A/N - updated 2/12/17.
What's happened so far:
Ch8: Jean, Trevor, and the Marauders discuss the threat of Greyback and the fast coming Fullmoon. James plans a birthday present for Lily and Lucinda's Quidditch game was eventful as was the after party in the Slytherin Common Room. Dumbledore starts the Order and has the Prewetts meet with the Orwells (about getting the Ring from the Gaunt Shack) at the Hog's Head during a Hogsmeade Weekend.
Ch9: Jean and Trevor find out that they're going to a Wedding (that Katie and Jane are also going to) and will need fitting Muggle Styled attire. James, Sirius, and Peter take bets on Jean and Remus. While Jean and Trevor try to figure out just how they can save everyone without giving away their advantage Remus doubts his future and the help of the OWLs to it. James is feeling on top of the world after giving Lily her present and getting a kiss on the cheek.
Neville and the Do-Over
Chapter 10: A Long Hard Road Ahead
(Saturday, January 31st, 1976.)
Jean sighed, again, as she stared at her list. Her finger tapping the parchment idly as she thought. The twenty books that lay around her had not helped, many leaving her with more questions than before. 'Had no else considered them? Surely I'm not the first to wonder'.
"Not finding answers?" Her head snapped up, to face the voice, but Remus only chuckled as he sat beside her. "You do that a lot you know – getting lost in your thoughts."
"Sorry, and no. No answers, and limited theory." She sighed again and rubbed her face.
"Well, I'm sure we could figure it out." A rare mischievous smile graced his face. "But you would have to actually tell me what these ideas are."
"Alright," she relented, "I guess I should start with an easy one." He waited; his full attention on her. "Whether Invisibility cloaks are treated as clothes during Animagus transformation. I really can't image them not, but apparently, no one has felt the need to try, and what if-."
"What if the cloak is taken with the Animagus as they change, but the powers don't extend, seeing as it would be Transfigured." He supplied.
"Exactly, you could transfigure an invisibility cloak into a mouse, and said mouse would be visible."
"Right, and it is easy enough to test, but I'm afraid we beat you to that one. We tried that out, the night Padfoot managed to turn back. It works perfectly by the way, although an invisible Sirius is far more stealthy than an invisible Padfoot." He grinned at the memory. "At least on stone flooring – I imagine it would be the reverse outside."
"Any insight into how wizards forced bonds on House Elves? I find plenty of books with when they did and why – as if it was an acceptable reason – but nothing on how or what it entailed."
"I read once that it was a type of debt spell."
"Yes I read that, but I don't know how that helps."
"Well, I'm guessing your interest is in freeing the House Elves?"
"It used to be, but now I'm convinced they will never accept monetary payment, and will always desire to do work for others. So my hope is to find out how Wizards added this bond magic to their magic, and change it, so rather than being freed by receiving clothes they are freed from their own unhappiness or distress."
"So they can no longer be mistreated." He nodded along.
"Yes. I hope they will be willing to change enough to work only for the worthy."
"So that they are like the Elves in that Muggle fairy tale with the shoes."
"...The shoemaker and his wife, yes."
"Don't be so impressed Jeany, you're not the only half blood you know." Remus laughed. "My mother loves stories, so as a child I heard many, especially from this one big book of Muggle Fairy Tales."
"Well, what do you think then?"
"Well if it is really debt magic, formed by some House Elves harming a wizard child, then it should be possible to either end the spell or counter it if you had a willing and wronged House Elf. While finding a wronged House Elf, sadly wouldn't be that hard, finding a willing one would be rather difficult."
"Yes, I suspect that was part of the spell – keep them from feeling wronged and keep them from using their magic against their masters."
"It would make sense. Maybe Dumbledore knows? Not only because he's Dumbledore, but due to his age he may have heard the real story."
"Oh, you don't buy that the House Elves just randomly decided to burn down a house so that they could clean up the mess? Or that they did it because Wizards of the house were too neat – not giving them enough work?"
"No." He laughed shaking his head. "Peter has come up with better stories when put on the spot."
"Alright." Jean scribbled on the paper for a moment. "What are your theories on apparition while in Animagus form?"
"I don't see why not, they are both internal magic."
"That's what I figured, although there may be a higher risk of splinching, and side-along would be difficult depending on the form, and then with that, there is the splinching again."
"I guess we'll have to wait a year to find out." He shrugged.
"I was going to ask Dumbledore about it next time I see him."
"But you'd have to...you can't... can you?"
"Yes... not legally...but I am quite capable." 'Well no one will know unless they see me, but still illegal' She amended. "But I meant I would ask him if he knew." She clarified.
"You know Sirius has this theory that Dumbledore is an Animagus too? That he turns into a Phoenix and that is how Fawkes came to him when Phoenixes are so very rare and generally rather aloof."
"That is an interesting idea. You know he taught McGonagall."
"Yes, and he likes his secrets."
"Don't we all?" She grinned. 'The time traveling, unregistered Animagus says to the secret Werewolf – that just sounds like a bad joke'.
"Anyway, what else is on your list?"
"Well," She raked her teeth over her lip, "you're not going to like it."
"What is it?" He cringed.
"I was wondering... well I thought that … I mean I -"
"Spit it out, Jean."
"We know Animagi theoretically can't be turned, but can a werewolf become an Animagus?"
"No, Jean. We have no idea... it would end horribly."
"What if it did nothing but allow you to turn without pain, just minutes before you would anyway."
"It's dangerous, I could be stuck like that until the moon was over."
"Which is why you would only try in the hour before you would turn anyway. It could make it painless! It could give you some control over the Wolf."
"It could allow Moony to come out without the moon."
"There is no reason to think that it could give you less control."
"It's too dangerous Jeany."
"I told you, you wouldn't like it." She sighed, but he only sternly frowned at her. "Is it so bad for me to want to reduce your pain and stress?"
"I can handle it, I have for years." He hissed. "Just leave it, Jean."
"The issue isn't 'if you can', but rather 'if you should have to'." She hissed back, grabbing her bag and standing. "And stop acting like I asked this of you - I didn't ask – you asked and I shared." She whispered harshly before she left quickly.
"Great job Remus." He bitterly muttered to himself, rubbing his face with his hands. With a sigh, he stood and started tapping the books she had left with his wand – sending them on their way back to their shelves. After the first two, he stopped and looked over the titles. "The Master's Guide to House Elf Magic and Abilities, Goblins: People or Not (The Arguments), Medieval Chastity, Light Magic: Exploring the Rare Magic of Love, Magical Pets: Your Questions Answered, Internal Magic: Beyond Tricks and Apparition, Magical Law and Other Binding Magic, Advanced Curse Breaking Theory. Protective Magic: the Lost Noble Art...she really does want to know everything." He laughed to himself.
