Disclaimer: Jeez, do I have to repeat it again??
Author's notes: Well, I wasn't really in a
romantic mood when I wrote this chapter, so I decided to center about something
else. I didn't think I'll make a second chapter... *shrugs* That means that the
ending notes in the first chapter means nothing, and I'll have to remove
them...
Chapter 2: Transformation
James entered the common room. Sirius and Peter
were sitting in one of the corners, reading advanced transfiguration books. He
sat on a chair besides them.
"You wouldn't believe what happened to me
today!" He declared. Sirius eyed him from behind the book.
"You found a brand new kind of dung bombs?"
James scowled. "No. There was this girl
down there, Lily, and she wanted to be my girlfriend." He paused. Sirius
and Peter stared at him.
"Lily? That nice girl? She's my partner in
transfiguration" Peter said. Sirius grinned.
"Ha! I told you this journal wasn't fake!
So, what did you tell her?" He put down his book.
"Well, she's a nice girl..." James
looked at the ground. "I didn't want to hurt her, so I told her we can be
friends. Maybe we can help her with her grades?"
Peter smiled. "Yeah, like you help me! That
would be great!"
Sirius shrugged. "You don't even know
her."
"I know her!" Peter said, and beamed
at James. "We talk sometimes. She doesn't have friends, even though she's
very nice." He smiled. "I'm sure you'll like her"
Sirius shrugged. "Well, we can give it a
try." He got up. "I'm going to sleep. I'm tired."
He eyes Peter and James. "And don't forget:
The full moon is in two days from now. We'll try the potion tomorrow
again." He went up the stairs. Now there were very few students in the
common room. James took the transfiguration book and started reading.
*****
They all looked at the cauldron with expressions
of disgust. There was a yellow-brown colored potion swimming inside, a potion
they made earlier, and just finished.
"Yuck!" Sirius exclaimed. "You
mean I have to drink THIS?" He took a step back, his gaze still fixed on
the disgusting liquid.
"Yes, I know it's disgusting" James
explained. "But we have to drink it if we want to become Animagi. Now,
who's first?"
Peter and Sirius took a step back.
"You." Sirius pointed. James gritted
his teeth,
"Okay."
He took a handful of the potion with a glass,
and drank it, then put a hand on
his neck.
"Yuck!" He exclaimed. "And I
don't feel different"
"Well, I guess it doesn't work!"
Sirius said cheerfully. "And there's no point for me and Peter to drink
this, no?"
James made a face. "Have you forgotten all
about the way this works?" Sirius shrugged. "Enlighten me."
James rolled his eyes.
"Well, first you have to drink the potion.
Then, you have to cast that complicated spell of the animal you want to
be."
"Ah." Sirius approached the cauldron,
disappointed.
After Sirius and Peter drank the potion, it was
time to cast the spell.
"Well, have you decided what kind of
animals you'll be?" Peter asked.
"A stag." James said without hesitations.
"A big, scary dog" Sirius grinned.
"How 'bout you Peter?" Peter smiled dumbly.
"I'm going to be a dog too. Big and scary,
like you." He said. Sirius shrugged.
"Whatever. Just don't piss on my
tree." They all laughed nervously. James picked the book.
"Okay..." He said nervously. "Wish me luck."
Then he said two words that were so complicated,
that Sirius and Peter couldn't follow.
I
have to say THAT? Peter thought. I'll never be able to say it!
Then, in front of their eyes, James started to
change. It was a gruesome sight. Sirius and Peter covered their eyes, and when
they finally dared to look, James was a fully-grown stag. Sirius ran to hug
him.
"Success! Success! We did it, James my boy!
We did it!" James returned to his human form in a much less gruesome way.
"We did it! We did it!" Sirius cried.
James shook his head.
"No, I
did it. Now it's your turn." James handed him the book.
With a big smile, Sirius read a complicated
word, much different than James'. When Peter and James looked again, he was a
big, black dog. He barked happily at James and Peter, then sat on the floor and
wagged his tail happily.
"Can you change back Sirius?" James
asked him. Sirius turned back human.
"I did it! I did it!" He handed the
book to Peter. Peter looked obviously frightened.
What
if everything goes wrong?? What if I will only grow fur? What if....
Peter swallowed. He prayed that everything will
be okay, and then looked at the book. It was full of those complicated words.
There were few pages of them, for almost every animal he could think of. He
found the spell for the dog he wanted, which looked awesomely complicated. But,
after all, they all were, and this was a spell for much-advanced wizards...
He said the word. At least, he tried to. But his
voice was shaky, and he was sure he made a mistake... Suddenly he felt waves
immense pain washing him. He wanted to scream in pain but he couldn't. He could
only... Squeak?
He looked up and saw Sirius and James looking at
him, wide eyed. Something was wrong... The spell went horribly wrong! He wasn't
supposed to be that small...
He transformed back into human. He didn't know
how, and he didn't care. The spell... It...
