CHAPTER EIGHT: "Apples and Oranges"
"Stop it!" Cherie snapped at Amelia who was nervously biting her fingernails as they waited outside their Transfiguration classroom for their next class.
Obediently Amelia dropped her hand from her mouth and looked to her friends worriedly.
"You'll be fine," Lily reassured her, resting a hand on Amelia's shoulder. "You've put in all the practice and you can practically quote the entire text book you've read it that many times. You'll be fine."
Dark circles ringed Amelia's eyes, clear evidence of the last two sleepless nights spent studying for this morning's assessment. The only explanation for her still being able to stand upright was due to the insane amount of coffee Cherie had fed her in a bid to wake her up.
"Remember the toad?" Amelia fretted.
"Who cares about useless old toads?" Cherie rolled her eyes. "Besides, we're not even using toads today. You just need to calm yourself down, take a deep breath, and you'll be fine."
Amelia looked to her unconvinced as their classmates started to gather in the corridor along with them.
"Good morning Cherie, Amelia," James said as he and his friends approached the group of girls before adding with a nod, "Evans."
The morning sunlight was gently filtering through the stained glass windows in the corridor, shining colored patterns across the wooden flooring. Scuff marks were visible in the wood, worn down from hundreds of years' of students dragging their feet along to classes. Suddenly, a heavy satchel swung forward and dropped to the ground with a loud thud near James' feet.
"You guys ready for this morning?" Sirius, now relieved of his bag, stretched his arms well above his head carelessly, his shirt slipping out from the waistband of his uniform as he slouched against the wall.
"Of course we are," Lily said matter-of-factly.
"Gee girl, you look like a walking corpse." James said looking Amelia up and down.
Instinctively, Amelia shyly retreated behind Lily, using her as a human shield.
"So what if she was up late studying? I can't help but notice you lot haven't been studying." Lily retorted.
"Been watching out for me, ay Evans?" A cheeky smile spread across his face.
With a creak, the classroom door swung open behind them and Lily just narrowed her gaze at James as Professor McGonagall stepped into the corridor. Her graying hair was pulled tightly back into a bun, not a single hair out of place and she sported her usual favorite emerald green robe sweeping around her fragile frame, a small ornate brooch adorning the front. Today, she resumed an air of sincere authority; calm, collected and strict.
"Good morning class." She began. "As I trust you are all well aware, your first assessment is going to be held this morning. I expect full silence from the moment you enter this classroom and trust you will abide by the normal Hogwarts examination rules which I know you are all very familiar with."
Stepping aside, Professor McGonagall allowed the students to file into the room one-by-one and each find their respective seats. Walking straight up to the middle to the head of the classroom, she turned to her students and waited for them to settle down.
"In front of you, please find an anti-cheating quill and a blank scroll of parchment. In just a moment, you will have 30 minutes to respond to the questions above on the board. The remaining portion of the class will be allocated to practical assessment. Each question is worth 20 of your grade, with the practical assessment making up the remaining 40. No one is permitted to talk. Any offenders will see themselves immediately removed to detention, with a failing grade. Am I understood?" She added, with a meaningful glance at James and Sirius.
"Yes, Professor." The class responded in unison.
"Right, your time starts now." She concluded, and with a wave of her wand, three questions materialized on the board at the front of the class room.
Chewing her bottom lip, Amelia read the questions before her.
What is the most vital component to transfiguration, the wand/magical abilities or witch/wizard? Why?
Which key factor links to the transfiguration of colours?
Which important influence did Gwendolyn Poland have in transfiguration studies with her discovery in 1321 A.D?
Instantly she was surprised that she felt confident in answering each of the questions, and a ray of hope shone over her nerves. The most vital component to transfiguration was of course the witch or wizard themselves, as it is all to do with their concentration, and their association with the objects they wish to create. The key factor to the transfiguration of colours was clear visualization. Whereas Gwendolyn Poland was famous for being the first person to become an animagus, being able to take the form of an animal at will.