"I could have told you that – where is our lovely know-it-all?"
"Sirius," Remus nearly did a double take, "...you're in the Library."
"Yes, I have been here before Remus."
"I can think of once."
"I come here whenever I want to find Jean." He shrugged.
"She isn't here."
"She was, I checked the map."
"She left." Remus amended.
"She left? But it's only like two on a Saturday."
"Why don't you use the map and find her again?"
"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Sirius pulled the map out and laid it out between them.
"I asked her about that charmed list, and she actually told me."
"And what?" They both started scanning through the map.
"And it's a list of ideas or questions she has. One was about Invisibility cloaks and the Animagus Transformation."
"That was fun." Sirius looked up, grinning wide.
"Another was if werewolves could be Animagi and if that would limit the pain of transformation and possibly give some amount of control."
"And you shut her down – just like you did us."
"Yes."
"And she got pissed because she trusted you with her idea-babies and you crapped all over it."
"I wouldn't say it like that."
"I would, and seeing that she's at Hagrid's I'm guessing she would agree." He pointed to 'Jean Orwell' on the map. "And you know, now that I know that Jeany thinks it's a good idea, me and James will be revisiting the idea with you later, but for now there is a lovely lady that I think could use a run."
~.~.~
"Jeany?" Sirius called from beside her, still panting a little as he looked up at the clouds.
"Yeah, Sirius?" She glanced at him through the taller blades of grass.
"Could you teach me the Patronus Charm?"
"Don't you want to be an Auror? They teach the Patronus Charm in training."
"Yeah I do, I just thought... I don't know." He sighed.
"You know I'll teach you if you want to learn – whatever the reason. Just know it is a hard spell, although I think it's more about the strength of the memory and confidence than the strength of the wizard."
"I just think that if I knew it before training, I'd have a better chance of getting accepted."
"Ah, you think they will see the name Black, and reject your application."
"Yeah," he sighed, "but if I could do the Patronus Charm (not even corporeal), just be able to do it enough to prove I can. That maybe then, when they see I'm not eaten alive by maggots, then maybe they will actually believe that I'm not like my family."
"Then I have to help." Jean gave him a smile. "Once we find the right memory it will be easy." She assured him.
"...Could we start now?" He asked, his voice unusually small.
"Of course," She shrugged and hopped up, "let's go find an empty classroom."
"Alright." He jumped up, beaming.
"So you need more than just a happy memory." She said as they made their way back up to the castle. "Well it doesn't actually have to be a memory, it can be a dream you had or just a thought."
"Alright."
"But just for ease let's call it a memory. It has to be the happiest memory you have – the happiest you've ever been."
"Flying?"
"That usually isn't strong enough."
"Being sorted into Gryffindor? Then James and Remus following and sitting next to me – it solidified the friendship we started on the train."
"That might work."
"Here." He grabbed her sleeve and tugged her towards an unused classroom. "So what's your memory?'
"It's changed. At first, it was … my mum or Harry and Ron – they were my first real friends." She shrugged, hiding her frown at not being able to tell him that the first memory she used was how her Dad would take her out of school on boring days (where every class was going to be more explanation of what they had already learned because half the class didn't get it yet). She had nearly told him how her Dad would take to her the Zoo on those days and they would talk about anything and everything while they watched the animals - how they would get ice cream and sit and watch their favorites, and she'd promise not tell Mom about their special days together. "It's harder using those memories now... now that they're gone." She said quietly.
"Have you made new memories you can use?" He asked glancing over her face.
"Let's find out." She smiled. "A demonstration is probably the best place to start anyway." She added. Pulling out her wand, she search her new memories: sitting by the lake with the girls and Padfoot; dinners and tea with Hagrid and Trevor; running and rough housing as Hartz with Padfoot; Truth or Dare and kissing Remus; Trevor giving her a knit sweater for Christmas (that looked very much like one of Mollys); making the paintings do nothing but curse for a day and starting a Black Lake Pool Party with Sirius; her and Trevor's nights in the Room of Requirement, planning for the future and sharing their fears. She smiled to herself. "Yes, I think I have a few that could do the trick. Pay close attention."
"To you? Always." He winked.
"Expecto Patronum!" Before them, the mist from her wand swirled and pulled itself into a happy Otter, that swam through the air around her as if it had missed her.
"But it was a dog..."
"It was an Otter first." She smiled, happy to see her Otter again.
"Why'd it change?"
"I would guess Ron. Seeing that it turned into his Patronus – a Jack Russell."
"Jack Russell huh?" He had a small grin. "They're supposed to have a thing for Otters you know." He added softly with a smile.
"Yes." She smiled. "But, I think it was more about what could have been, you know? We had danced around our feeling for so long and then we kiss - just because we didn't know if we'd live to do it later...and then we had just enough time to make plans for a proper date...and then he was gone...then everyone was gone..."
"I'm sorry Jeany." He pulled her into his chest and petted her hair. "I shouldn't have brought it up." He whispered as he watched her Otter fade away as it swam around them.
"It's really ok," she assured him with a kiss on the check, "but thank you..." She took a small step back from him.
"I'll always be here." He said softly but with a clear sternness. "For you, for our very odd, and quite possibly fucked up, friendship." He laughed.
"It is rather odd." She laughed.
"I like it." He shrugged.
"Me too." She smirked.
"Good. It's settled then." He pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Are you ready to try?" She asked, with an attempt at a smile.
"I think so." He took a position in the middle of the room.
"Just keep in mind that while I think it is easier than they say, it still is beyond a N.E.W.T. level, just maybe not way, way, way past." She smiled. "No one gets's it the first time or even the first day." She added seriously.
"Noted." He smirked.
"Fill yourself with happiness, it must be overflowing, all encompassing – your only thought." She coached. "Focus on that thought, and when you have it begin to move your wand in tiny circles and then say 'Expecto Patronum'."
Flashes of faces: flashes of death. Before her eyes James died on the stairs, Lily screamed as she fell lifeless in front of a crib. A wailing baby with a lightning scar was locked in a cupboard and ignored. Ginny lay dead in the chamber, and Ron was bleeding on a giant chess board with the queen's sword in his chest. Cedric Diggory lay dead as his father's heartbreaking cries washed over his body. Dumbledore falling from the tower, his body shriveled and dead already. A crazed Sirius was kissed by Dementors. Remus stood surrounded by the dead bodies of his friends – alone and broken, he lost himself to the wolf.
