A/N – Check out Iris, and If you're not the one. We really like them. I dunno if you will, but they're pretty.
Ok, so here another chapter of our story…review coz it makes us HAPPYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 4September 3, Tuesday
Double Transfiguration.
9:33
Ergh. I'm sooo tired. I can't think I'm so tired.
And what's worse? We're practising for the Transfiguration test, and I can't do it.
I'm sitting next to Monica. She was putting on lipstick while McGonagall was explaining, and yet FIRST GO her cat turned straight into a PERFECT, SHINY TEAPOT! Not even a tail!
I was wriggling nervously in my seat, trying to understand what McG was prattling on about. She was trying to teach us how to change mammals. I got the spell, and all the theory, yet my cat did NOTHING when I said the incantation. (Firmly, clearly and I'm SURE I got the movement right.)
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
When I voiced all this to Monica, she just said:
"This is revision Lily, we could do this in 5th year. Stop messing around and do it, we all know you can!"
WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK I CAN DO THIS? CAN'T THEY SEE MY CAT? CAN'T THEY SEE IT HASN'T CHANGED! AND THANKS A LOT MONICA, "WE COULD DO THIS IN 5TH YEAR", THAT JUST MAKES ME FEEL SOOO MUCH BETTER!
"Lily, what are you doing? You're going to rip apart that book of yours if you don't stop pressing so hard!" Sirius whispered to me.
Great.
Now he thinks I'm mental too. And it probably looked like I was writing hate letters about people.
9:36
I'm the only one in the class who didn't manage to transfigure my cat. Even Peter Pettigrew managed.
Charms
10: 55
I really need to think of something.
I really should pay attention to Flitwick.
Why is Richard staring at me?
I bet you I managed to transfigure my face into a cats' face or something, and no one noticed except for him…Not much difference anyway.
Free Period
12:40
Free Period now. Phew! I'm practising Transfiguring the cat I stole from the Transfiguration room. I wonder if anyone noticed I was carrying a cat around in my bag…
I'm actually becoming quite fond of this cat. It's a thin little ginger thing, with eyes that are different colours-one green and one blue. Weird, like me. She's a girl, too, I'm pretty sure.
I hope I don't manage to transfigure her and then can't change her back! I want her to be my pet! I need to think of a good name…
12:44
Ouch! My little kitty just bit me! That's it miss, you're getting transfigured!
12:47
Sigh.
Nope, still didn't work
Lunch soon!
Lunch
1:50
"Lily, why are you grinning like an idiot?"
Ahh my sweet, naïve Kathy, I will ignore your hurtful banter and tell you why I am so incredibly happy that it's hurting my jaw.
"Because I have a plan."
She looks shocked, then wary.
"I don't want to know. Make sure you don't get into to much trouble." And she leaves. Just gets up and leaves.
Well, ouch.
But I am too happy to be hurt too much by Kathy's cruel words.
For I have solved the problem of the Transfiguration test.
Ahh, life is good again.
Here's the plan: Use every second night to practice Transfiguration in the Transfiguration room. Aren't I just a GENIUS? I will take my Kitty TBN- (To Be Named) and practice transfiguring her. After a couple of nights spending hours tirelessly labouring on this task, I will definitely get the hang of transfiguring mammals. I'm trying not to think about what I will do if I don't manage to figure it out. Probably run away and live in the sewers.
If I don't have this, I will probably freak out and get caught, so here it is.
Sneak out of bed at 12:00 pm.
Tip toe out of the dormitory, check for Filch.
If all clear, progress to Transfiguration room.
Practice. Check for Filch every half hour.
Check for Filch again, if all clear progress to dormitory
Sleep
9:30
Dormitory
Phew, that went quick. Time does that, when you're nervous. I couldn't find any time to write in Potions or Defence Against the Dark Arts, they were pretty hands on, and I was too busy stuffing my face at Dinner-( I decided If I would be lacking on sleep I would need my energy), and besides, there wasn't much to write.
11:45
I'm still waiting for Yolanda to start snoring-that's when you know she's asleep.
I don't know why I'm so nervous, despite popular belief I have snuck out at night before.
Once in 3rd year: It was the Christmas Holidays and I had stayed at school because Petunia had sent me a mean letter and I was sulking (I'm used to it now).
I was baby sitting Yolanda's pet toad- Cygnus (he died in 5th year, from old age, it wasn't me that killed him, don't worry).