Confidently, she looped her handwriting over her parchment, not pausing for a moment. Finally, satisfied that each question had been answered in its entirety and to the best of her ability, she placed her quill down and picked up her parchment to examine any errors in her response.
Shortly after, McGonagall called their attention and magicked all of their papers into a neat pile atop her desk. "Now, for the practical assessment, please clear your desks."
The class did as they were told and a large basket rose up from the back of the classroom and began to move towards the students. As if by an invisible hand, an apple was lowered from the basket to the centre of each desk.
"You will spend the next ten minutes, transfiguring the apple you see before you into an orange. Marks will be allocated for colour, texture and finally for taste. You may begin."
Her time was nearly up and Amelia was on her third apple, the first one had turned into a mouse and ran from the class room. The second one had exploded leaving apple remains in her hair and over her face.
Concentrating with all her might on the apple in front of her, she muttered the incantation repeatedly under her breath, then with a flick of her wand a purple jet shot out of it, just as Professor McGonagall pronounced the assessment over.
Horrified, Amelia gazed at her assignment as the professor commenced grading.
Reaching James' table, he twirled his wrist in a flourish and presented the perfectly colored and ripe orange to the professor with a deep bow.
"Oh, that is heavenly!" McGonagall exclaimed a moment later, tasting Sirius' orange. "Full marks, Mr.Black."
Varying results were evident around the class, including Lily's orange which appeared yellow and Cherie's orange which still contained an apple core when sliced in half. But none of the results were as atrocious as Amelia's attempt. The skin's texture had changed yet remained red and when McGonagall cut into it, it the flesh was soft and yellow like a banana's.
"Well, Miss Lambeth." McGonagall was evidently at a lost for what to say. "Do you still hope to become a Healer when you graduate?"
"Yes, Professor." Amelia said with a quick nod.
"And you are, of course, aware that to become a Healer you require a minimum of an 'exceeds expectations' grade in several subjects, including transfiguration?" Again, Amelia nodded. "Good, so you will therefore know that results like this are not going to be satisfactory. You have a lot of work to do if you wish to succeed at the end of the year, Miss Lambeth. You may even find it beneficial to join with one of your more experienced class mates to study."
"Yes, Professor." The girl reddened, as the professor moved away from her to assess the next piece of work.
Amelia felt she could not have been dismissed too soon as humiliated she awaited with her class mates until all the practical assessments had been fully examined. Upset, she hastily departed the room with Lily and Cherie close behind.
"What am I going to do?!" Amelia exclaimed in despair before sobbing on Cherie's shoulder.
Lily and Cherie exchanged a look over her shoulder. Amelia had always wanted to be a Healer and follow in her mother's, and her mother's-mother's footsteps to work at St Mungo's hospital, caring for witches and wizards alike. All of her grades were perfect, but she always struggled with the practical side of transfiguration; with every 'failure' pushing her one step further away from her dream.
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the attention of the three girls back. Head down, Amelia wiped the tears from her eyes and raised her gaze to meet with the boy's.
"What do you want, Sirius?" Lily asked scornfully.
"To speak with Amelia…" he began before Cherie cut him off.
"Whatever you wish to say to her, you can say in front of us."
Clearing his throat again, Sirius shifted uncomfortably beneath the gaze of the three girls. His usual dominating confidence and pride was well and truly in hiding as he struggled to form the basic words he'd had circulating in his mind for the past ten minutes.
"Well, you see, I heard what McGonagall said to you before… about needing to find someone to study transfiguration with…"
"What's your point, Sirius?" Cherie snapped.
"Well… I've always had full marks in transfiguration… thought you may like to study with me. Or for me to help tutor you…"
His dark grey eyes looked deep into hers, awaiting her response. Amelia bit down on her lip and looked nervously between Lily and Cherie, trying to gauge their reaction.
"Is this some sort of joke?" She asked cautiously.
"No, no, no. Of course not, why would it be?" Sirius responded hastily.