"It's your fault Jeany." A young Sirius appeared beside her, bathed with blood. "You did this." He pointed to her feet, where she found herself standing on a mountain of bodies. At the top, right under her feet were Katie and Lucinda.
As she looked over the mass of bodies, more and more faces became clear. The Prewetts lay broken with Fred and George, who held a bloodied Ginny in their arms. Professor McGonagall clutched her nephew to her chest with one arm while the other lay at a wrong angle with a shattered wand in hand. Professor Flitwick had been broken in two, his tin of charmed cupcakes lay open in his hand. Then there was Hagrid, motionless with one hand on his pink umbrella and the other holding a bloodied Fang.
"You meddled and now everything is worse than before." Harry spoke from her other side, his body broken and dirty but standing over her.
"You promised. You said we would protect them, that we could make it better. I trusted you." Her own eyes looked back at her with nothing but hate. Trevor stood covered in blood with the sword of Gryffindor in his hands. "All I wanted to do was save Sirius and my parents. Make life better for Harry, and Remus and myself, and end Voldemort before he could rise again. Was that too much to ask? To save Colin and others? You had to ruin it all – to kill them all!" He glared at her again.
The words and scenes pressed into her, suffocating her. She tried to move, she tried to breathe, but could only watch it all flash over her again and again at a dizzying speed. Voices yelled at her from all sides, as Amos' cries grew stronger and were joined by Mrs. Weasley as she cried over her dead children (all of them laying face down in the dirt at her feet, their bodies broken and twisted).
"Miss Jean!" A high voice tried to cut through the cries. "Miss Jean must wake up!" The voice rang high again, as she felt her shoulders shake on their own. "Wemsi not want too." The voice whimpered.
SMACK!
"Fuck!" Jean snapped upright in bed, her eyes wide and her hand on her throbbing cheek, as her heart pounded in her chest.
"Wemsi is sorry. Wemsi had to wake Miss, but Miss would not wake." The elf scrambled back off of Jean and onto her feet.
"Thank you Wemsi. I'm sorry, I swore at you."
"Miss woke Brave Mister. He sent Wemsi. Miss wait, Wemsi will get dreamless sleep and cocoa for Miss."
"You don't have to Wemsi, I'll be fine."
"Silly Miss will wait for her potion and cocoa." Wemsi said sternly.
"Alright Wemsi, Thank you. I will wait and write to Trevor to tell him I'm alright. If you insist on cocoa will you give him one as well?"
"Wemsi will." She nodded, and with a soft pop, she vanished. With a groan, Jean rubbed her face and gathered her planner, a quill, and ink bottle. Opening the red bound book to the 31st of October, she saw Trevor had a message waiting for her.
'What's wrong? I'm hoping this is a nightmare.'
'Yes, just a nightmare. I'm so sorry Trevor, these were supposed to help us keep each other safe, but all it's been doing is showing you what a mess I am.'
'Don't be stupid Jean, you have good reason for nightmares.'
'Since we put them on, I have been the only one to trigger them. Yours could not work and we wouldn't know because unlike me, you have your shit together.'
'You're being stupid again. I don't have my shit together, it's always there going off in the back of my head every waking moment. Our grief just effects us differently. You're not weak, you're not some damsel. Having nightmares and getting upset when people are assholes doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. You having more cause to be upset, doesn't make me stronger.'
'Perhaps.'
'So what was the nightmare? Was it about what happened to those we left again?'
'No. It was me failing. Everyone was dead, and it was my fault.'
'You dreamed that we didn't change anything?'
'No, I dreamed that we changed everything for the worse and that it was my fault. I watched James and Lily die, Harry go off to his Aunt, Ginny die in the chamber, Cedric die like before, Dumbledore fall off the tower.' She wrote before pausing and adding a semicolon after the word 'watched' and pictured how Trevor would be laughing at her if he noticed. 'I was on a mountain of bodies,' She continued forcing herself to continue despite how silly she felt. 'with a blood covered Sirius and a broken Harry and you, and you were all telling me how it was all my fault.' She finished with a sigh and played with her quill.
'That's not going to happen. Ginny won't die in the Chamber, the snake is dead and we will get that book (even if we have to steal it out of Ginny's things after Malfoy plants it. And Dumbledore' the writing stopped for a long pause. 'The cabinet! We forgot the cabinet! We should have thought of it when we took care of the Diadem in the Room of Requirement – it was right there!'
'No, the cabinet shouldn't be in the Room of Requirement, it was in the corridor on the first floor, until Fred and George locked Montague in it to keep him from taking away points. It took them days to get him back, it was removed because it was broken and wasn't safe. It might not even be in the castle yet.'
'We'll ask Dumbledore, and either keep it from coming to Hogwarts or torch it. We are changing things for the better already Jean. Wemsi's coming to you, so goodnight and thanks for the cocoa.'
POP. "Miss must take her potion now."
"Alright, Wemsi."
'Goodnight Trevor.' She wrote before she closed her planner and set everything back on her bedside table. Sipping the Hot Cocoa, before downing the potion.
"Good. Now Miss must relax and drink her cocoa before she falls asleep."
"Yes, Wemsi."
~.~.~
(Sunday, February 1st, 1976.)
"Ah, you're already here." Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he closed the door. "I have received confirmation that the Prewett twins will meet with you again on the next Hogsmeade weekend so that you can show them the Gaunt House. They can be a bit cavalier so I made it clear that this visit is to assess only."
"Thank you, Professor, this is the one I know least about. I don't know it's protections, only that they will be strong and likely cruel. I do not want to rush this job, for once we have time – we must wait to get the locket anyway."
"Yes, as much as I would like to race to end Tom's terror, I believe this plan is better. I just hope we do not lose too many." Dumbledore agreed somberly.
"I have a way around that Professor, but I need your help, and we must work quickly. This summer the Death Eaters will plague the Muggles and Muggleborns, by September the fear of Voldemort will be flourishing and parents will start to pull their children out of school – hoping to keep them safe by keeping them close." Jean warned.
"You have my full attention, my dear."
"I want to make a bracelet, an emergency out for Muggleborns and their families. All Muggles will be targeted, but the families of Muggleborns will be the worst. You should start getting the Order to watch high traffic areas of Muggles – shops, theaters, restaurants. That sadly is the best we can do for the Muggle population."
"And this brace-"
CRACK! Two House Elf's appeared in the middle of the group.
"Wemsi brings Dobby. Dobby will listen." Wemsi bowed low.
"Wemsi you don't need to bow, and thank you for doing this, and thank you Dobby for meeting with us. Can we – ah." She smiled as two small plush chairs appeared behind the two elves.