"A rat
Peter??" James cried. "I thought you were going for a dog!"
"Huh? W...what d..d..do you m...mean?"
Peter said shakily.
"You turned into a rat!" Sirius
exclaimed.
"R...really?"
Well,
at least I managed to turn into SOME animal... He
thought. And maybe... Maybe being a rat isn't so bad. He can hide, and he can
be quick... But still, it was much less exciting than being a dog. But it was a
wonder that he even managed to turn into a rat, for he wasn't a very good
student. He shrugged.
"I guess..." He said quietly
"That fate had other plans for me."
James and Sirius stared at him for a minute,
than they all broke into laughter.
*****
They promised themselves not to tell Remus anything
about it, So that at the night they'll be able to surprise him. Remus felt they
were plotting something, judging by the cheerful looks they gave him, but he
didn't pay too much attention to them. He started to feel sick. He looked for
Lily, to apologize to her, but he was told she was sick. nd it was a great
relief though... He couldn't bring himself to face her.
"Hi Remmy!" Said a cheerful James who
passed by him. "Are you coming? We're gonna be late for charms!"
James skipped happily to the classroom.
"Remmy"?!
In the evening, like every evening, he went to
the whomping willow to go through his monthly transformation, which was never a
good thing. He always woke up full of cuts and bruises... He didn't even want
to think what the wolf did down
there. And then, because he was so wounded he had to spend the whole day at the
infirmary. Tomorrow he will miss school too.
*****
"Are we ready?" James asked his
friends. They were hiding in the bushes near the whomping willow, minutes after
Remus went there.
Sirius and Peter nodded.
"Aye aye captain!" Sirius said.
They were all nervous. What if Remus will attack
them? And what if they'll have to attack him?
They didn't want to think about it.
"Okay. Here we go!" They all
transformed into animals. James turned into a stag, Sirius into a big black
dog, and Peter into a rat. They approached the willow, but they forgot one
little thing... The willow started smacking the air, missing James by only few
inches. Another branch tried to hut Sirius, who barely dodged that attack.
Peter, on the other hanfd, was less fortunate: One of the willow's branches
smacked him mercilessly. Sirius quickly noticed that, and tried to distract the
branch. The branch stopped hitting Peter, and went on hitting Sirius instead. Peter
tried to find a place to hide, and accidentally stepped on one of the tree's
roots. The Willow instantly went still. Sirius looked at Peter. If dogs could
smile, he would be smiling now. They all went to the space between the tree's
roots. There was a long tunnel there; it seemed like they walked there for
hours. When they finally reached the shrieking shack they heard blood-freezing
screams, but it didn't stop them. Sirius barked, and soon enough, an answer came. Two yellow eyes appeared
from the darkness.
In any other occasion Sirius would be running
for his life right now, but oddly, (Even to himself) he didn't. James and
Peter, on the other hand, retreated a few steps.
The wolf came out from the shadows and growled.
Then, started sniffing the air. Sirius could swear he looked confused at that
moment, but even if he didn't, he wasn't as wary anymore. Slowly, the wolf
approached James and Peter too, but he didn't attack them as well.
They stayed at that hut all the night, melting
the ice. They knew the wolf was Remus but not really Remus; for the wolf they were only vague memories, but yet
he sensed something about them that told him that they're friends.
That night was probably the happiest night in
his life.
******
Sleepless but happy, James, Sirius and Peter
returned to the Gryffindor tower ("Really boys! What were you doing
outside all night?!"-the fat
lady) In 5 AM.
In the common room they found a surprise-Lily,
in a nightgown, and a worried expression on her face.
"Really! You were out all night!" She
said angrily. James shrugged.
"Well, err, time sure flies when you're
having fun!" James smiled. Lily gave him a worried look. "Well, I
didn't really sleep either..." She confessed.
"I, err, wanted to improve my grades in
potions so I did one of the easier ones in the book" She explained. James
raised an eyebrow. He was sure that Lily acted a little... Strange.
"Well," She continued, "I did
this, umm, energy potion." She smiled a worried smile. "It will help
you waking up" She picked up a mug from the table and handed it to James.
He examined it suspiciously. They once made an energy potion in Potions, and it
sure didn't look like this... On the other hand, it was a long time ago, and he
may have forgotten and he couldn't allow himself to be sleepy tomorrow... He
took a long sip.
Sirius noticed that Lily was looking at James
with a hopeful expression...
Something
isn't right...
James finished drinking the potion.
"Umm.... I don't remember the energy potion
being so tasty..." He mumbled. Lily faked a scowl. "James! You drank
the whole thing! What about your friends?" She faked an angry tone. James
scowled.
"Well, it obviously wasn't---" He
looked at Lily while he spoke, and instantly stopped. His mind was cleared of
any thoughts but one-
He has just seen the love of his life.
Ending notes: Uhhhhh.... I just committed myself
to a 3rd chapter. Ouch. I hoped you liked it.
