Pigs, Stags, Dogs,
and Wolves
Disclaimer: Yet again I put this in.
James stared, unseeingly, at the back of Nicole's head. Two months had passed quickly. Answa had become a regular addition to their little group. A week ago had been her very first detention. Professor Nott had been very distressed when a simple hair growth potion had exploded in front of him. The hair had been very funny, but Nott had found a firework wrapper in Answa's potion and had reacted accordingly. It had not been Answa's. A Slytherin, Westly Bulstrode, had dropped the wrapper in, knowing that Nott would blame Answa. In return, Answa had turned his hair bright red for the next Quidditch match. Remus, commentator for most games, had been sure to mention it. He had also complemented the spell caster for the gold highlights in the red mass.
James grinned. The Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match was in two days, and it would be a perfect time to try out his and Sirius' newest play. A mention of an exam brought his attention back to the class, but it drifted again when he realized that McGonagall was still talking about transforming animals into other animals. His eyes focused on Lily's hair, glowing in the light of a high window. It looked like molten bronze, half gold, half red. It went so well with those eyes of hers. Bronze and emerald green. James' thoughts went to a family ring, gold set with a huge emerald. An emerald would match Lily's eyes to perfection and the gold would bring out the gold in her hair...
" Jamesy? Yoohoo, Jamesy boy?" Sirius waved a hand in front of his friend's dreamy expression. James sat up abruptly.
" Huh? What?" Sirius chuckled. He nudged Remus, who was sitting beside him.
" James was off in dreamland, and from his expression, I'd bet it involved a girl!"
" Is that so?" Remus raised an eyebrow, a habit he'd picked up from Answa. " James, I-never-go-out-with-anyone-more-than-once, daydreaming about a girl?"
" My God," Sirius said, his voice totally shocked. " James is blushing." Remus stared at his friend.
" He is. I can not believe this, he really is." James glared at them. He pulled out his wand and began playing with it.
" I do not see what business it is of yours." He said, icily. Sirius' most wicked grin slowly grew on his face.
" Jamesy is serious this time!" He said gleefully. Remus rolled his eyes.
" No, he isn't. You are Sirius. He is just fallen this time." Remus looked James over. " Hard." Sirius punched him in the arm.
" That's what I meant!" Remus grinned. They both looked at James.
" Well?"
" Well what?"
" Who is it?"
" Yes, Mr. Potter. Who is it that is so interesting that you and Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin could not wait to discuss it until after class." James looked up at McGonagall, who was glaring at the three of them.
" It has to do with Quidditch, Professor. You did tell me last week you didn't want to hear anything about Quidditch." McGonagall rolled her eyes.
" Well then, since you obviously felt that you did not need to listen to my lecture, why don't you show us how to transform your mouse into a pig." James stood and gave her a small bow.
" Of course, Professor." He raised his wand and spoke the incantation. Sirius turned into a pig. James looked horrified.
" Oh, Sirius! I'm so sorry!" James quickly reversed the spell. He gave McGonagall an apologetic smile. " Sorry, Professor. My aim must have been off." McGonagall nodded, her lips were in their usual disapproving line, but her eyes were sparkling.
" Of course, Mr. Potter. Just be sure it does not happen again." James nodded and transformed the mouse. She looked at Sirius. He muttered under his breath, something about show-offs, and transfigured his mouse. Remus did the same. McGonagall smiled. James groaned mentally.
" Since you three obviously are much more advanced than the rest of the class, why don't you turn each other into animals for the rest of class and then give me four rolls of parchment, due the class after next, on the differences of transforming animals to animals and humans to animals." Sirius and Remus glared at James. He shrugged.
" Yes, Professor." He turned and transformed Remus into a raccoon. Sirius started laughing when James reversed the spell, leaving Remus crouched on his chair. Remus rolled his eyes and transformed Sirius into a mouse. Once back, Sirius turned James into a stag. Lily and Nicole could barely transform their mice while watching the Marauders leaders being transformed into their animagus forms and Remus into a wolf. After the class was dismissed Sirius grinned at James.
