Lily's Fifth Year: Part Two
Written in fancy, curvy letters at the top were the words All About Anamagi. Lily looked alarmingly at the book. On the cover were several pictures of people turning into animals. Why does James have something like this? She wondered breathlessly. She had to give it back, she realized. But curiosity overtook her. She opened the book.
Lily read the first chapter. It told what an Anamagi was, and a bit about the spell itself. Lily learned that you had to first brew a potion to make your DNA change so that it is able to transform. Then, you used your wand to make yourself transform. Unfortunately, you couldn't choose which animal you become. The animal you can become is the one that best suits your personality.
Lily found this all very interesting. Eagerly, she went on to the next chapter. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kayla peered down at the Anamagi book. "Whatcha reading?"
Lily slammed it shut and turned the book over. She smiled quickly up at Kayla and Leona, who had just come up. "Nothing."
"Well, if it's nothing, then you wouldn't mind if we looked at it," Kayla tried to grab the book. Lily snatched it out of her grasp and held it tightly in her arms.
"It's just a…a…Charms… book, nothing interesting." She looked pleadingly at them. They stared at her suspiciously.
"Lily, why can't we see it?" Leona asked, slowly.
"I…I…" She didn't really know why she couldn't let them see it, she just didn't want to. Maybe she would show them later. "I'll let you guys see it later, maybe, but I've got to go now." Lily grabbed her bag and rushed out of the library, leaving Kayla and Leona very confused and worried about their friend.
Lily looked over her shoulder. They weren't following her. She headed for Gryffindor Tower. After muttering, "Tweak" to the Fat Lady, she headed to the girl's dormitory. It was empty, since everyone was studying at the library. What I should be doing, she thought guiltily. But she felt like she had to read more of the book. It had drawn her in.
Ebony watched while she settled down and opened the book. Lily patted Ebony's head and turned to the second chapter. It was a roster of all the people that had at least tried to become Anamagi. Lily found Professor McGonagall, her Transfiguration teacher, on this list. She remembered that time in her third year when the Professor had turned into a cat, startling the whole class. She smiled and read on.
The next chapter was about the potion you had to brew. On the first page there was a huge warning:
WARNING!
The Anamagi potion is very complex and hard to brew. If anything is done incorrectly, the results could end you life. Please exercise extreme caution while brewing. Many people have died from drinking an Anamagi potion that wasn't brewed correctly. Do not even attempt to make this potion unless you are very experienced at potion brewing. You have been warned…
Lily shuddered. She went on to read the ingredients. They took up four pages! Lily didn't recognize the names of most of them. The actual procedure to make the potion took up six pages! At the end, the book said that the potion would take about two years to create. Two years! Lily was amazed. She could see what the authors meant by complex in the warning. She could also see why many people had screwed up while trying to make the potion.
One passage after the procedures caught her eye:
You will fall into a state of unconsciousness after drinking the potion. Make sure that you are in a place where no one will find and disturb you, as that would ruin the whole process. You may even die if your body is moved during this state. During this state, your DNA is shifted so that it can transform into the animal that you are most like. (A/N: Does this make sense?) When you wake up, your body will let you know which animal you can transform into, and what words to say.
Lily breathed hard. She had never known how dangerous the spell could be. The next chapter told about the spell itself. You had to wave your wand over your head and say the words that your body had told you. Then, you would transform into the animal. After doing it for a month, you should be able to transform without a wand or words.
Lily's eyes bugged out as she closed the book. She again wondered why James had it. A horrible thought struck her mind. What if he and his friends are trying to become Anamagi? She knew they could never do it, it was way too advanced, even though Sirius and James were the best students in school…
The dormitory door opened. Leona and Kayla walked in. Lily quickly hid the book under her bed sheets.
"Hey, you missed dinner," Leona commented as she sat down on her bed. Lily looked shocked.
"I did?" They nodded in reply. Lily realized that she had been reading all afternoon.
"So, what have you been doing in here?" Kayla asked, looking around.
Lily tried to shrug innocently. "Thinking, I guess."
"About what?"
Lily shrugged again. Her friends looked at each other and nodded.
Leona leaned forward. "Lily, are you…hiding anything from us?"
Lily tried not to show them her look of alarm. "No," she muttered.
"We're your best friends, Lily. You can tell us anything," Kayla added, frowning.
No, I can't, Lily thought. I can't tell them about Remus being a werewolf, and if James, Sirius and Peter are trying to be Anamagi, I can't tell them that, either. They would get in big trouble if anyone besides me found out. She forced a smile.
"I know. You guys, seriously, I'm not hiding anything from you." She hated lying to them, but what else could she do?
Leona and Kayla both looked like they didn't believe Lily, but went along with her story, anyway. The three girls went to bed in peace.
The next day, Lily was busy thinking about the book and James. So busy, that she didn't look where she was going, and crashed into a boy.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said to the boy, whom she recognized as Severus Snape, a fifth year Slytherin.
Snape scowled at her, but said nothing in reply. He ran away, muttering about Gryffindors. Lily could see why James, Sirius, Remus and Peter hated him so much.
Later that day, she approached James, who looked very tired, and had dark rings underneath his eyes. He had been up late, Lily realized.
Bluntly, she held out the book. James took it and stuffed it into his bag without looking at it. Lily couldn't help herself.
"You gave me the wrong book, James." She reached into his bag and pulled out the book again. James looked up at her, his face full of surprise. "Are you…are you and Sirius and Peter trying to become Anamagi?"
James looked wearily at the floor. "No,"" he muttered.
Lily didn't believe him. "Are you telling the truth, James Potter?" She demanded.
