice. I wonder if I could just floo? I don't know what time they all went to bed though, what if I flooed in during dinner? Hmm. That wouldn't be sensible. I'll have to think about that…
(James)
"Are you okay James my boy?" Grandpa asked me the next morning at breakfast. I was so tired I only replied with a grunt, trying to say 'yes'.
Honestly, I wasn't okay though. With the little sleep I'd got, I now felt awful, and I couldn't stop thinking about her. It had been over 16 hours since I'd last spoken to her… I was in for a long three days. Especially because now it took so much effort to just lift my spoon.
After breakfast I was forced to play a small game of Quidditch using some apples, but I was so tired that I couldn't think straight, and caught the snitch (a charmed hazelnut) instead of being a keeper. I didn't even play seeker! I was a chaser!
So by the time lunch came around, it was fair to say that I was not in a good mood at all.
"James, are you feeling okay?" Dom asked me over lunch.
"Yes, I'm spiffing thank you." I replied as sarcastically as I could, and she just raised her eyebrows and went back to eating her dinner. Fair do's I suppose; it was a little harsh of me.
Despite having no energy after so little sleep, I couldn't bring myself to eat. So I guess that's probably why grandma kept trying to feed me. I mean I love her and all, but I really didn't want to eat the potato salad she was trying to feed me. Or the Pavlova.
"I think I'll just go for a walk." I told the table generally after lunch had been cleared away.
"Don't go too far dear!"
I walked about a bit, kicking stuff around like pinecones and such, until I eventually reached the village of Ottery-St.-Catchpole. It's a sweet little village really. But there are a lot of magic folk here, seeing as it was once a wizarding village. I walked slowly into the main square, wondering where I might find a drink, but before I had time to dwell upon the thought, my thoughts were interrupted.
"JAMESIE!" I heard someone shout. Oh god, please no, it was Annabelle Clarke, The president of my so called 'fan club'. I mean, not being vain or anything, but I love being cool enough to have a fan club in my honour! Except I really hate her. Annoying whore.
I really wasn't in the mood to deal with her at this second, but I supposed I'd have to. I took a deep breath.
"Hey Annabelle!" I grinned, giving her my signature smile. I'm too nice to these people, honest to Merlin.
"Oh James! What on earth are you doing here? It's so lovely to see you!" She bounced up to me, batting her eyelashes in a really sickening way. "Have you had a good summer?"
"Of course I have, lovely weather and a lovely girl, what more could I want?" I winked at her. Of course, the lovely girl was actually Ellie, but she didn't need to know that. I could just break her heart one day.
Okay maybe that was a little harsh. But she'll get her wakeup call!
She giggled incessantly, not an attractive quality, before giving a long rant about how horrible her summer had been without me, and how it had just brightened up because she'd seen me.
I'm such a charmer.
Luckily, I was saved by my phone ringing. Thank goodness for that invention! "Hello?" I said, flipping it out of my pocket. "Oh, hi mum….okay…I'll be back in ten minutes? Or shall I floo? Okay… see you then!"
After casually placing it in my pocket, I turned back to Annabelle. "Sorry my sweet, but I must leave you. My mother awaits."
"Oh." Her face fell. HA! "See you around Jamesie!"
And without another word, I left towards the nearest pub, the White unicorn. It was owned by wizards, so I just walked right in, after a quick hello to the rather attractive bar maid and flooed back to the Burrow.
"So then James, it has come to my attention that you will be starting fifth year. Correct?" The minister asked me, sitting on one of the raggedy old sofa's in Grandma's sitting room.
"Yep. OWLs…" I sighed.
"Now, here's the thing. You realise that you do need to pass your OWLs with flying colours to be accepted into the auror department?"
I nodded.
"Well then, because I'm sure you could do with the extra help on your OWLs, your father and I have a proposition to make to you."
Okay, I was VERY confused…
"We need you to become an animagus." Dad said bluntly.
They need me to… WHAT? "An ANIMAGUS? How the hell am I supposed to do that? Why do I need to? What the f-?"
"Language James."
"I was only going to say fudge."
"James, the thing is, the auror department need someone that is a specially trained auror, a powerful one, who is an animagus. We need their help with a top secret case, that only myself and your father and therefore mother know of." Minister Shacklebolt told me.
"But…" I didn't quite comprehend what he was saying. "But I'm 15…" was the best I could come up with.
"We know son, but we really need your help with this." Dad looked quite serious.
"Well what is it?" I asked the obvious.
"Well here's the problem… we can't actually tell you… yet. Do you trust us?" dad asked.
Well I guess I did. He's my dad! "Yeah. Okay. I'll do it." I sighed. I'll have to use my awesome ninja skills to find out.
"Thanks James!" dad exclaimed, and gave me a man hug. "I knew I could count on you. Otherwise I might have had to ask Albus or Rose."
"Are you saying I'm the best son?" I asked, smiling cheekily.
