Disclaimer~ I don't own anything at all that you recognize. Those things belong to the famous JK Rowling. However, anything/one here that you had no idea existed is mine!!!!
~DanniBannani~Thanks to all who've reviewed~I finally got 20! It's because of you that I continue writing…well, I would continue anyways…but you guys are the ones who make me WANT to continue…and you give me some nice pointers which are really helpful! Thanks for the little hints (especially from Ebony River) of what you think would make a good story! They're really really helpful and I'll try to somehow incorporate those little ideas into my story! Well…hope you enjoy!
On with the next chappie…
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After Lily had stormed out of the Great Hall, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were in a state of pain and shock. They never thought Lily was capable of having such a temper—that was, until then.
When the whole of school snapped out of their shocked trance, they immediately began pointing and laughing at the four boys who had just been beat up by one single girl. The boys were filled to the rim with embarrassment and suspected Lily had made the huge scene just to humiliate them. Au contraire, Lily was completely serious about her fury with the boys' actions.
As she trod, angrily muttering, towards the Transfiguration classroom she realized she was completely and utterly lost. She cursed under her breath and gazed around the hallway not at all familiar with her surroundings. She checked her Muggle watch, relieved to find she still had half an hour until class started. As she scurried around and searched the halls like a scavenging field mouse, Lily suddenly heard a kind, worn voice. She looked around the hall but saw no one.
"Over here dear! Look at the wall!" the voice called. Lily snapped her head around, emerald eyes as wide as a startled fawn's. She searched the walls, trying to find the person she had obviously overlooked the first time she scanned the area. But to her surprise, she found that no one was in the hallway. She was certain. However, as she once again explored the walls she saw…a plump old woman in a flowing silvery gown practically doing jumping jacks in her picture frame, trying to get her attention. Was she imagining things?
But as soon as the thought came to her mind the woman slipped, her feet coming from up under her and she disappeared from view. Lily was sure she heard a loud, "Oof!" as the woman fell to the ground.
"Are—are you okay?" Lily asked the empty portrait.
"Why of course! Finally, dear, you noticed me!" The woman suddenly popped into view again, her shocking white hair slightly disheveled, and brushed herself off. "Now what seems to be the problem? I couldn't help but notice that a pretty little girl was roaming this unused hall in a state of panic!"
Lily blankly stared at the portrait for a moment until she found her voice and slowly answered the woman's question, "Um...I seem to be lost. You see, I was trying to find the…the…the…err… Transfiguration classroom, but, hehe, silly me! I um...I um…got lost. And now I don't have a clue where I am."
"Oh! Is that it?" The woman asked, expecting something much worse. Lily nodded and the woman continued, "The Transfiguration classroom is in the hallway parallel to mine! I am the portrait who guards the room with two entrances! One is right here in front of you, and then the other is right across from the Transfiguration class you're searching for. Now don't you fret! I'll allow you entry and you'll get to your class right on time! And you can come back to me anytime you would like. I'll remember you! But if you want to enter from the Transfiguration hallway you must remember the password 'snoggle snout!' My sister, (she then muttered some words that sounded somewhat like…the stupid witch…or was another rhyming word used?) guards the other entrance and does not trust anybody. Even if I, her dearest sister, tell her to do so!" Lily quickly glanced at her watch, checking the time, "Now, I guess I should stop talking so you won't be late for class!" the woman took Lily's hint.
"Thanks for your help…err…" Lily would have continued, but didn't know her name.
"Helga!" The woman jollily finished.
"Thank you Helga." Lily completed her sentence politely.
"Oh, it's a pleasure to help a fellow damsel in distress!" She then swung open, allowing Lily entrance to the much-needed shortcut.
As Lily slowly stepped into the room her jaw nearly dropped to the floor with awe. She observed the room and found it to be absolutely perfect! There was a huge comfy-looking four-poster bed. Its duvet was a warm, green color with huge plump creamy white pillows. One wall of the large room was lined with book-filled bookshelves, all a beautiful mahogany in color. The walls of the room were painted a dark shade of green with cream trim. The wall opposite the bookshelves was equipped with a hearth that was surrounded by two armchairs and a loveseat that resembled the lovely bed with their green shade and huge creamy white pillows.
Lily quickly looked around the last two walls and found they had faux windows that brought bright light into the room, giving it the feel of her bedroom at home. Lily promised herself she would come back to the room soon and memorized 'snoggle snout' before she rushed out of the room towards the second entrance.
