Title: The Young Order
Rating: Probably PG, perhaps PG-13, who knows? Some where in-between there, at most PG-13 just to be safe. God knows what this mindless authoress would write...x]
Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing of J.K. Rowling's, and nothing in the HP universe. If I did, do you think would have died?!?! OF COURSE NOT!
Summary: Just read and find out…
Author's Note: I'm back, and I've had such wonderful inspiration for this story, its amazing…thank goodness for my brother's Dungeon's and Dragons monster book thing, because otherwise I'd have had to make up stuff about mythical monsters, and I could have had trouble with that….ANYWAY, here we go again.
--By the way, Laurel is in Hufflepuff, not Ravenclaw…I forgot, and I think I may have mentioned the wrong house in chapter 17.
The last two weeks of March were upon the Marauders and their girlfriends rather quickly. They threw a birthday party for Treasure, who was the last among them to turn sixteen. After that however, Lily and Treasure, more often than not accompanied by Laurel, were in the Common Room or an empty class room every night until well past midnight, trying very hard to become Animagi. They had settled on their animals rather quickly, and James was right, it did come to them rather quickly.
Lily had been the second to decide, after Laurel had so obviously pointed out what animal she had decided. Lily had chosen to transform into a fox, and so far she seemed to be the best at her transformation. She had been able to sprout a tail quite regularly, but didn't seem to be getting any further. The girls hadn't realized that it would have been wise to learn the reversal spell before attempting any of the transformations, and so Treasure had to call on Sirius rather grudgingly to get rid of the feathers that had erupted on her face. It wasn't something that he was likely to stop laughing about any time soon.
Laurel had, of course, chosen to become a wolf. One the single occasion that she had been able to transform her ears, it became evident what traits she would have in common with the animal. Her fur was the same unadulterated silver as her hair.
Lily's case was also very similar, the fur on the tail was about the same as the auburn of her mane. Treasure, by far, was having the most trouble with this spell. She had decided, after a long time, that she wanted to turn into a raven. She would often complain that it would take her far longer than it took Peter Pettigrew to learn how to become an Animagus, and she had finally succumbed to allowing Sirius to give her further instruction.
"It's not like he's very helpful, you know, because each time I go to have a lesson, he turns himself into that great black dog, and brags about it afterward," said Treasure, who was very much annoyed; Lily and Laurel listened on sympathetically. The race for the Quidditch Cup were on, and practice was being held every other day. Laurel was feeling the strain as well, but at least Remus was trying to help her through all her work. On the days that Treasure didn't have practice, she had managed to cram in her homework, but was often left working over the weekends as well; all the while Sirius was so inconsiderately trying to tempt her to take a walk with him outside.
"And you give in, more than you refuse," Lily said pointedly, scratching her nose distractedly with her quill and leaving black ink marks across it. Treasure had decided not to mention this to her friend, glaring angrily up through her dark tresses and going back to scribbling her Potions essay. "Damn True Potion," she muttered.
Lily had managed her time so that every night she would get in her Animagus practice, and Treasure refused to put anything before that. Eventually, James had caught wind of it, but when he suggested to Lily that he help, she cursed him so badly that his ears were left twitching for a week after. He was considerably colder to her after that, but Treasure didn't miss all the times that he would gaze at her best friend during Charms class. He had misdirected on of his cushions so badly that it smacked Sirius in the face, and he fell backwards into Treasure. The both of them then proceeded to zoom every cushion in the room at James, and poor Professor Flitwick had quite a bit of trouble calming down the class after that.
Perhaps the most stress came from the upcoming O.W.L.s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels, that each fifth year student would be taking at the end of the year. Lily was studying mostly for her History exams, which would be cumulative. Treasure was studying frantically for everything, but did notice that her Transfiguration skills had gone up since attempting Animagus. In fact, all three girls noticed this. It, however, did not help them a bit in becoming Animagi.
Treasure nearly had a break down with Pettigrew offered her tips on the transformation.
April holidays were coming up quite quickly, but not too many students were looking forward to them. They knew that the teachers would not let them enjoy this holiday, in fact quite the contrary - they were dreading the work load.
"For every essay that you must write, do not forget that I have to mark a hundred more," Professor McGonagall said tersely. "So don't assign any!" Treasure said loudly, and the rest of the class muttered their agreement.
