~*~ Trampolines, Amongst Other Things ~*~

i ~Inside, outside

~Signs I could never read

~Places I've never noticed

~Wonder how

~I see them, all of a sudden

~Shapes and colours

~Seeing things I've never seen

~Different sights

~How come

~They seem to suddenly appear

~My clouds are clearing

~The sun is coming out

~Shine some rays on my day

~Chase the rains away

~Now my rainbow's starting to bloom

~Everything's moving

~Changing right before me
~Advancing on to happiness

~Back to

~The cheerfulness from before

~My clouds are clearing

~The sun is coming out

~Shine some rays on my day

~Chase the rains away

~Now my rainbow's starting to bloom

~So perfect now

~My rainbow's out and bright

~But I'd give it up for you

~Pack away

~My rainbow, save it for another day i

'Are you going to say yes?' Bella pressed, leaning closer. She was grinning, and clutching the message with glee.

'I don't know,' I said slowly, glancing around.

'Oh come on, you two are so made for each other. Everyone's been waiting for you two to get together. You two are practically the king and queen of the first years,' she giggled.

'What do you think, Hils?'

She shrugged with disinterest.

'It all depends. Do you like him?'

'Yeah,' I said slowly. 'But I've never gone out with anyone before, and I still think it's a bit young to be doing stuff like that. It's different for you, Bella. You're heaps pretty and you're into that kind of thing. And you two were brought up to go out with people your parents want you to.'

'First time for everything,' Sirius pointed out.

'Speaking of, are you two even 'going out' or what?' I asked.

'Dunno,' Bella shrugged.

'Guess so,' Sirius said. I shook my head.

'You two are hopeless.'

Remus laughed.

'You get that with Sirius,' he said.

'And what do you think, Mr Lupin?' I asked, leaning back into my seat.

'About Gray? I don't know. Like Hilary said, it all really boils down to whether you want to go out with him.

I suddenly realised that James had said nothing throughout all of this. He was absent mindedly stroking Gary's owl's back, staring out the window. I gave him a playful shove.

'You've been awfully quiet, Mr Potter,' I said in a low tone to him. He moved his head slowly around to look at me. He shrugged.

'What do you think about Gray?'

'I don't like him, so my opinion wouldn't be fair,' he said, looking back out the window. I frowned and leaned my head on his shoulder.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' he assured me.

There was a sudden scratching at the door, and Sirius stood to open it. It was a very familiar cat.

'Firregaze?' James, Sirius, Remus and I asked together, grinning but utterly confused at the same time. With the new amount of space and privacy, Firregaze morphed into a snow leopard. Bella and Hilary froze, staring at the oversized cat with alarm.

'He's harmless,' I grinned, stroking the warm, soft fur.

'That's his favourite form,' James said. 'I think he was originally one, because he prefers to be a cat. When there's not enough room, he'll go into a house cat. But it's usually some kind of feline.'

'He can turn into anything?' Bella asked, totally recovered form her initial shock.

'As far as we know,' Remus said.

Firregaze yawned, opening his mouth wide to reveal row after row of sharp, pointy teeth. Hilary's eyes opened wider, if possible. But the cat took no notice of her and turned to me, it's tail twitching playfully. His fur was a beautiful soft grey pelt, and his eyes were gleaming green, much like my own. I reached out to pat his head and he extended a large, rough tongue and licked it lovingly. After a couple of licks I withdrew my hand and he curled his large fluffy body up into a ball at my feet.

'What do you think he's doing on the train?'

'Probably transformed and snuck on looking like someone's pet. He knew where you were, anyway. He can probably smell Storm Shadow on you. But I reckon he's appointed himself your guardian,' James said. 'He's never far away when you're in trouble. I mean, that day me and Sirius found you, he showed us where you are. We were heading for the castle, but he got us to follow him.'

'Speaking of,' interrupted Sirius. 'Where is Storm Shadow?'

I shrugged.

'He'll be off somewhere, lurking in the shadows. Don't worry; he'll turn up when it's time to leave.

By the time the train came to a stop, Storm Shadow had appeared, Peter had joined us, and I had two problems to deal with. One, working out what to do with Firregaze, who was insisting on following me everywhere, and two, replying to Gray. Not at all decided on the latter, I decided to work with my problem number one first.