She couldn't take him home because they have like 10 cats.
Anyway, I had been up doing Transfiguration homework (surprise, surprise), and it was around 1:00pm when I noticed Cygnus was missing. I searched everywhere. All over the dorm, trying not to wake Kathy (the only one kind enough to stay with me, aww, gotta love your mates.)
After a while I realised he wasn't there, and I suddenly thought (for some reason) that I might have left him in the potions room…
So I crept all the way down and had a few close calls with Peeves, only to realise I hadn't even had potions that day. So up I went again, only to find Cygnus sitting on my pillow.
12:00
Ok, she's snoring. Time to go. I can't take you diary dear, so ta ta!
September 4, Wednesday
Breakfast
8:30
Wow.
Just, wow.
Before I FAINT, Here's what happened:
After I had put on my dressing gown and picked up TBN, I crept down the stairs into the common room, hoping that no one would wake. (I really didn't want to have to explain this to them. It would just add to the humility). But, of course, seeing as I can't walk across flat surfaces without falling, I tripped over a table and it crashed to the ground. I froze for a while, listening for footsteps, but thankfully no one had woken. There was paper all over the floor from where students had left parchment, but I didn't want to clean it up now, so I tiptoed to the portrait hole.
Following my plan, I stuck my head out the door and checked for Filch.
No Filch – thank goodness. I very carefully opened the portrait hole, trying not to wake the Fat Lady, but of course, knowing my luck, she woke.
"Oi!" She hissed. "What are you doing up at this time? Get back to bed!"
"Shhh" I muttered.
That was when I started running, or tiptoeing quickly more like.
I used my wand for light, but it was still very dark and I stumbled a few times.
I checked behind me for filch after I had turned the first corner. No filch. That was good.
After I went down the corridor, and turned to the left, I swore I heard footsteps. I quickly turned around, but there was no one there. Probably just my mind playing tricks.
"Shut up mind" I said. "It's not funny." I had always talked to myself, I suppose it's pretty strange, but it's not like I'm mental is it? Don't answer that question. Please…
Eventually I found myself in the Transfiguration Room. I opened the door cautiously, half expecting to find McG. there looking over her glasses at me, in her disproving way. She probably slept there, knowing my luck.
I put TBN on the
most scratched and graffitied desk I could find, (knowing her claws,
it would soon be a lot worse) and started practicing. When I say
practising, I mean, attempting.
After I had uttered "Abeo!"
about a thousand times and nothing had happened, I threw down my
hands in frustration
My wand hit TBN.
TBN was not happy. Actually, I wouldn't be either if someone just poked a wand in my back, but there you have it.
She growled at me and jumped out the door, I lunged for her, knocking over about 5 desks.
CRASH!!
It was the loudest thing I'd ever heard in the calm quiet of the night. I lunged for her, but she ran to the other side of the room. After I had successfully managed to knock over several desks and books, I finally swooped her into my arms.
I knew I didn't have long before Filch arrived, so I rushed out of the door, and sprinted down the corridor.
Then I realised I'd left my dressing gown.
Desperately, I ran back to into room, I could hear Filch's wheeze behind me, then his roar:
"PEEVES!!"
I grabbed my dressing gown, and acting on impulse (as I all too often do) jumped into the broom cupboard at the front of the room, heart beating frantically. That was when TBN started meowing, really loudly.
"Shut up" I whispered. I put my hand over her mouth, but she bit me. Again. And again. Until I finally let go. That cat has anger management problems.
I could hear Filch limp around to the back of the room, so I peeked through the cupboard door. When I was sure he was looking the other way, I opened the door and leaped out, into the hall.
"OI, YOU, STOP!"
Oh no oh no! He's seen me! I thought as I ran, but I was easily faster than him.
I ran up and down several staircases, and through corridors, and around classrooms. I had no idea I was this fit. Obviously dear old Filchy wasn't because he was wheezing and puffing along far behind me.
Once I was sure I had lost him, I lent against the wall, hand over my face.
Well, that could have gone better.
I heard three sarcastic, slow claps. My hands fell and I gasped, and threw my hand to my mouth again, then dropped it.
I was in the corridor outside of the library, and leaning against a suit of amour, arms now crossed, smiling pleasantly, looking annoyingly calm, and actually strangely impressive in the moon light was James Potter.
I must have looked absolutely comical in comparison - eyes and mouth wide open, sweating, panting, hair a frizzled mess, clutching a squirming tabby cat and wand.