Amelia's thoughts flashed back to the night three weeks earlier, where she had fought with Cherie. 'A leopard doesn't change its spots…' It had taken all week for Cherie to forgive her for trusting Sirius' intentions and giving him the benefit of the doubt. Cherie had proven herself right when even the girls were punished with detentions for the boys' playing hooky. She could not and would not defy that loyalty in friendship, for the sake of trusting others with a disreputable history, again.
"Why would you ever do anything to help me? You're mean. You're always playing pranks on people. Are you just after me to be the victim of your next 'joke'?"
Sirius' jaw dropped in shock.
"You see this?" She was on a roll now and pulled at the badge on the front of her robes. "You realize you nearly cost me this? That you nearly got Lily removed from her position as head girl? Or what about Remus, he could've lost his badge; and he's your friend! I guess we can all just be thankful that Professor Dumbledore decided to give us a second chance, with nothing more than an endless string of detentions as punishment. Which, by the way, I have to be at my next one in just a few minutes; three hours of polishing crystal balls and re-stocking tealeaves in the Divination room, it's just what I've always wanted, Sirius, thank you."
Turning on her heel, she head off down the corridor without a backwards glance.
Cherie smirked at Sirius before turning down another corridor to her detention in the glasshouses, and Lily silently left for Filch's office where she was expected for cleaning tasks in the main foyer.
Amelia felt her stomach twist and turn uncomfortably as she weaved her way through the familiar corridors. Never, would she have guessed she could act so out of character and make a scene like that. She yelled at Sirius. She let her pride and peer pressure influence her actions, taking away any chance of the help that she so desperately required.
"It was the right thing to do," Amelia muttered to herself under her breath. "Cherie and Lily were right. He takes nothing seriously. Accepting his help would be pointless and be more bother than it's worth. Yes, it was the right thing to do."
Still not fully convinced, she noticed her hands were quivering as she rested her hand on the bottom rung of the ladder beneath the divination tower and she began to climb.
Her head emerged through the other side of the small portal in the ceiling and her nostrils were greeted with the soft wafting scent of incense which left a light hazy cloud throughout the room. The room was stifling hot, and full of several velvet cushions strewn about the floor surrounding low tables, each of which had a crystal ball in the centre. Lit candles gave the room a light glow, and the curtains wafted dozily in the windows.
"Miss Lambeth," The woman's voice cut through the tranquility of the music playing from an enchanted harp. "Take a seat, won't you."
Peter Pettigrew had already arrived was seated in the chair opposite the professor's round desk.
Professor Myers was a young woman, not much older than the students she taught. A seer dressed in the simplest of clothing, adorned with elaborate pieces of jewelry which had various crystals and stones embedded in them. Her sharp blue eyes sparkled in the light and her long blonde hair was swept to the side over one shoulder.
"Well, you two have been in quite some trouble I believe. Professor McGonagall has put me in charge of your next detention. Your tasks for today are to polish the crystal balls at each table – however, you mustn't touch them with your bare hands, for you will disturb the spirits. The wooden filing cabinet in the corner needs to be sorted categorically and alphabetically, my first years have been a bit careless about where they put things away, and now it's impossible to find anything. I then require a stock take of the tealeaves." She concluded handing a list to Peter.
"Yes, Professor," the pair responded.
"The spirits have informed me that you can both be trusted, so I will leave you to it and will return at 6 o'clock to dismiss you for dinner."
With that the professor stood and with a quick smile, she threw a handful of floo powder into the fire grate. She took a step into the fireplace and with the green flames licking around her frame she called out for the Three Broomsticks and disappeared.
"Right, let's get this over with." Amelia sighed grabbing a polishing cloth and kneeling on a cushion before one of the small tables. Careful to not touch the crystal ball, she picked it up with the cloth and gently started buffing it with a second cloth.
"I'll do the tealeaves." Peter said reading the list in his hands as he walked towards the tall cabinet across the room.
Not paying attention to where he was going, Peter walked into Amelia, causing the delicate ball to slip from her grasp. Amelia lunged forward as Peter could do nothing but stare open-mouthed as the ball spun in the air, reflecting the light as it fell towards the bare floorboards. Mere inches from the floor, Amelia's pale hand scooped beneath the ball, catching it just before the unthinkable happened.