"Don't tell anyone." Dad winked. YESSSSSS!
"Oh, and one other thing. You need one other person to do this with you. Bring Ellie May, if she agrees?"
I felt my tummy warm at the mention of her name. Of course I'll take her! Didn't I just tell dad I was in love with her? I smiled brightly, and bounced out of the room.
"We'll speak to Ellie this evening, so don't ring her first!" Dad yelled after me.
After throwing myself to the ground in the field outside the house, my bad mood completely forgotten, I got out my phone.
The patronophone was quite a marvellous invention. It was basically just a phone, like the muggle ones, but they ran off magic not electricity, and you do the same as you would to send a patronus with a message, but into the phone. Except you don't have to do a full corporeal one, because not many people can do those, they are difficult. I can do it, but I'm amazing. Not being big headed or anything. My dad's Harry Potter. But yeah, you just did 'expecto patronum' into the phone and it sort of somehow enhances a really small and rubbishy patronus into a mini one that goes cross phones. So it was a good design for all the thickos.
"Expecto Patronum" I whispered into the phone, hoping that Ellie would answer.
"Hello?"
"EELLLLLLLLLIIIIIEEEEEE!" I practically screamed.
"James!" she laughed a wonderful laugh that I hadn't heard in so long. "How are you?"
"Brilliant!" I smiled to myself. "Okay, actually I lied. I had about 3 hours sleep total."
"Yeah, me too. You doing much?"
The conversation was pointless, I couldn't tell her the strange news, but it made me feel so much better just to hear her voice. Her smooth voice never wavered, and her laugh literally made me smile, and was COMPLETELY contagious.
So I guess no surprise when I walked to dinner beaming.
(Ellie)
When James arrived home unexpectedly that evening, our lives got a little bit more interesting.
I found out that I was to become an animagus, as was James, and we had no idea we had gotten over my initial excitement, Mr. Potter told us that today was the day that we would start training to become an animagus.
I was UNBELEIVABLY excited! Hardly anyone became an animagus! I wonder what I'll be! I hope it's something cool!
Harry told us that we had half an hour to get to grips with the situation, and then he was going to start, so, predictably, James and I were lying on his bed, cuddled up, discussing the upcoming afternoon.
"What do you think will happen first?" I asked him.
"Well, I think that we have to find out what our animal forms will be, but I don't know how we do that. I think it's something to do with patronuses." James shrugged. "You excited then?" he asked, smiling a gorgeous, genuine smile.
"Definitely! But when he said prepare, did he mean eat?"
James frowned. "Probably. Jam?"
"What can Jam do for Master James?" A small house elf appeared.
"Sandwiches please?"
"Of course master James!" The elf smiled, and before we had time to even utter a thank you, the elf disappeared, only to reappear a minute later with some cheese and ketchup sandwiches. My favourite!
Just as we finished our sandwiches in comfortable silence, there was a blinding flash of gold, and Fara appeared. She was such a beautiful bird – Mr. Potter's phoenix. I'd always had an attraction to the pretty birds, and James and I used to attempt to talk to them when we were young, but our efforts seemed to be for nothing. (Mrs. Potter had a phoenix too, Frisco.)
She dropped us a note before disappearing once more. It read:
James and Ellie,
Meet me on the patio as soon as possible.
Dad.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I yelled, trying to think of a really happy memory. I couldn't quite do it. It was still a silvery whisp – I'd never quite been as good at magic as James had.
"Don't worry, it's really hard, most fully trained wizards can't do this spell." Harry was telling me. "Try thinking about someone instead of something. That always worked for me."
Okay, I COULD do this. Okay. Thinking of… James. Okay yes, he was my happy memory. James, and the feel of his arms around me, that tingly sensation I get when I wake up with him in the mornings, the wonderful… "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
We shouted at exactly the same time, and suddenly, two huge, pure white, glistening figures were gliding smoothly around the patio. Lions. Two great, beautiful lions. One with a huge shaggy mane, and one without. I stood there for ages just admiring there beauty and superior presence.
Yet it was over all too soon. The silky white figures faded, and I was left looking at Harry, who was beaming from ear to ear like some kind of loon. "So, that is what your patronus looks like. It'll also be what your animagus probably looks like." Harry spoke quietly, as if trying to break big news to us.
"So I've spent the past two years knowing full well what my animagus was, and nobody told me?" James shrieked. He's such a girl.
"Can we try again?" I asked, excited now.
The next half hour or so was spent casting patronuses, learning how to make them travel and talk etcetera. It was so mind boggling, but I was so happy that we'd made this work!
James and I had no problem falling asleep that night. Our afternoons work seemed to have been quite tiring…
Please Review!
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After this, James and Ellie will do patronuses and become animagi as white lions. Everyone is surprised. It turns out that because they are in love with each other they must carry on loosening the knot knowledge after their parents, and do not find out until they're going out. They're very good at this.