"Evening, Lily" He said pleasantly, as if this was a completely normal place to meet, under completely normal circumstances. "Pretty close call that, wasn't it."
I gasped, "You SAW that?! Why didn't you help me?! How did I not see you?! And Filch, how did he not see-"
"Woah, woah, calm down" He laughed, straightening up to walk to me and pin my flailing arms (I had dropped TBN and my wand in my effort to express myself) against my sides.
"That's a lot of questions Lils, and all will be explained, but right now I think Filch might be coming this way… so perhaps we should go somewhere more private...?"
"Oh no! Is he coming? Where do we go!? What do we do?" I gasped, and I realised I had pressed myself up against him and in fear.
How pathetic.
I quickly realized what I was actually doing and took a step back, my face flushing bright red.
He laughed again (why did he seem so happy? Probably because I was making a huge fool of myself, his favorite past time…)
"Relax Lily, I'm not going to get us caught. Here, it's too late, come under this."
He pulled out a cloak from his pocket (he was wearing robes, not pajamas) and pulled it over both of us. I heard Filch limp around the corridor, and my heart went into overdrive.
"He's going to see us!" I hissed, and I squirmed, trying to run.
I felt James' arm around my waist, holding me still, his other hand went over my mouth. I considered biting him, but he seemed so confident that the cloak would hide us that I didn't.
I shrunk back into James as filch approached, leaning completely against him. My hand rested against the one of his that was around my waist. I froze and held my breath as he walked past.
The moment seemed to go on for an agonizingly long time, but eventually I felt James' lips at my ear whispering, barely audible, "don't move just yet." I stayed where I was until I couldn't hear footsteps anymore, and then realized the position I was in, yet again. I leant forward and relaxed. I felt James' silent laughter behind me. He removed his arm and hand, and pulled the cloak off us.
"How did he not see us?" I demanded.
"It's an invisibility cloak, look." He threw the cloak back on, and suddenly I couldn't see him.
"Woah! That's amazing! Where did you get that?" I asked, running my hands over the soft fabric. (After he had taken it off. Don't get me wrong.)
"It was my dads, he gave it to me." He replied.
How cool is that, huh? An invisibility cloak. Suddenly I understood how half the pranks he had pulled over the years were possible.
"Now that answers your questions, so I have some of my ow-" he began, but I cut him off, narrowing my eyes.
"No it doesn't. Why didn't you help me? You could have caused a distraction or something!"
"I thought you were coping quite well." He said innocently. "Plus, you're cute when you're flustered." He made his smile even more innocent.
I was too angry and embarrassed to reply, so I turned away, my non TBN hand in a fist.
"Lily," he said, and his voice was much softer now, "I'm sorry that you're mad, but I did help you."
I sighed, and grudgingly agreed. "That's true, so, thanks."
"Anytime. Now, done?"
"One more."
"Go on, then."
"How did you find me?"
He laughed again. "I heard you knock something over in the common room, and I came to investigate. I followed you."
"Under the cloak?"
"Yep." He smiled.
"Oh no, does that mean you saw my worthless attempts at transfiguration?"
He looked surprised. "No, is that what you were doing? I took a detour to the kitchens, I was hungry."
"A detour? The kitchens are on the other side of the school! And you were hungry? AT MIDNIGHT?"
"I know the castle well." He said mysteriously, ruining the effect by smiling. "Did you know that you could have just cut through the 4th corridor, taken the hidden stairs by the portrait of Bartimus the Barmy and got back to the common room?"
I was stunned, but hid it. "No, I didn't know that."
He laughed.
"Come on, let's go into the library, its more comfortable there." I thought of the hard chairs and tables, and hardly believed that.
He led us into the library, but instead of heading to the stiff tables and chairs, we walked to the comfortable sofa behind the book shelves. I sat down on the 2 person couch, expecting him so sit opposite me, but he plonked himself right next to me.
When we were comfortably seated, TBN jumped up on James' lap, and curled up in a ball. I was hurt, she loved him more!
"Is this your cat?" James asked, looking at me suspiciously.
"Er…yeah."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I kind of stole her from the Transfiguration room to practice on" I confessed, my face going red, "but I grew attached." Pity I couldn't say the same about her for me.
He laughed. "Her? This cat is a boy."
"What!?" I gasped.
"Yeah, look-"
"Er, I don't really want to know, but thanks for that, I still haven't chosen a name for…him" That was a shock.