"If you would care to sit." Dumbledore gestured to the chairs.
"Dobby would be honored." The familiar voice squeaked, and Jean had to hold back tears and the urge to hug him.
"So Dobby as I'm sure Wemsi told you, we have reason to believe you wish for freedom, and we wish to help you with that." Jean started.
"How could you know? How could you help Dobby? Why would you help Dobby?"
"I cannot answer all of your questions Dobby, not yet. I cannot tell you how I know or why I want to help you in particular." Jean said.
"We can, however, tell you how we can help you, and that once you are free, we will then answer your other questions." Trevor added.
"We also don't want to mislead you Dobby." Jean started again. "While we will work to free you regardless of your help, there is information we hope you will share with us." Dobby looked critically at her. "We don't like your master Dobby, nor his. We want to know if the Malfoys have a Book, a very special yet evil book."
"Master has many books, most evil." Dobby answered and Jean wasn't sure if he meant that most of the books are evil or if there are many most evil books.
"This one is about this big." Jean gestured as if it was there in her hands. "A black leather journal, the pages are blank, and on the cover is the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', but let us talk about the options on how we can get you your freedom."
~.~.~
(Thursday, February 5th, 1976.)
Jean sat in the back of Charms, as Professor Flitwick lectured on the Stunning spell. 'I can't believe that was really only in 5th year'. She shook her head at herself and focused again on her wand in front of her on her desk. With her hand a foot away from her wand, her jaw clenched, and her fingered spread she focused– 'Lumos!'
"Better, I guess." Jean muttered to herself after a dim light came from her wand. "Lumos." She whispered with conviction, and this time her wand tip shone brightly even in the light of the room. 'Progress is progress'. She sighed to herself.
"You do something like that and you dare sigh? I should hit you over the head with this book." Lucinda scolded.
"Use hers it's bigger." Giggled Katie.
"Sorry, you're right." Jean stood and tried to smile. "I should be thrilled, to make such progress in such a short time." 'I just need to be better so I can save everyone'.
"Have you guys managed to talk with Patty any?" Lucinda asked.
"Not really. Haven't seen her much like usual, and I don't want to annoy her by stalking the Library for her." Jean answered.
"I was hoping after the night of the game that she would become more talkative." Lucinda sighed.
"Maybe we should just keep trying, make sure not to push her, but also not stop trying to include her." Katie said.
"I still think she has a thing for Severus, and at the very least he doesn't hate her. Which for Severus is actually really saying something." Jean added.
"You don't usually enjoy our talk of set ups." Katie eyed Jean.
"I just can't help but think that one day Severus having only Lily, is going to end horribly for both of them. So if we could get him to notice someone else..." Jean sighed.
"Maybe he won't ruin things when he finds out Lily thinks of him like a brother if he starts to have feelings for someone else?" Lucinda finished.
"Returned feelings." Katie added with a grin.
"She isn't as 'obviously pretty' as Lily, and definitely not as outgoing, but I think she is actually a lot like Lily." Lucinda pondered their reclusive roommate.
"Maybe you two should concentrate your dress-up whims on her?" Jean smiled too sweetly.
"Shut it, Jean," Lucinda scolded, "we can easily dress both of you." She added in the sugary tone Jean had tried for.
"And we could start doing your hair and makeup every day too." Katie threatened. "Do you think we could get Slughorn to pair them up?" Katie wondered a moment later.
"I'm not sure that would be a good idea." Jean frowned. "He would probably assume she would mess up his potion and be an arse like he did with me. Patty is brilliant, she must be with her scores, but let's face it no one is as good as Severus with potions."
"You are." Katie argued.
"Oh I'm not even close," Jean laughed, "I only look it because I have made all these potions already. By 7th year, if not sometime next year, I will look like a moron compared to Severus unless he starts taking pity on me and tutors me like he does Lily."
"I thought Lily was Slughorn's Potions Protégé." Lucinda asked.
"Being Slughorn's Potion Protégé doesn't make you a Potion Protégé. She is good at potions, working at the same level, she very well could be better than me, but again, compared to Severus we are all idiots when it comes to potions." Jean corrected.
"Slughorn would rather have the 'Lovely Lily' in his club than a 'sour Severus', it's understandable." Katie shrugged.
"Yeah, it might have some roots in Lily being Muggleborn (Slughorn doesn't seem completely void of some foolish ideas), but I think it really comes down to how likable Lily is." Jean sighed.
"She should have been invited due to her high scores throughout her classes, but then most of the highest rank students aren't a Slug." Katie added.
"No most of the Slugs are connected and behave just like Slughorn, and the others are outgoing and make Pretty Trophies." Lucinda said and they all nodded together in agreement and continued on in silence.
"Quiet down, and take your seats." Professor Slughorn waved them down. "Today we will be brewing the Invigoration Draught. As usual, points will be given to the best potions." Professor Slughorn told the class, before turning his attention back to the papers on his desk.
"Oh, Severus I've been forgetting, this is for you." Jean pulled a sealed roll of parchment from her bag and set it on the table (but out of their way). "My notes are detailed but overall, the results were impressive."
"I didn't ask before, but for the sake of research, do you have many spell scars?"
"I don't know what would constitute 'many', but I have a fair amount, you will find my notes include the scars source and age along with its improvement." Jean answered stiffly.
"Did all of them improve then?" Severus inquired.
"All but one, but it was made with a cursed blade, so I image the only chance to fade it would have to be created especially for the exact curse or curses used on the blade itself." Jean said flatly (holding back a sigh or any other emotion – as had become a habit around Severus).
"That is likely," He nodded, "but I will keep that in mind while I work on my improvements."
"Now isn't the time, but I have my own personal projects that deal with potions, I hope you would enjoy some theory discussion sometime soon. Your insight would be most welcome."
"It would be nice if I could have an intelligent conversation over potion Theory." He replied, tipping his head to her slightly. 'HA! You want to!' Her mental thirteen-year-old-self gloated and danced around as physically she contained her smug grin, and pretended he didn't just say he liked talking to her and thought of her as intelligent.
~.~.~
"Would you put that bloody thing away? You're not even a Seeker! Why would you steal that?" Lily snapped at James (across and two people down the table from her).
"I didn't steal it, and in my first game, I was a Seeker. This -" James' snatched the golden ball from around his head. "is the snitch I caught, winning the game, in my first game. The first game of second year, I was a reserve and got to play for our Seeker after he 'fell' down the stairs in the astronomy tower the night before the game. I asked to keep it, seeing that with their flesh memories they are really a one use kind of thing."
