036. I couldn't find my notebook

Word Count: 979

James ran into the Transfigurations classroom and slid into his usual seat against the back wall, next to Sirius, almost twenty minutes late for the class.

McGonagall arched an eyebrow at him and turned to him her full attention. "Mister Potter, please do share with the rest of the class why you have decided to distract everyone by arriving so late," she said.

Sirius looked at James, a boyish, immature grin on his face as he waited to see what James could come up with to get their Head of House to let him off easy.

James waited for a long moment, at first unable to think of a plausible reason. He couldn't very well tell her the truth, since that involved a rapidly increasing hatred for the Headmaster, which would not, under any circumstances, be accepted. He still had a personal theory that McGonagall and the Headmaster were in some sort of relationship together, but that was a bit too gruesome for even him to think about seriously.

"We are all waiting for what will likely be an interesting story from you, Mister Potter," McGonagall said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Biting back a sigh, James adopted his trademark grin and leaned back in the chair. "I couldn't find my notebook," he said simply.

Sirius stared at him, not sure what to expect from him, but remained silent. His long-time friend could usually think of something more innovative than that.

James shrugged. "Well, I had to find it because it wasn't in the bed I woke up in this morning and I couldn't quite remember where I was or what other beds I had been in," he said, eliciting a ripple of chuckles around the room. "I thought it would be prudent to show up to class prepared, rather than leaving some lovely student my Transfigurations notes without so much as a 'thank you,'" he added.

"The next time that something like that happens, Mister Potter, do try more diligently to arrive on time," she said. "Five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness." And with that, she turned her attention back onto the lesson that she had written on the board in the front of the classroom.

Sirius leaned over next to James, saying nothing for a long moment. Once he was sure that McGonagall was not going to call him out on talking out of turn, he rested a friendly arm on James' shoulder. "What has you so distracted, Jimmy?" he asked. "You could have turned out a more interesting lie than that before the winter holidays."

"Drop it, Siri," Remus muttered from his spot on the other side of Sirius. "If Jim wants to tell us, then he'll tell us when he's bloody well ready to do so."

"I've been having nightmares, Siri," James said quietly, so that only Sirius and possibly Remus could hear him. "Well, I'm not entirely sure that they qualify as nightmares, but I don't know what the bloody hell to call them," he said.

"Is that why you've been filching the Dreamless Sleep potions from Slughorn's store-room as often as you have?" Sirius asked, and James looked over at him sharply. At the look, Sirius just shrugged. "I saw you put some in your trunk one night, Jim," he said.

James nodded, biting back a self-deprecating scoff. Of course, Sirius would be the one to catch him on that. He had only been worried about Remus catching him, and in the course of those events, he would have made it much easier for Sirius to see what he was up to. "They haven't been working, though," he admitted, sounding almost ashamed of that fact.

Remus' head whipped over so he could watch James. "That means that what you're seeing is not a mere dream, be it unpleasant or not," he said.

McGonagall, without looking over at the three, cleared her throat loudly and continued on with her lessons.

Sirius looked up at the board and grinned, temporarily distracting both James and Remus from what would likely become another concerned interrogation from Remus. It would end up happening later, probably while James and Remus were out watching Sirius during the Gryffindor team's Quidditch practice.

"Alright, class. If you have listened closely enough and payed proper attention to the lecture and the notes on the board, you should have no difficulties in this transformation," McGonagall said. "Each of you needs to come up and get your own mouse. Once you have collected the rodent, take it back to your seat and transfigure it into an juvenile version of a predatory animal. This takes extra focus, so do take care. If you transform your mouse into a fully-grown predatory animal, you will fail this assignment," she said.

Remus and James both turned to look at Sirius with knowing looks. He opened his mouth to protest, but when Professor McGonagall turned a warning look on him as well, he fell back in his chair with a defeated look on his face.

"Remy, you ought to know me better," Sirius said, sounding very much like he was whining or pleading with the werewolf.

"Siri, it's because I know you so well that I will tell you up front that if you mess this up, you're sleeping in your own bed for a minimum of a month," Remus threatened as he stood up to face the crowd of other students to get three mice for he, James, and Sirius to use.