" Back to our earlier discussion..." James held up a hand.
" The subject is closed, Padfoot." Lily looked at Remus.
" I'll explain on the way to Arithmancy." Lily nodded.
" We'll see you at Potions." She said and she and Remus took off down the corridor. Nicole and Peter looked at Sirius. He opened his mouth but closed it when James shook his head.
" It's not important. We were just teasing James about his record with females." Nicole rolled his eyes.
" You can't talk, Sirius. You're just as bad. At least Remus is steady." Sirius rolled his eyes.
" He's just scared. He goes everywhere with her. I mean, come on, at this age we guys need variety." James snorted.
" Remus is smart. You notice than all the girls that swarm us stay away from him? If he liked one of them than he'd do something about it, but now, he and Lily are happy being really good friends." Sirius shrugged.
" Yeah, I guess. But they've never tried any..." He stopped and turned down a corridor. Fenus and several of his friends had Answa backed into a corner. The girl looked perfectly calm.
" Well, you little brat, what is it that the Marauders are working on?" Answa raised an eyebrow.
" Why would I know that?" A boy that looked a good deal like a gorilla leaned forward.
" Because you are always with them. And you are that filthy foreigner's little sister." Answa looked at him.
" You know, the Revolutionary War happened over 150 years ago, are you Brits still smarting?" The gorilla growled but Fenus placed a hand on his shoulder.
" Your big sister refused to date Crabbe here and he doesn't like her very much." Answa looked Crabbe up and down.
" I can see why." She said. Nicole cursed.
" What the hell is she doing? They could squash her!" Fenus laughed.
" You're a little hoyden, aren't you? Well, let's do this the easy way. You tell us what the Marauders are working on, and I won't let Crabbe touch you." Answa shrugged.
" He couldn't anyway." Fenus snickered.
" Is that so. I don't think she's going to cooperate, Crabbe. Feel free." The gorilla lunged towards her but was stopped in midair. Nicole stepped forward, wand at ready.
" Bullying, Fenus? I thought you were above that." James and Sirius flanked her, Peter stood behind them. The Slytherin group looked at their leader.
" I think you're at a distinct disadvantage, American. Three against six? Not good odds."
" Five against six." Said Answa. She tossed several dungbombs in the midst of the Slytherins and raced to her sister. Fenus coughed and grabbed her arm. Or tried to. Instead he was thrown back against the far wall.
The three marauders and the two girls walked down the corridor.
" What was that?" Nicole demanded. " He couldn't touch you!" Answa shrugged.
" Remus was helping me with my defense against dark arts in the library and when he went to get a book, a couple of those guys started bothering me. He hexed them and then charmed me so they couldn't do it again. He know a lot of really cool hexes. Did you know he can make it so a person has to hop around a room on one foot for half and hour?" James laughed.
" He did that to some Ravenclaw who kept asking Lily to go out with him. What's the incantation for that? Rekennde wasn't it?" Answa nodded, but Nicole was glaring at her little sister.
" Why didn't you mention this to me?" Answa shrugged.
" I might not always agree with Mother, but she is right that you worry to much. I have Charms in five minutes, so I have to go." Answa started down another corridor with a wave. Nicole stared after her. She started to follow when James grabbed her arm.
" She's right. If I know Remus, not even Fenus could hex her now. You know how he is." Nicole looked at him.
" But.." Sirius looked at her.
" Come on. You would have asked Remus for help if she had told you. And you do worry too much. You sound like my mum."
" What?" Nicole demanded. James grinned as they began yelling. He and Peter shook their heads and exchanged looks. Then they started walking to Divination.
I've been working on these for a while. FF.net is down for a while but you can still upload things. Hope you like them. The next one's my favorite. - Aoi