"I remember that game." Lucinda smiled. "It was my first game too. Lots of 'accidents before that game, leading both sides to use a lot of Reserve players. The game was 30 to 100 before you caught that." She frowned, momentarily. "After that game, they made me the permanent Keeper." She smirked.
"So actually Lily, yes I was once a Seeker, and I kept the snitch as a reminder of my first real game."James rephrased a little testily (at least for James when talking to Lily).
"Well then, I suppose I am sorry for making rash accusations, however, if you don't stop playing with it, I'm going to shove it down your throat." Lily answered, obviously restraining her annoyance.
"Away it goes - anything for you." He smiled, and Lily visibly restrained herself from snapping at him again.
"So love," Sirius turned his attention to Jean, sneaking his arm around her shoulders, "what's in the letter." He smiled.
"It's just a note from Dumbledore. I asked him a few question last Sunday that he needed time to look into, it is merely the answers he found."
"You think I would find it boring." He pouted, as she pulled the cord around her neck, withdrawing the beaded bag from her shirt and slipping the letter inside.
"I know you would find it boring." She corrected, her smile turned to a smirk as his pout grew in an attempt to sway her.
"Jean! Transfiguration, we going to be late!" Lily cried, scurrying out of her seat.
"Coming!" Jean jumped up and followed Lily and the other girls.
"Come on, Jeany." Sirius' voice came from close behind her. "Skive the class – we could have some fun – you know it all anyways." Sirius kept pace with her, whispering in her ear as she hurried down the halls after Lily and the girls.
"I'll play with you tomorrow Sirius." She tried not to laugh as she glanced at him from over her shoulder. "You can have me until lunch – if you snicker or make a dirty joke," She added quickly having realized the mistake in her phrasing, "I will go to the Library instead." She turned to him, before opening the door behind her.
"Dirty joke? Me?" He innocently smiled at her as she opened the door. "Never." He added in his best scandalized voice, before slipping past her with a grin and disappearing off to his own seat, to wait for James to show up.
"Quiet down, class is about to begin." Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the chatter in the room. "Today, we will be covering the Doubling Charm, as a break from the Vanishing Spell, which we will be picking up again next week, where you will be vanishing water from a goblet." While the Professor spoke Jean and Trevor both pulled out their Advanced Human Transfiguration books and started reading as the Professor started in on her lecture.
"Jean!" Katie hissed from behind her, looking up she saw McGonagall was done.
"Yes?" She turned marking her place in her book before setting it down on the table.
"What is the difference between the Charm and the Curse? Is it how long the double lasts? McGonagall said that the Hyslop sisters used it to duplicate everything in their house and their families later found the house full of perfect doubles, so that would mean their doubles lasted wouldn't it?"
"The Charm, done perfectly, will truly duplicate an item. The copy and the original will be no different, and the copy will not degrade or vanish over time. The Curse makes a varying number of doubles, but these are only copies, they only look and feel like the item. The Curse is used to protect against theft so that it is harder to steal the original. The thief is likely to grab a copy instead, which is worthless, and will vanish or degrade after a few days to a week." Jean explained.
"Is that box that James' gave to Lily enchanted with a Doubling Charm? The one she got for Christmas?" Lucinda asked.
"Yes, the box doubles whatever is in one compartment and places the double in the other compartment. Eventually the original will have to be replaced with a fresh chocolate bar, but it's likely that the original bar will go bad before then."
"Is it the same Charm my Mum uses when she cooks?" Lucinda leaned forward. "She takes one potato washes it and cuts it up, puts it in a big pot and then the pot is filled with chunks of raw potato."
"Yes, it probably is. Of course, with use with food, the skill of the caster becomes very important. Taste and texture can be off if not done perfectly. Using the spell on a raw potato would be easier than using it on the finished dish." Jean suppressed a wistful smile at the memory of Mrs. Weasley cooking at the Burrow.
"So what's the difference in casting?" Katie asked
"Well it is the same Spell verbally, but the wand movement and the intention are different, although truthfully I cannot tell you what they are for the Curse." Jean shrugged. "I haven't looked for it, but the books that I have happened to read that mention Geminio do not describe how to cast it as a Curse."
"What about enchantments? If you doubled an enchanted item, would the enchantment also be doubled?"
"No, at least not usually. I have never read whether that is due to it not being possible with the spell or if it would just require an extreme level of concentration, skill, and power."
"So no, unless maybe if you're Dumbledore." Katie laughed.
"Has everyone doubled their feathers?" McGonagall called over the murmur in the room. Jean turned back to her desk and absently flicked her wand at the feather, before packing away her book from earlier. "I want 3 feet on the Doubling Charm for next class. Miss and Mr. Orwell, a moment please?" Jean left her chair and was joined by Trevor before she made it to McGonagall.
"Yes, Professor?" Jean smiled.
"Professor?" Trevor asked only a second behind.
"I have the last assignment I asked you for, I was not surprised to find both were impressive."
"I'm sure Jean's was more impressive, Professor." Trevor grinned over at her.
"No, however, her's was more in depth and thorough, but both showed an equal understanding – which was what made them impressive. I am not sure of where your low confidence comes from Mr. Orwell but it is completely unfounded." McGonagall added in a tone laced with 'I am disappointed'. Jean nudged him, giving him a look he knew all too well to be 'I told you'.
"Sorry Professor, I'll try."
"I will see you both this Saturday, and I expect both of you to be able to move forward."
"We look forward to it Professor, thank you again for your extra time." Jean answered for both of them.
"I am happy to spend time on my students, but I am thrilled when it is with gifted ones." McGonagall gave a rare smile. "Now get to your next class or you will be late." The two headed for the door, and at it, they split up.
"See you at dinner!" Trevor called over his shoulder before running to make it to Charms.
"See you!" Jean called after him, before hurrying down the hall to History of Magic, hoping to catch up to Katie and Lucinda.
"Hello Pretty, I don't think you've had the Honor." A brown haired Gryffindor boy appeared to her right.
"I've had honors to last a lifetime." She answered with a resigned sigh.
"I was told you were clever and rather smart." The way he said it left the feeling that there had been more to that thought.
"Riveting. I, however, have heard nothing about you, Mr...?" Jean made no attempt to hide her sarcasm. 'He seems familiar, and I don't think I'm going to like his answer'. She mentally prepared herself.
"McLaggen. Tiberius McLaggen, but everyone calls me Tibe." 'Great. Just fucking great'.
"Pleasure, I'm sure." She gave a tight smile. "However, I must be on my way before I am late to class."
"I'll walk with you, it's on my way." 'Of Course, it is'. "You know Valentines is in under two weeks."