'James, what the hell am I meant to do with our good friend Firregaze the daemon?' I asked, blocking his exit from the compartment. Firregaze, still in his snow leopard form, was sitting up and grooming his front paws lazily.

'You'll have to take him home,' he said, puzzled.

'What? I can't take him home! I live surrounded by muggles, James! I can't afford to have a shape shifter changing from one animal to another all the time. What if he's seen?'

'Just don't let anyone see him.'

'Can't you get him to stay in one shape?' I asked.

'No, I can't. You could, but daemons change with their moods. The only form he can stay in without changing is as he is, though,' James said, folding his arms over his chest and looking down at Firregaze with a slight frown on his face. The cat took no notice of him. Quite the opposite, he turned his back in the act of ignoring him.

'James, how do I explain a snow leopard? If anyone sees him they'll have a fit! He'll get taken away to a zoo!'

'Well, use his ability to your advantage. You're smart, Lily. Get him as a cat till you get home, then let him free, and if people are around get him to turn into something more average.'

I groaned with frustration.

'Can you come with me?' I begged. James raised an eyebrow.

'Why?'

'Because. Besides, maybe you can convince my mum on this one. She loves you,' I said, rolling my eyes. A small smirk threatened to take over his face, but he controlled it.

'Let me go tell Hilary,' he sighed, putting his things down next to mine and dashing off after his sister.

He returned five minutes later, panting.

'Will you be allowed?' I asked.

'Yeah,' he nodded. 'My parents don't care what I do as long as it isn't disgracing the Potter name.'

'Come on then,' I said, bending to pick up my trunk, Storm Shadow and Firregaze at my heel. As if he had been listening to our conversation, Firregaze had become a shiny and sleek Persian, with the same green eyes.

'But how are you going to get home?' I asked.

James shrugged. 'I've got my broom.'

I frowned.

'I hate it how you go everywhere on that thing. Isn't it dangerous?'

'No,' he laughed, as we approached my mum's car. Mum held out her arms for a hug.

'Hello,' she said. 'Home, huh?'

I nodded.

'Hello, James,' mum added, seeing him behind me.

'Mum, is it OK if James comes over for a little while? It's just that I'm looking after this cat for a friend, and he needs to show me how to look after it,' I said, gesturing to Firregaze, who blinked lazily before raising his head regally.

'I suppose so. Isn't it a gorgeous cat?' she cooed, stooping to stroke Firregaze's fur. He purred and arched his back as if it required much effort.

'Yeah. Yeah he is,' I smiled as James helped me load my trunk into the boot. I assisted him with his, then we hopped in the back seat, Garnet's cage in between us. I noticed that Petunia was in the front seat, her nose in a magazine.

'Hello Petunia,' I said impassively. She made a small noise in return, and I rolled my eyes. Some people were beyond help.

'So, James - how do you like Hogwarts?' Mum asked as she jumped in the car and put the key in the ignition.

'I think it's great,' he shrugged. 'But I can't really say, since I've never been anywhere else.' 'And how's your year been, Lily?'

'Great,' I grinned, pulling out my hair elastic so that my hair fell freely over my shoulders.

'Look at you hair!' she exclaimed, looking at me in the mirror. 'It's grown a couple of inches.'

Mum loved my hair. She was always complaining about how boring her own was, and how gorgeous mine was. I happened to think hers was just as lovely, but I was quite proud of my hair.

When we got home, I just stood in our driveway staring at our house for a while, taking it all in. It had all seemed so distant, at Hogwarts. James came up behind me, carrying my trunk. He set it down next to me and followed my gaze.

'Anyone would think you've never seen it before,' he laughed.

'I feel like I haven't,' I said quietly. James placed a hand on my shoulder in a comforting way before moving off to get his trunk. Firregaze had slinked out of the car and was at my feet again. Storm Shadow had already slipped off into the garden.

'Don't tell me you've brought home another disgusting creature,' Petunia said, looking down her nose at Firregaze. He glared at her.