She slipped into the crowded hall, unnoticed by all, and quickly crossed it to what she hoped was the transfiguration classroom. She peeked into the doorway to find Arabella, Robyn, and Melanie sitting worriedly in seats near the front of the room. Lily quietly walked in, sat in the seat next to Arabella, and lightly tapped her on the soldier. When Arabella turned to see who had tapped her, the worried expression on her face changed to one of relief!
"Lily!" she cried. "I was so worried! Where on earth have you been?"
The other two girls heard Arabella and waited anxiously for Lily's reply.
Lily thought about telling her friends the truth. But then thought better of it. She decided there might be a time when she'd need to be alone and she knew that would be near impossible if the three girls knew of the secret room Helga had somewhat given her.
Therefore, she replied to Arabella's question with a vague, "Around, just walking off my anger."
"Okay…" Arabella said unconvinced, but not wanting to push the subject.
At that moment the Marauders and a few Hufflepuffs, the house that would be joining them in Transfiguration, walked in. James looked at Lily as if she had murdered his mother. But then again, she had somewhat slaughtered his blossoming ego.
"Thanks a lot Lily," he said in a tone sore losers would use. "Now we look like idiots."
"No problem! Anytime!" Lily retorted in an annoyingly sarcastic tone.
James just shot her a look of disgust and seated himself with his friends in the back of the room. Soon after, a cat noiselessly padded into the room and agilely jumped into the professor's chair. The class burst out laughing at how funny the cat looked taking the place of the professor. However, the cat suddenly was Professor McGonagall,
"May I ask what is so hilariously funny?" she inquired.
The class instantly quieted as McGonagall continued, "That's what I thought." She smiled to herself, loving the astonished expressions on her student's faces. "My name is Professor McGonagall and I will be teaching you Transfiguration during your stay at Hogwarts. Now, by the end of this class period I expect you to have learned something. Therefore, you will be turning one of these beetles," she held up a small jar of live beetles, "into buttons by the time I dismiss you. Now, if you would just look at me and follow my directions you should most certainly be able to complete this simple task." She then proceeded to teach them the basics of transfiguration and left them to themselves to figure out how to change the beetle into a button. She didn't expect more than two or three students to actually transfigure the beetle properly. She just figured the students would put more effort into transfiguring if they thought they'd look stupid if they did not do well.
Surprisingly, about fifteen minutes after assigning the task, a student approached McGonagall's desk. She wearily looked up, expecting to find that she'd have to take a student to the hospital wing. Was she surprised when she saw James Potter, the one who she'd just punished for pranking Gryffindor House, standing in front of her, hand held out with a shiny black button boldly standing out on his palm! She looked up at him disbelievingly and said, "Mr. Potter. I would like you to actually transfigure the beetle into a button. Not just pluck a button off your shirt and pretend you've actually done so."
"But professor, I have transfigured the beetle!" James stated. "Watch!" He then ran to the jar Professor McGonagall had kept the beetles in and got a beetle. He placed the beetle on the professor's desk and exactly followed the instructions McGonagall had given the class earlier. And as he said he had done before, he made the beetle stop crawling around and change into a button.
"Well, I have to say Mr. Potter, I am very impressed. Most students can't make a button like that within the first two weeks of taking this course, let alone fifteen minutes." McGonagall informed, clearly proud that the student who had done such amazing work was in her house, "For such excellent work, I will award Gryffindor ten points!"
James proudly smiled and walked back to his seat, head held high. He looked over to Lily, who was struggling to keep her button from walking off her desk, and smirked. He walked over to her desk and from behind covered the moving button with his hand so it couldn't escape. Lily was obviously trying to ignore him, so he yanked her ponytail and she slowly rotated her neck so she was facing James and coldly asked, "What?"
"Well, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier today," James started, trying to sound sincere, but a hint of anxiousness was in his voice, "—and I wanted to tell you that you're doing it completely wrong." And that was why.
"Okay Mr. Transfiguration-expert-person. How exactly am I supposed to do it?" Lily asked, disturbed that the prankster was doing better than her in a class.
"Well, McGonagall said specifically to move your wand to the left and then down very firmly. You're way to loopy."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
"Fine. I'll do it your way." She followed James' instructions and looked in shock as her scurrying button stopped moving. James was right. "Thanks," Lily forced out.
"No problem," James responded, biting back the 'I told you so' that was threatening to slip out.
He was about to turn around when Lily looked at him, sighed and said, "You're forgiven."