"That is what my calendar says." 'Please don't'. She tried not to groan and was thankful for Severus' issue with emotional expression when she succeeded.
"Well then," He smiled in a way that he must have thought was charming. "You make sure to put your date with me on that calendar."
"That is never going to happen."
"You can play hard to get, it's ok, I like it." His following wink was both condensing and lewd.
"Walk away," She turned to face him, "before I hex you." Her voice was low, and her wand was gripped at her side (pointing squarely at his sternum).
"Mmm, yeah like that." Before he could wink again, he was hit with a jelly leg jinx, followed up with a bat bogey for good measure. She turned on her heel and hurried around the corner to Binns class, making it with only enough time to rush to her seat.
"What took you so long?" Lucinda hissed.
"Just a pest problem in the hall." Jean sighed, pulling out her paper and quill, and falling into the rhythm of notes without another thought to McLaggen.
"Dinner, finally." Lucinda groaned, at her left.
"My hand always aches so much after Binns class." Katie whined.
"Reminded me later to teach you how to enchant your quill to take notes for you." Jean sighed, heaving her bag onto her shoulder.
"If you can do that then why do you write notes by hand?" Katie asked.
"I find a good note taking is therapeutic, like mediation." Jean answered lightly.
"Like what?" Katie frowned slightly.
"Never mind."
"There's my pretty girl." 'What did I do to deserve to be plagued by McLaggens?'
"Pest problem?" Lucinda turned to Jean with her eyebrow raised.
"10 points to you." Jean muttered before turning to him. "My Bat Boogey must be sub pair." She acknowledged him.
"We'll be around the corner." Lucinda whispered to her. "No witnesses, no proof." She whispered again, but now only loud enough for Jean to hear.
"Last chance McLaggen, I'm not in a forgiving mood." Jean warned.
"You're really good at that." He took Lucinda's retreat as his opportunity to take her place. "So nice of your friends to give us a private moment." He nearly purred, while Jean nearly hurled.
"You won't be so happy about it if you get any closer."
"A lesser man would miss that as the invitation that it is." He placed himself only inches from her, stopped only by the wand tip pressing into his stomach. "I knew if Black didn't get tired of you, that you had to be a good time." He smirked.
"Great you're deluded and a pervert." She rolled her eyes. "Also you stink, do you just not shower? Or do you pay to smell like a gym bag?"
"You could hurt a bloke's confidence with that tongue...what else can you do with it?" He asked the words made her want to punch him, then he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"I tried to be nice." She bit out and sent him flying across the hall and into the stone wall. 'Petrificus Totalus.' She followed up upon impact with the wall so that he clattered to the floor like a plank of wood. "Now let me clear some things up for you." She kneeled over his body. "You are not charming, you are not handsome. What you are is thick, lewd, and exceedingly creepy. Now let's see how good you are with non-verbals." She smiled, stood, and walked away down the hall.
"Tell me you destroyed him." Lucinda said as she and Katie fell into step next to her.
"Not completely, but surely he isn't so stupid as to try again." Jean laughed, 'really, no one could be that stupid'.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Katie hissed, leading the three to turn (their backs on the stairs leading to the great hall) and spot McLaggen jogging after them.
"Hell no, come on." Jean grabbed their elbows and lead them down the stairs.
"You can't run from me Jeany." He called.
"You don't get to call me that." She turned on him, her back to the Great Hall only yards away. "Go ahead, save me a good seat this won't take long." She said the girls.
"Keep your wand in your sleeve, and stick to spells without light effects." Lucinda hissed in her ear. "No witnesses, no proof." She repeated.
"Not a problem." Jean smiled at Lucinda before she entered the Great Hall with Katie. "This is your chance to tuck tail and run, and you should really take it."
"I'm getting tired of your games, Jeany." He sighed tiredly.
"I'm tired of your stupid." She bit back quickly.
"You're not pretty enough to be this much work."
"That's a relief!" She mimicked Sirius' barking laugh. "Now run along and go far, far away." She glared at him.
"You're going to meet me on Valentines, we're going to go to Hogsmeade and have some fun. After, you can be as much of a bitch and whore as you like."
"Wow, you really don't listen." She sighed and tried not to laugh as pimples grew across his face. "I will never go anywhere with you, ever." She spoke very slowly, in the hopes that it might enable him to grasp the idea. "Also, the idea that I care in the slightest what your opinion of me is, is pure hilarity."
"Hey Jeany, what's going on?" Sirius appeared at her side, throwing his arm around her shoulders without a moment's thought.
"I'm fine Pads, just a little pest problem in the halls today. Go back to dinner, I'll only be a moment more."
"Nah I'll stay, don't have much of an appetite without you there love." He grinned down at her before turning his attention to McLaggen. "You look different McLaggen," She could feel him fight off the laughter bubbling in his chest, "new hair cut?" He managed to add without breaking his composure.
"None of your business, Black. Me and Jeany were just setting our date." McLaggens gaze left Sirius to inch down Jean.
"Sirius, have I told you about my latest find in the Library? I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I'll just say that Medieval Witches walked the line between being a bad ass and just being downright cruel."
"Sounds fun." Sirius eyed McLaggen expectantly. "How long do I have to wait?"
"I see no reason not to hurry it along." She sighed. "Could you change my robes for me? Whatever you like - that still constitutes clothing."
"Happily." He smiled and flourished his wand without delay. A moment later, McLaggen screamed and dropped to his knees (clutching his head and his groin). "I missed it?" Sirius turned to frown at Jean and found her robes already returning to their normal state. "Oh," He smiled, his excitement growing, "oh. you are my favorite Witch!" He grinned wide, squeezing her shoulder tight and lead her into the Great Hall.
"And here I thought I would never have the opportunity to try that spell out." Jean chuckled with Sirius on their way their friends.
"There you are."
"Did you at least send him to the hospital wing?" Lucinda frowned at her.
"No, sorry." Jean said with a suppressed smile.
"No, but she did some brilliant spell that I don't fully understand..." Sirius grinned like a madman. "oh and his face, that was beautifully done Jeany."
"What did you do to his face?"
"Look for yourself." She nodded to the door were a seething McLaggen was making his way to the end of the table with a limp.
Everyone but Jean and Sirius watched him pass. Shock washed over their faces, as they saw his face covered with pimples. Their shock turned to roars of laughter, as they realize that the tight-knit pimples spelled out 'Pervert' across his cheeks.
"I had forgotten about Marietta." Trevor chuckled quietly.
"Remind me that McLaggen is in need of pranking." James told Sirius quietly, all business.
"Most definitely." Trevor nodded, his expression darkened.
"Agreed." Remus growled.