'You better keep him away from me. Do you know how much fur falls off those things? Ugh, move!' she snapped at the cat who was in her way. She aimed a kick at him, and he was upon her in an instant, a wildcat. I immediately grabbed the scruff of his neck and yanked him away from Petunia who had screamed and tripped over backwards. Firregaze gave a low growl before turning in a small circle and shrinking back into his Persian form.

'That... thing is a monster! No way is it coming inside my house!' Petunia shrieked.

'No, you're a monster,' I said coldly. 'You insulted him. You attack people when they insult you, why shouldn't he? Just leave him alone and he'll leave you alone.' I picked Firregaze up and stroked his fur protectively, my face in a determined frown. James had paused at the boot of the car, watching me and Petunia eying each other, holding back uncertainly. 'I'm bigger than him, and he can learn his place if he's going to be around me,' Petunia shot back. As if in reply, Firregaze leapt from my arms and was an enormous tiger in an instant, his green eyes fixed on Petunia, daring her to continue. She stopped when she saw this, and backed away.

'There is no way mum will let you keep that thing,' she said. 'Just you wait!'

She stalked off to the house, muttering to herself. James approached slowly.

'She's so... grrr!' I said with frustration, stomping a foot. Firregaze rubbed up against my legs in answer, but the gesture was slightly different when coming from an animal about twenty times as big as a pet cat. I laughed and stroked the tiger's back. 'Thanks, but you really can't upset her like that, or you'll get kicked out. Besides, there's muggles around, and they aren't allowed to see you do that. He licked my hand apologetically before turning back to a cat, not a Persian but the tougher looking tabby I had met when Malfoy had been annoying me.

'Try to stay like that, OK?' I asked him, crouching to stroke him. He let me pet him for a few minutes before he padded off towards the house. I turned to James.

'Well, here goes the start of one extremely long summer,' I sighed.

'I envy you,' he laughed. 'That sister of yours looks trying.'

'Oh, she is, believe me.'

'So what exactly did you want me to do about this daemon of yours?'

'I don't know, James! I don't even know if mum will let me keep him, if Petunia tells. Besides, I don't know what he eats, or anything. Can't you take him?'

'Well, he'll eat pretty much anything. You have cat food for Storm Shadow, don't you? That'll do him. And if you ask him not to change in front of muggles, he'll listen to you. But I can't take him if he wants to stay, Lily.'

'But why is he following me?' I asked, frowning thoughtfully.

'Wouldn't have a clue. By the way, you left this on the train.' He held out the note from Gray. I took one look at it and sighed.

'What do I even say to him, James?'

'Do you want to go out with him?'

I thought about it for a moment. I had admitted to myself awhile ago that I had a crush on him.

'I guess. So should I say yes? I'm just... I don't know. Not sure. I've never done this before.'

'Well, say yes if you want to. You can only give it a go,' James shrugged, and we began to walk to the front door.

* * *

'So... what do you normally do around here?' James asked, laying on his back in the middle of my bedroom. I was sitting on my bed, looking out the window, frowning.

'Lily? What's wrong?' he asked, sitting up to look at me.

'Oh? It's just that me and Joey's windows used to face each other,' I said. 'But that room's empty.' There was nothing there except bare walls and an empty bookcase.

'Maybe she's moved to a new room?' he suggested.

'Yeah,' I said softly. 'Maybe.' But why? Why would she do that?

As if on cue, Joey's voice came drifting up there stairs.

'Hey Lily!'

There door opened, and there she was. I grinned and got up to hug her.

'Hey!'

'Hey,' she said back, smiling. 'Hi... James, isn't it?'

I stepped back to survey Joey. She was wearing a black tube top and a short denim skirt. Very un-Joeyish to say the least. She had definitely changed.

'How come your stuff isn't in your bedroom?' I asked her. Her smile faded.

'Oh. I found out a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to tell you in person,' she said slowly.

'What?'

'We're moving to New York.'

'What? When? Why?'

'Mum and dad have split. Dad's staying here but mum's been offered a job over there, and I'm going with her.'

'Oh my gosh. Joey, I'm so sorry! But you can't move... no way!' I said.

'Fraid so,' Joey said, running a hand through her shiny brown hair. It was even longer than it had been at Christmas, nearly down to her waist.