James looked up at her. "No. Okay, yes we have been trying."
Lily pursed her lips. "Well, don't! It's very advanced magic, and you would never succeed! I know you are smart James, but not that smart!"
James looked amused for a second. "Okay, Mommy. Sheesh, Lily, you sound like my mother."
Lily blushed furiously. James was smiling broadly now. "Thanks for giving me my book back, Lily. Don't you need another one?" Lily nodded. He gave her his Transfiguration book, and she walked away, still blushing.
"Hey, Lily," Kayla and Leona greeted her as she rushed into the library.
"Where have you been?" Kayla asked.
"I had to get something from James," Lily explained.
"How come you're so red?" Leona asked innocently. Lily blushed again, making her friends laugh.
That night, Lily had a strange dream.
Lily was inside a house, playing with a baby. The door opened. A man with unruly black hair stepped in front of her and the baby protectively as dark mist seeped inside. A figure could be seen through the mist…
Lily was running with the baby. The man had been killed, and the figure approached her now. She found that she couldn't move. The figure laughed as she pleaded with it.
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside now…"
"Not Harry! Please no, take me, kill me instead!"
The figure laughed again.
"No! Harry!" Lily shrieked. She woke up, breathing hard. She saw Leona and Kayla peering at her.
"Lily, are you all right?" Leona asked, very concerned.
Lily was sweating. It was just a dream, she told herself. But she was shaking. She nodded feebly at Leona and calmed down a little.
"Um, Lily?" Lily looked at Kayla.
"Yes?" she asked slowly.
"You were screaming 'Harry'? Who's that?"
Lily opened her mouth and then closed it. "I don't know," she finally confessed.
Leona and Kayla looked at each other, very concerned for Lily. They didn't say anything, though.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" A girl named Ashley Patil looked sleepily at them. "It's almost midnight!"
"Hey, Lily had a bad dream!" Kayla protested.
Ashley looked at Lily. "Well, is she okay?"
Lily nodded.
"Then go to bed now." Ashley laid down again. Leona and Kayla went reluctantly to their beds.
Lily didn't feel like sleeping. It had been horrible to see that figure, and she felt like she would never sleep again. She looked out the window and saw a tree beating the ground furiously. The Whomping Willow. Suddenly, three figures appeared beside the willow! Lily looked closer. She recognized the figures as James, Sirius and Peter. They must have an Invisibility Cloak, she realized.
Suddenly, Peter shrank. Lily couldn't see him anymore. She watched, astonished, as James and Sirius transformed as well. Sirius was a big, black dog, and James was a…stag. Just like the one in my dream, Lily thought. They did become Anamagi. They succeeded. Lily couldn't believe it. The willow suddenly stopped thrashing. Peter must have stopped it somehow, Lily thought. She watched as a rat led the stag and dog inside the willow.
The next day, Remus was back. Lily avoided the boys as much as she could. She now noticed they had made nicknames for each other. James was "Prongs", Sirius was "Padfoot", Remus was "Moony", and Peter was "Wormtail". Based on their animal form, no doubt. Lily had developed a respect for the four and was constantly watching them, especially James. Her friends, of course, noticed the change.
"Lily?" Leona asked, dutifully. Lily was watching the boys again.
Lily looked up. "Huh?"
"You're not yourself lately. Is something wrong?" Kayla asked.
"No." Lily turned back to the boys.
Kayla and Leona looked at each other and nodded.
"You like him, don't you?" Leona asked casually.
Lily's head swerved around instantly. "What?"
"James," Kayla answered for Leona.
Lily blushed. "No…" Was that true?
"Oh, don't pretend, Lily! We're not that dense!" Kayla insisted.
Lily said nothing. She did like James, but was it in the way they were talking about?
"It's obvious you do." Leona leaned forward. "Looking over all the time, blushing constantly…"
"Of course, you should know all about that," Kayla teased. Leona blushed as red as her hair.
"Hey, we're talking about Lily here, not me!" Lily laughed. Kayla was always teasing Leona about boys.
"I guess I do like him, a little," she admitted. "But you won't tell anyone, right?"
They both nodded. Lily sighed. Well, now they know one of my secrets, she thought. Will they ever find out my others?
In April, everyone was busy studying for the exams in June. The Quidditch Final came up, and of course, James caught the snitch, winning the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor. Lily was overjoyed.
She got a good number of O.W.L's: thirteen. Leona and Kayla both got eleven, James got sixteen, Sirius got fifteen, Remus had thirteen like Lily, and Peter just barely got eight. He still wasn't doing very well in school, even though he had his friends to help him.
Lily wished she didn't have to leave Hogwarts again. She sighed, as she saw her parents at the platform, without Petunia, as usual.
"Why didn't Petunia come this time?" She asked, nonchalantly.
Her parents looked at each other, a little happily. "She's off with her fiancé."
"Fiancé? Petunia?" Lily was surprised.
Her father nodded. "Well, she is nineteen, you know, Lily."
"I know but, it's hard to see Petunia married…" Lily and her parents walked off, each telling the other of the year.
Author's Note: Don't I always have lame endings? I'm sorry, but I'm not creative enough to think of better ones…Did you guys guess right on the book? I tried to make everything in it as clear as possible, but there might be a few things you don't understand. Just mention those things in your reviews, and I'll see it I can do something. For Lily's sixth year, I think I'll try to be more creative and make it more of a story than a summary…that will be different, so be prepared. -April
Disclaimer: Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Severus Snape and Remus all belong to J.K. Rowling, blah, blah. Leona and Kayla belong to me. Is anyone actually reading this disclaimer? I usually read them just for fun, is there anyone else who does?