Chapter 4: Burning the Midnight Wand
Lily was studying late, as usual. She sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room with her back to the empty room, so that nothing, not even the fire, could distract her. Her books were spread all around her, and the clock had struck 1 am not that long ago. But she had to keep up. It was true that she and James were both at the head of their class, and they were both prefects, but everything seemed to come so naturally to James. Lily had to work for it. James could stay out all night with his rowdy friends, not touch a quill and still get full marks on everything he did. Even Snape had trouble finding fault with him. But here she was, still working on her assignments at the small hours of the morning and not even fully understanding what she was doing. That was why she had cast the counter-spell to Revelium Cashus. She wanted to be able to get to the library late at night without anyone knowing how much effort she had to put in. She didn't know exactly what drove her like this, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it might be James. She couldn't get over the feeling that she'd lose him if she wasn't perfect like he was.
As if thinking about him had somehow conjured him up, she heard James' voice on the stairs behind her. She shrunk lower in her chair, knowing there was no way to leave without him seeing her and finding out that she wasn't as naturally talented as him.
"We have to do something, Padfoot, because we're eventually going to get caught."
Lily wondered who Padfoot was, but she couldn't turn to look from her hiding place.
"Prongs, we're good, but we're not *that* good. Something like this would take skills well beyond our levels." Lily could tell it was Sirius talking. She would know his voice anywhere. She had harbored a secret crush on him the first 2 years they had been at Hogwarts, but she had since come to realize that James was a much better match for her.
"I agree with you, Padfoot. Individually, we aren't powerful enough to do something like this, but together, we can do just about anything." That was Remus' voice as far as she could tell.
"I guess you're right, Moony. So, what's the first step?" Sirius again.
There was only one of the Fab Four left to speak. Lily had, by this point, figured out that each boy had a secret nickname. She quietly wrote on the paper in front of her, 'James=Prongs, Sirius=Padfoot, Remus=Moony, Peter=???'
"I still don't understand what the plan is, guys!!" And Peter had spoken. Or, as was more appropriate in Peter's case, whined.
"Wormtail, do we have to explain this all again??"
'Peter=Wormtail' Where were these nicknames coming from?
"Remember the spell we learned this morning? Well, Lily showed me a way to adapt it so that you can pinpoint someone's location on a map. I say we start working on a map of Hogwarts, and try to make the map such that it will always show us where everyone is," James was speaking quickly, as though he were very excited about this idea
Lily had to stifle a sigh. Of course they were up to something illegal. If they actually succeeded in creating such a thing, the Ministry of Magic would love to know about it.
"We'll need to start doing some research as soon as possible. I'd like to have this thing up before the next full moon, so that give us almost a month. If we can succeed, then we'll be able to avoid everyone when we sneak out. I don't mind getting caught out of bed, because it's happened before, but if anybody finds out what we can do, we'll be expelled."
Lily didn't like the sound of that. She knew James had been hiding something from her, but she didn't know it was something that important. She always just assumed he had webbed toes or something.
"You're right," said Sirius in a playful voice, "If anyone found out I could do this, I'd be in trouble."
Lily couldn't help it, she turned to peek over the edge of her chair just in time to see Sirius transform into a large black dog. And before she could even blink, a tall stag stood where James had, and something…a rat, stood where Peter had. This time Lily couldn't hold back her gasp.
In a heartbeat, the three had transformed back to their human state and were staring at her, seemingly unable to move.
"Well," said Lily, trying to sound casual, "at least I know you don't have webbed toes."
Lily was studying late, as usual. She sat in the corner of the Gryffindor common room with her back to the empty room, so that nothing, not even the fire, could distract her. Her books were spread all around her, and the clock had struck 1 am not that long ago. But she had to keep up. It was true that she and James were both at the head of their class, and they were both prefects, but everything seemed to come so naturally to James. Lily had to work for it. James could stay out all night with his rowdy friends, not touch a quill and still get full marks on everything he did. Even Snape had trouble finding fault with him. But here she was, still working on her assignments at the small hours of the morning and not even fully understanding what she was doing. That was why she had cast the counter-spell to Revelium Cashus. She wanted to be able to get to the library late at night without anyone knowing how much effort she had to put in. She didn't know exactly what drove her like this, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it might be James. She couldn't get over the feeling that she'd lose him if she wasn't perfect like he was.
As if thinking about him had somehow conjured him up, she heard James' voice on the stairs behind her. She shrunk lower in her chair, knowing there was no way to leave without him seeing her and finding out that she wasn't as naturally talented as him.
"We have to do something, Padfoot, because we're eventually going to get caught."
Lily wondered who Padfoot was, but she couldn't turn to look from her hiding place.
"Prongs, we're good, but we're not *that* good. Something like this would take skills well beyond our levels." Lily could tell it was Sirius talking. She would know his voice anywhere. She had harbored a secret crush on him the first 2 years they had been at Hogwarts, but she had since come to realize that James was a much better match for her.
"I agree with you, Padfoot. Individually, we aren't powerful enough to do something like this, but together, we can do just about anything." That was Remus' voice as far as she could tell.
"I guess you're right, Moony. So, what's the first step?" Sirius again.
There was only one of the Fab Four left to speak. Lily had, by this point, figured out that each boy had a secret nickname. She quietly wrote on the paper in front of her, 'James=Prongs, Sirius=Padfoot, Remus=Moony, Peter=???'
"I still don't understand what the plan is, guys!!" And Peter had spoken. Or, as was more appropriate in Peter's case, whined.
"Wormtail, do we have to explain this all again??"
'Peter=Wormtail' Where were these nicknames coming from?
"Remember the spell we learned this morning? Well, Lily showed me a way to adapt it so that you can pinpoint someone's location on a map. I say we start working on a map of Hogwarts, and try to make the map such that it will always show us where everyone is," James was speaking quickly, as though he were very excited about this idea
Lily had to stifle a sigh. Of course they were up to something illegal. If they actually succeeded in creating such a thing, the Ministry of Magic would love to know about it.
"We'll need to start doing some research as soon as possible. I'd like to have this thing up before the next full moon, so that give us almost a month. If we can succeed, then we'll be able to avoid everyone when we sneak out. I don't mind getting caught out of bed, because it's happened before, but if anybody finds out what we can do, we'll be expelled."
Lily didn't like the sound of that. She knew James had been hiding something from her, but she didn't know it was something that important. She always just assumed he had webbed toes or something.
"You're right," said Sirius in a playful voice, "If anyone found out I could do this, I'd be in trouble."
Lily couldn't help it, she turned to peek over the edge of her chair just in time to see Sirius transform into a large black dog. And before she could even blink, a tall stag stood where James had, and something…a rat, stood where Peter had. This time Lily couldn't hold back her gasp.
In a heartbeat, the three had transformed back to their human state and were staring at her, seemingly unable to move.
"Well," said Lily, trying to sound casual, "at least I know you don't have webbed toes."