Firregaze, who was curled up as a snow leopard in the corner, gave a throaty growl. We all looked at him. Joey's eyes opened wide.

'Oh my gosh! Lily Evans, since when do you have a snow leopard?'

'I don't,' I laughed. 'He's actually a daemon.'

'A what?'

'Shape-shifter,' James answered, his eyes still on Joey. I rolled my eyes. They were practically drooling at the mouth over each other.

Just then, there was a scratching at the window. A sooty black owl was on the sil. I walked over and let it in.

'That's Orion,' James said. 'Dad's owl.'

The bird indeed flew straight to James. He pulled the envelope off his foot and unfolded the letter.

'It's from Hilary. She said that they're going out to a formal dinner and since there's not enough time for me to come back and go with them, may I stay at your house tonight? She's told dad I'm at Sirius's, apparently. I'll just go to his house, if you want.' 'Whatever you want. But you can stay for dinner. Mum's made roast turkey just for tonight, and there's way too much for just three people. You can probably stay too, Jo.'

'Can't,' she said, grimacing. 'Mum wants me home to pack by five. We're leaving next week.'

'Oh,' I said, my eyes fluttering back to the window.

'Yeah, it's a bummer. She said I should come over and say hi then come back. She only gave me like fifteen minutes.'

'That sucks,' I said, crinkling my nose. 'We're going to have to get together and have a girls day out before you leave. You know, the old gang - Melody, Elizabeth.'

'Yeah,' Joey nodded. 'Well, I might come see you tomorrow, OK?'

'Of course it is!' I grinned, hugging her again. 'See ya!'

'Bye!' she waved, dashing back down the stairs.

'Bye!' James called.

Firregaze gave a lazy stretch before curling into a ball.

'Oh, it's a hard life, isn't it,' I sympathised, stroking his fur and feeling his muscles quiver.

'I should owl Sirius,' James said, looking at his watch. 'Do you have some parchment?'

'Yeah - in my drawer,' I said, flopping back on my bed. James got up and grabbed a piece out of my desk drawer and began scribbling something on it. He attached it to Orion and sent him out the window.

'What do you want to do?' I sighed.

'What is there to do?'

'I don't know. We can go play on the trampoline,' I shrugged.

'What's a trampoline?' James asked curiously. I sat up and stared at him.

'You don't know what a trampoline is?' I said with wonder.

'Nope,' he said, shaking his head. I laughed.

'It's like a big mat made of elastic stretched over a frame. You jump on it.'

'Why?'

'Because it's fun,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'Come on, I'll show you.'

I grabbed his arm and pulled him downstairs and out the back door and into our garden. I loved our garden. It was huge, and was framed by flowers and plants, but the middle was entirely grass, so there was heaps of room to play. The trampoline was in the corner. I ran over and climbed up and began bouncing.

'See? You jump, and you go higher and higher. And you can do tricks.'

'What kind of tricks?' James asked, still watching with curiosity.

'Like this,' I said, falling forward onto my stomach and bouncing back up. Then I did a forward flip. James grinned.

'Cool,' he said.

'You want a go?'

'OK,' he said. I crawled off and he hopped on. He stood in the middle of the mat for awhile, then started to slowly jump. He tried to flop onto his stomach but didn't quite make it up again. I laughed as he sat there, wondering what had gone wrong.

We played on the trampoline for a bit until mum called us in for tea.

'Come on, James. Dinner's ready.'

I had to practically pull him off, he was having so much fun. When he touched the ground, he jerked in shock.

'What?'

'I got an electric shock,' he said, shaking his head.

'Yeah, that happens everytime you get off. Come on.'

He came, but with reluctance. He kept glancing back.

'Sirius so has to get one of those.'

~*~*~*~

Hey, my faithful readers.

Well, thank you for all the reviews, keep it up!

Just a note to whoever asked: yeah, I did kinda steal the whole daemon thing out of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Naughty me. *hehe*

OK, quick survey:

Should Lily go out with Gray? Should Bella and Sirius go out yet or wait? And...

A little contest thingy... I want something to happen at Joey's goodbye party. Everyone give me an idea! Bets one gets used and credit for it and... virtual slices of whatever you want for a year! Lol.

Well, bye byes.

SezZie