"How long until you think he notices?" Peter spoke up, ignoring his friends, and mildly shocking the group.
~.~.~
Still snickering from McLaggen's very public shriek and clumsy retreat from the Great Hall, most of the group made their way to the Library. Lily eyed James and Sirius but said nothing. They spread out over one of the larger tables and were quickly joined by the others.
"Oh Sev, I'm absolutely drowning in potions." Lily groaned.
"You're doing fine in Potions Lily." His voice was quiet and reassuring, but also had a touch of annoyance for her theatrics.
"Well I have nothing to do, so if anyone wants help or would like to do some quizzing for O.W.L.'s" Jean shrugged.
"O.W.L.'s aren't for months Jeany." Sirius shook his head at her. "You're as bad a Remus, I swear."
"Somehow, I can't find that to be much of an insult." Jean smiled.
"Well, I have everything done, except what we got today." Katie said.
"Me too." Lucinda nodded.
"I think some O.W.L review would be good." Remus said after nodding that he too was up to date besides that day's assignments.
"Well let's get another table so we don't disturb the others." Jean said
"Wait, me – potions! You know I'm not going to do it this weekend." James grasped her arm with he was drowning at sea and groaned pitifully.
"Have you started it?" Jean asked.
"No." James answered meekly.
"Then get to work. I'll check it, once you have a go at it." She smiled at his pout, that Sirius mirrored. "Tell me you think that would work, I could always use a good laugh." She whispered before sweeping away with Katie, Lucinda, Remus, and Trevor.
"Hey there's Patty," Katie hissed, pointing to the right, "we should ask if she wants to join."
"Lets." Lucinda nodded. "We'll be right back." The two blondes disappeared, and Jean, Trevor, and Remus sat down.
"So how do you two think you'll do on your O.W.L.'s?" Remus asked.
"Well Jeany will get eleven O's without blinking, and she'll skip divination altogether." Trevor laughed.
"Oh shut up, Trevor." Jean laughed.
"You're going to skip Divination?" Remus asked.
"Well I don't waste my time on the class, why would I take the O.W.L.?"
"She refused to take it." Trevor snorted at the memory.
"What about you Trevor?" Remus asked.
"Well I'll take ten, and I'll probably at least pass six of them."
"If you only think you're going to get six A's or higher, then we need to study more." Jean said sternly. "You should be able to get A's or better on nine of them – I'm not counting Divination because you might as well flip a coin to get your score." It was Remus' turn to snort at this. "Personally I think you would easily pull four O's, three E's, and two A's – by 'easily' I mean minimum." She clarified.
"Alight Jean we'll study more."
"And you will stop doubting yourself like McGonagall said." Jean added.
"Hey guys, look who's joining us!" Katie chirped happily.
"Hey, Patty how have you been?"
"Good Jean, you? Staying out of trouble?" Patty half grinned.
"I try, but sometimes trouble just finds me." Jean shrugged.
"Funny you used to say that about Harry." Trevor muttered next to her.
"Patty this my brother Trevor, and have you met Remus?" Jean asked.
"Not officially." Patty answered with a small smile.
"Well then," Remus stood. "Remus Lupin." He offered his hand.
"Ah, 'The Gryffindor Gentlemen' that all the girl's moon over." Patty nodded to herself.
"Do they?" Remus said stupidly.
"Well, let's not bore ourselves with gossip." Lucinda injected. "We have O.W.L.'s to study for."
"How about we start with Charms? Maybe start with some more general understanding?"
"Whatever you want Jean." Patty shrugged.
"Alright then, how about the Difference between Banishing and Vanishing?" Jean asked again.
"Banishing moves an object usually returning a summoned object, while Vanishing destroys the object and it cannot be undone." Lucinda answered.
"Vanishing is an easier spell because Banishing requires concentration on the location the item is going. However, both are widely used in Wizarding homes." Patty added.
"Sounds good, but there is one relatively fundamental difference, that I can think of." Jean looked around.
"Vanishing is Transfiguration, while Banishing is Charms." Remus answered with a small smile. "Because Vanishing changes the target into non-being. While Banishing leaves the target unchanged and simply moves its location."
"Yes, exactly." Jean smiled back. "Well, we might as well also cover the differences between Summoning and Conjuring while we are at it."
"Again Conjuring is easier, due to Summoning requiring one to focus on the item in its exact location. Also again, Summoning moves an item, while Conjuring creates an item – thus Summoning being Charms and Conjuring being Transfiguration." Trevor answered.
"Good, but I think one of the most important differences is how the two react when used for food, and the difference of Conjured items in general." Jean said.
"Yes." Patty nodded. "Many do seem to skip that. As we said, Summoning moves an item without changing it. If you Summon a potato from your cellar, the potato is no different than if you walked down to the cellar to get it. One could try to Conjure a potato, but it would not truly be a potato. It would look like a potato, but it would not taste, cook, nor nourish like a potato."
"Magic cannot create food from nothing, it cannot turn the inedible into real food. It can multiply food, it can make unappetizing food taste and look good, but it cannot create food." Remus rephrased.
"Also Conjured items degrade or disappear, usually fairly quickly." Trevor added.
They spent over an hour reviewing for O.W.L.'s, before rejoining the rest of the study group. Jean looked over James' and Sirius' potion homework. Remus started his own with Trevor, while Lucinda, Katie, and Patty worked on Charms with Lily, Severus, and Regulus. Leaving the last of the group to working on Transfiguration. Jean read further into her Advanced Human Transfiguration book, between helping people, until Trevor was done.
"Well, that's it for me." Trevor sighed, putting his potion assignment into his bag. "You ready Jeany?"
"Yeah, we'll see you guys later, we have some Partial Human Transfiguration to work on."
"Yeah, and it requires water." Trevor added when it looked like some might object to their leaving. They left the Library in silence, but the moment they were in the hall, Trevor turned to Jean. "So Dumbledore figured out were the Vanishing cabinet is?"
"Actually, there were three at the school. He took care of them, quite thoroughly too."
"How so?"
"He hit them each with a Reducto, then he burned them to a crisp, then he had Hagrid bury half the burned remains in the heart of the forbidden forest, and he personally banished the other half to five remote locations before removing and destroying the memory of said locations (because the enchantments were so strong that the ash could not be vanished)."
"Overkill." Trevor whistled.
"Very. He said he wanted to make absolutely sure, that no one could fix any of them, even if they were ten times brighter than him using magic yet unknown."
"Well, that certainly excludes Malfoy." Trevor laughed. "So Prefect bath again?"