He simply replied, "So are you," and walked back to his desk, seeing Lily head to McGonagall out of the corner of his eye. As he sat down he saw McGonagall's face light up once again as she awarded Gryffindor ten points. Little did he know that five of those were for his helping Lily.
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"And welcome to CHARMS!" a midget of a man beamed as he looked towards his class, "I am Professor Flitwick and will be teaching you several wondrous little spells for the next years of your life! Now, because you are new I would like to start off very simple with you reading pages 1-2 in your book. After all of you are sure you understand everything within those pages please inform me and we may begin the levitating charm!" Flitwick finished in his squeaky voice. He stepped down from the stack of books he'd been standing on and sat at his seat (which was also stacked with books so he could see above his desk).
Lily quickly opened The Standard Book of Spells and began reading the two pages with interest. She finished after most of the class because she was the only one who actually read the assigned text thoroughly and repeated times.
When the entire class had finished reading Robyn walked to Professor Flitwick's desk and said, "Uh, professor? We're all done reading."
"EXCELLENT!" Flitwick exclaimed in his squeaky voice, clapping his hands together, "Now, would you be a dear and get those feathers down from the 4th shelf for me?"
"Of course professor," was Robyn's reply. She walked to the shelf and found the feathers to be right at her eyelevel. She shrugged and retrieved the feathers.
"And could you please give everybody one feather?" asked Professor Flitwick. "Only one for now!"
"Yes professor."
After all the students had gotten their feathers Professor Flitwick once again mounted his pile of books and stood up in front of the class.
"Now, to begin! You will need to know the wand movements. For this charm it will be the swish and flick." He then did the wand movements himself, showing the class the proper procedure for the Levitating Charm. "Has everyone understood how we move the wands?"
"Yes professor," the class mumbled in unison.
"Wonderful! Now we will learn the incantation. Now everyone listen to me. Wingardium Leviosa! Notice the emphasis on the 'GAR' and the 'O'. This is essential for the spell to work out properly…Along with the proper wand movements. The, what class?"
"Swish and Flick," the class again mumbled in unison. Only a few students actually replied with enthusiasm, those being Ravenclaw students and Lily.
"Alright then. I believe you are now ready. Everyone settle down and concentrate on the feather in front of you. You may begin."
The classroom was filled with several Wingardium Leviosas and swishes and flicks. However, nobody got the feather to rise on the first try—except for Lily.
"Well done Miss Evans!" Professor Flitwick cried, "Five points to Gryffindor!" Lily beamed and proudly guided her feather into the air with her wand. After Professor Flitwick had taken his attention off Lily to help Peter, Lily looked around the room and noticed James attempting to levitate his feather. She was positive he was saying the incantation correctly, but noticed his swish and flick was way too stiff. To get his attention she directed her feather to float before his eyes. When he finally looked up at her, she mouthed to him,
'You're doing it wrong…Let me help.' James ashamedly nodded and watched as she came towards him.
"Okay, I am certain you can say Wingardium Leviosa correctly, HOWEVER, I noticed that your swish and flick was way too stiff. Show me again so I can be sure." James swished and flicked his wand and Lily found herself to be correct. "Yes, way too stiff. Now to fix that you need to relax your hand and let your wand move in a loopy motion like this." Lily showed him the proper wand movements and then looked at him as if to say, 'now you try.' James mimicked Lily's actions. "Great!" Lily praised. "Now all you have to do is say the incantation and the feather should float!"
James took in a breath and said, "Win-GAR-dium Levi-O-sa!" The feather raised from his desk and James turned to thank Lily for the help, "Th—Oh my heck! Lily!"
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Dunh..dunh..DUNH!!!!! Oh my heck (by the way, that's from a girl off Survivor…my sister always made fun of her little phrase so I decided to add it into my fic)!!! What's happened to Lily? I know! But you won't find out till next chapter (ahhh..the benefits of being a fanfic writer). Okay, if you review then I'll try and update this ASAP! And if you don't…I'll wait a WHOLE DAY…oh no! The horror! Well…that's all for now…hope you enjoyed! Please review. If you write 'em too, you know the great feeling when somebody reviews your story! We can spread the good feeling…c'mon guys, PLEASE? I don't care if you write two words (1.great 2.story!) Lol..ok. Oh, and if there were a lot of mistakes this time or if the story was weird please forgive me! My friend is out of town and therefore couldn't tell me if I was going waaaaaay out of control! Well, TTFN!
~DanniBannani~