"Watch where you're going! Can you imagine the trouble we'd be in if that broke?!" Amelia exclaimed, her heart beating double-time with the adrenaline as she carefully cradled the fragile object in her palm.
"I'm sorry. I should've been…" Peter began when he caught sight of the crystal ball.
The pair had been so panicked as the ball tumbled towards the ground, that neither of them had noticed a dark cloud swirling around within it. Amelia followed his gaze and quickly lowered the ball back to the tabletop as the cloud separated and a darker figure moved forward through it. The split second before the apparition disappeared was long enough for Amelia to sight the creature within. A rabid dog, its teeth bared in a snarling growl.
"Uh, I think I'll do the tealeaves if that's okay." Amelia reached for the list Peter still held and backed away slowly. One look at his expression showed he'd not seen the form that the apparition had taken, but he didn't protest as she went to the cabinet.
Two hours later, the tealeaves cupboard was neatly organized and the crystal balls were gleaming. The tired teens had now moved to the filing cabinet in the corner and were trying to organize a series of cards, files and booklets.
"Uh, what about dagger?" Peter looked to Amelia quizzically.
She scanned the files before her. "Miscellaneous objects?"
"Done." He nodded, satisfied.
"Hmm… Did you know dagger is the symbol of skill and power? I thought it'd mean death, or murder or something." Amelia ran her eyes over the file before slipping it alphabetically into the right drawer.
"You learn something new every day." Peter commented, reaching for the next file. "Raven, would be under animals, birds?"
"Sounds good to me." Amelia shrugged.
"Right, and a grim would go under mythical creatures, of course." He handed the file to her casually. "Rose… flora, I guess."
Amelia had frozen, her eyes fastened to the file before her, as though held by an invisible force she couldn't look away.
Headed with the word "Grim", the parchment contained a picture of a black snarling dog, with an incredible likeness to the apparition that had formed within the crystal ball earlier. Its fiery red eyes were flaring with feral rage. The bewitched image was snapping its jaws in Amelia's direction, as though it were ready to leap from the page at any moment and devour her.
To read that the grim was the guardian of dead souls was more than enough to send Amelia into a further state of paranoia. She had grown up with aspects of divination integrated into her life. Right before her mother was even pregnant her seer had foretold a daughter would be born to her within the year. Her grandmother also dabbled in divination and used it to aid with some of her work as a healer, to discover the correct diagnosis in mysterious cases.
Highly wary that the grim portends death, Amelia's mind raced. In denial that she was about to die, she thought of those closest to her. Her parents, her grandmother, Lily, Cherie, Remus...
"Amelia? Amelia!" Peter waved the next file in her face. "Come on, we're nearly done here."
"Huh, oh yea…" She said coming back down to reality and stowing the Grim's file deep within the cabinet. Lily would never stop laughing if she found out about her superstitious paranoia; and thus she vowed to try and push the images far from her mind.
A/N - Thank you to anyone and everyone who has been reading 'Change is in the Air' - I hope you've been enjoying it so far! And an even bigger thanks to those who choose to review and/or add me/my story to your favorites list! I especially owe my sincere thanks to Brianna London, Z.A Marie and SiriuslyDistracted for all their help with my writing - be it encouragement, editing or just being there to bounce ideas off of. I truely do appreciate all of your help.
I'm only half way through my next chapter, and am having a lot of trouble with it - so don't foresee me updating before Christmas - but I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and to those of you lucky enough to get a holiday, enjoy it! (I'm working Christmas Eve AND Boxing Day!) Hopefully Santa will stuff my stocking with some inspiration to get my next chapter finished sooner rather than later!
Love, Charlotte
Pre-warning: I believe that the next chapter has the first content that is deserving of the "M" rating I have chosen. It will contain sexual scenes. In later chapters, higher levels of violence will start to be integrated into my story. If you are easily offended, please consider yourself warned.