"McGonagall did go to the effort to give us written permission along with the password, and that way we don't smell like the Black Lake." Jean nodded.
"Yeah, after the second task with Harry talking about the Merpeople..." Trevor shivered.
~.~.~
(Saturday, February 7th, 1976.)
"There are our twins!" Sirius called from outside the Great Hall.
"Your twins?" They asked together, Trevor's brow raised, and Jean's hands finding her hips.
"Yup," Sirius chirped bounding up the stairs to meet them, "lovely as always Jean." He winked, before throwing his arm around Trevor and rushed him away. "We're stealing Trev 'til the morning, sorry Jean-Bean!" Sirius called over his shoulder.
"Save me, Jean!" Trevor called half-heartedly.
"They're your friends." She laughed, not noticing the wince that flashed over Remus' face.
"You wound us, Hartz." James scolded from the other side of the room. His frown was deep and not as playful as the hand clutching his heart.
"You can lie Jeany, but we know you love us." Sirius called again, wagging a finger in time with Peter shaking his head scolding, behind him.
"What is all this yelling about?" Lily appeared from the Great Hall in full Prefect mode.
"They're kidnapping my brother." Jean shrugged toward the disappearing five.
"Ah well," Lily shrugged, "guess that means we get you." She smiled, grabbing Jean by the hand and pulling her into the Great Hall.
~.~.~
"So what exactly is the plan here?" Trevor asked as the five wandered around the Black Lake.
"Explore, have fun, do things we're not supposed to. Find a way to finally get Jeany back for that hair." Sirius grinned.
"I thought you knew Jean well enough to know not to prank her." Trevor sighed.
"We have a special relationship, she might out do me, sure, but she won't be mad." Sirius assured him.
"She'd be incredibly mad If I pranked her."
"You're her brother, you have a different relationship." James shrugged.
"Like I said, me and Jean have a special relationship. I can prank her. She can prank me. We can prank. We can flirt. We can duel and fight. No one gets mad, no one crosses the line." Sirius clarified.
"You respecting lines?" Remus nearly snorted.
"It's easy when people tell you where they are." Sirius answered back without a moment's pause.
"And when you know what they might do to you." Peter chuckled to himself.
"That sounds right." James' laughed.
"So Trev, we never asked, are you doing the Animagus thing too?" Sirius changed the subject.
"People keep telling me I should or could, but I don't know."
"If I could, you definitely could." Peter spoke up. "And don't start on my hidden skill Remus."
"Peter."
"No! I truly am bad at Transfiguration, sure Charms and Defense you have point, but not with this." Peter shook his head. "I only made progress after Sirius managed it, and that's where my point is. All the books we read were crap. It really isn't hard if you have someone who can actually do it, talking you through it. I just needed two people."
"All those books were mostly concerned with how dangerous it is, and all the reasons to not try." James' nodded.
"So Trev and Remus should do it." Sirius smirked.
"What?" James turned to Sirius.
"Drop it, Sirius." Remus growled, his hands fisted at his side.
"No, Jeany thinks it's a good idea." Sirius answered (not at all afraid of getting punched in the face).
"Jean won't be the one going on a permanent murder spree." Remus hissed.
"No, but it will be Hartz waiting to keep Moony in line, just encase. Just like she did with those kids." Sirius retorted.
"Even with Hartz, we can't risk it. I can't risk it." Remus said firmly.
"I would understand if it was just Padfoot and Prongs, sure then it could get rough, but we have Hartz and she's faster and bigger than any of us."
"She did keep Moony from those kids." James' pointed out, making Remus frown again.
"And if we had Trevor too." Peter added.
"Trevor could be something small like you, Peter." Remus pointed out.
"Actually, most registered Animagi have a matching Patronus, and of them that could do a Patronus first, they reported that it was their Animagus Form before they achieved their form. However, that is a very small number of people, and with Jean, we know that doesn't have to be true. So yes, there really is no knowing until you transform, but there is a good chance that I would be a dog or wolf – I'm really not sure which my Patronus is."
"I thought it was a wolf-like dog or maybe a hybrid." Sirius shrugged.
"I was going with a sled dog." James added.
"I thought it was a wolf." Peter muttered.
"Yeah, no one seems to be able to agree." Trevor sighed.
"Hey, there's McLaggen." Peter squeaked.
"Well, that answers what we should do, doesn't it?" Sirius chuckled.
"Yes, it does." Trevor agreed.
"Fate." James grinned at the others.
"Think he can swim?" Remus asked, a rare mischievous smile blooming over his cheeks.
"Let's find out." The boys agreed.
~.~.~
"It's almost dinner." James announced as he set the last Dung bomb to detonate when Filch's door opened.
"Yea we should show up, or McGonagall will get suspicious and start looking for us." Remus sighed. The five carefully backed out of Filch's office, and slowly closed the door.
"Alright, so dinner, then what?"
"We could pull a Peeves on some firsties." Sirius laughed.
"That was fun," James smiled, "and the after-hours hide and seek – we almost got caught by the that Slytherin Prefect, but Peeves just happened to come around the corner and started singing." James cracked up, with the rest (even being completely left out in the shared memory, Trever was chuckling to himself at the idea).
"We definitely need to do that again, Trev wasn't here then."
"Sounds like we have a plan."
~.~.~
(Sunday, February 8th, 1976.)
"There you five are." Came a stern voice, they all knew well.
"Morning Professor, enjoying this beautiful Sunday?" James sent her his most charming of smiles.
"Oh, I was Mr. Potter until I was awoken two hours ago by an irate Mr. Filch. He seems to be under the impression that you, Mr. Black, and likely Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, and Mr. Orwell had boobytrapped his office with dung bombs."
"Oh, I wish I could take credit for such an idea, Professor." James smiled again.
"I see. So just what were you doing yesterday before dinner?"
"Well we walked around the grounds, it was a beautiful day yesterday." Sirius answered with his own charming smile.
"Really? That's all, and no one saw you enjoying the grounds?"
"Well Professor," Trevor started, "McLaggen saw us. Or rather we saw him fall into the lake."
"He can't swim apparently." Remus added without a hint of guilt or amusement.
"But the giant squid saved him." Sirius smirked a little.
"I'll admit we laughed, Professor." Trevor said. "More than we should have, but that seemed to give McLaggen the idea that we somehow planned it."
"I see, and you're telling me you had nothing to do with Filch's office or Mr. McLaggen's poor luck?" McGonagall looked them over with a piercing gaze, waiting to see if they would crumble under it.
"I solemnly swear Professor." James placed his hand over his heart, nodding slowly.
"Get on to breakfast then." McGonagall sighed, not completely convinced.
~.~.~