"How about James? You need a nice, manly name now that you have insulted his manliness."
I rolled my eyes. "As if. I'm not naming my cat after you."
"Even though I saved you?" He said with mock hurt.
"Even though you saved me. I thought heroes got places named after them, not cats…And since when is 'James' a manly name? I can name ten boys names manlier than James!"
He looked outraged, "What! Go ahead then, and James is an incredibly manly name! It just rings with manliness!"…and I sometimes questioned MY sanity…
I laughed, "er…Rick, Roger…Ricky"
"Rick is the same as Ricky, and what's with all the R's?"
"R is a manly letter, J is a feminine letter."
"That's just stupid, and I'm not letting this go, but we have more important things to discuss."
I raised my eyebrows.
"You were practising Transfiguration. Why is that, you seem fine in class?" He asked me.
"Why does everyone think that? Did NO ONE notice that I was the only one who couldn't turn their cat into a tea pot!? Even Pettigrew, oh, oops…sorry"
I blushed, remembering that James and Peter were good friends. Just like me to make someone feel bad after they were nice to me…
He chuckled, "Don't worry. But I thought you were just messing around because you were bored, not because you couldn't do it…"
I growled. "Well, I can't , and I don't know what I'm going to do because we have a transfiguration test in less than 6 days!"
He looked thoughtful "I will help you, if you like, but I suggest we go outside. I can't trust you won't go knocking over more tables."
"Thanks, but you're not going to charge me or something afterwards? Because I'm broke…" I didn't think he would, but it wouldn't be unlike him and his marauder mates to be mean.
His expression turned sour. "I'm flattered that you think so much of me." Heavy sarcasm.
I immediately felt guilty. "Sorry, its just I'm not sure why your doing this, I mean I asked all my closest friends for help, and they just ignored me, but you, who've hated me for the last 6 years-"
"What?! I never hated you!" He yelped, jumping up from his seat. TBN jumped up to, but didn't bite James, like he would have done to me.
I was stunned "Then what was with all the pranks and jokes with one soul purpose-to humiliate me?"
James looked flustered, for the first time that night.
"Lils…that was you know, sort of…to…get your attention…"
I blushed, and was stunned. James had liked me? "Oh. But you're over that now, right?"
"Yeah, of course. I would never do that any more. And I'm sorry, for it all…"
"That's all right. Just don't do it again. I can embarrass myself without your help."
He laughed nervously.
"So, want to get started?"
"Now?"
He couldn't be serious; it must be past 2 in the morning.
"Why not, we've been up the whole night anyway, we might as well do something useful."
"Sure." Well this was new. Transfiguration with James…at 2 in the morning….
And so he started to teach me.
Apparently, I was saying the incantation wrong, moving my wand the wrong way and not having enough faith in myself.
"If you think it's not going to work, it won't! Believe that you're able to do it! See the cat changing in your mind!"
After about an hour or so, I had got it. TBN was a shiny, tailless teapot in front of me.
"Thank you,
thank you, thank you!" I almost yelled at him, I wanted to hug and
kiss him,
(yeah…that might not go down so well…) I could DO
IT!
I PROBABLY WOULDN'T FAIL!
I still had heaps of trouble, don't get me wrong, but the teaching had made all the difference. I might be able to scrape a pass.
"Thank you soooo much James, I'm so much better now!"
He chuckled, "Don't worry about it Lils, and if you need any more help, I'm here. Don't be scared to ask."
Ahh, gotta love him. I smiled, and was about to thank him when he said. "I think I'll probably need help with the charms assignment. You're the only one in the entire class who managed to those questions he put up."
"Really? I would have thought tones of people-"he cut me off.
"Most people suck at charms. There are only like 3 of you who can do even half the charms he taught us that lesson, yet you did it first time." He said, sincerely.
"Well" I stumbled. "Charms is my thing. You're way better at transfiguration.
After the teaching we got chatting again, while we were walking up to the common room. He was really interesting and funny, this is definitely a new James.
Eventually we parted.
"Goodnight Lily, see you tomorrow, if we ever wake up." He said with a grin.
"Night James. And thanks so much. Even if you did spy on me, I'm really glad you did."
That didn't sound to…pathetic and stalkerish did it???? I hope not.
I didn't dare look at the clock as I collapsed into bed, but I fell asleep within seconds.
So there you have it, and I don't really know what to think…