At the moment, however, all three girls were in an empty classroom, practicing very hard on each of their animals. They sat cross-legged, each on a cushion, breathing deeply. "The first step into becoming an Animagus is learning to relax," Lily snapped, weeks ago, as Treasure snickered. They all quickly came to realize that it was easier said than done, and Laurel continuously complained that how could she possibly clear her mind when she and Remus had just emerged from a broom closet only minutes before.
"Kindly keep your extra curricular activities to yourself," Treasure said, wrinkling her nose even as she put her own hand to her neck. Evidently her arm was not the only place Sirius seemed to find desirable. Laurel waggled her eyebrows at Treasure, who blushed and stared up at the ceiling, trying desperately to clear her mind. Lily was the first to rise, and, squeezing what seemed like every muscle in her body, sprouted a tail, ears, and a bit of a snout. However, her transformation stopped at that. Laurel and Treasure were watching interestedly from the floor.
"Well, that is certainly the farthest I've ever gotten!" Lily said happily, her voice strangely hoarse. Laurel nodded, standing up and muttering the reversal spell. Lily found her seat again, and now it was Laurel's turn. She stood up and closed her eyes, pursing her lips until she, too, sprouted at tail and ears. She held up her hands and looked at them in awe, seeing claws and fur that looked as if she'd slipped her hands into very odd gloves.
"I think I'm finally getting the hang of it," she said happily as Treasure said "Reverso," and Laurel's wolfish attributes vanished. Treasure stood up, heartened by the success of her friends, and closed her eyes, clenching her teeth and fists. She waited on bated breath, envisioning the raven that she was supposed to be turning into. She could feel her friends holding their breath as well. When she finally couldn't stand it anymore, she opened her eyes and looked around. She brought her hands to her face…no, no beak…she ran her hands over her face and arms, each devoid of feathers.
"Didn't I change…even a little?" she asked, her voice breaking with disappointment. Laurel stood up and looked sadly at Treasure, "Well, you've got feathers in your hair…" she said hopefully. Treasure tugged at her hair anxiously, her face falling as she pulled out the owl feathers.
"I was in the Owlery today," she said miserably, gathering up her books. "Wait, Tres, come on, you can try again!" Lily said, feeling incredibly sorry for her friend. Treasure shrugged it off, reaching a hand for the door. "Forget it, Lils, if after this long all I've managed is a handful of feathers…then I'm worse a witch than Peter is a wizard!" And with that, she left the room.
Sirius walked right into Treasure as she hurried down the hall, wiping angrily at her eyes. "Hey, Treasure, I was just looking for you…what's wrong?" he asked, a frown of concern on his face. She shrugged, hoisting her books and not looking him in the face. She tried to walk past, but he blocked her way and took her by the arm. He pulled her into yet another room, a room furnished with a couch and a gentle fireplace. It was cozy, and, Sirius noted with surprise, there was a box of tissues next to the couch. Boxes of Chocolate Frogs littered the floor, among other piles of sweets. If he hadn't been so worried about Treasure, he would have been thrilled.
"Tell me what's wrong?" he asked quietly, sitting her on the couch. She threw down her books angrily, "Why, so you can go and…and turn into a dog, just to prove you c-can? Lily is nearly there with the fox thing, and Laurel is right on her tail - literally - with the wolf…and I can't even sprout a few feathers!" Treasure said miserably, letting him pull her closer and hold up a tissue. She wiped her eyes. "And I'm probably going to f-fail all my exams, and I'm not doing well on the team, and if Peter could turn himself into a rat and I can't even…"
"Shh," Sirius said, alarmed. Treasure was usually very cheerful, not worrying about her grades and what not. All the times she'd skived off Potions to sneak into Honeydukes with him! And now she sat shaking with anger next to him, plainly petrified about all the upcoming events.
"What are you talking about, Tres? You'll do fine on the exams, you do well in class (well, when you go) -" she shoved him away and he just grabbed her arm and pulled her back down again. " - And you're doing perfectly well in Quidditch, we've only lost one game this year," he continued. "And if you're worried about Peter turning himself into a rat, well, you shouldn't be 'cause that's not exactly a big stretch for him, is it?" Sirius asked, finally earning a smile from Treasure. She sniffled and leaned her head on his shoulder, "You're really horrible to poor Peter," she said, not sounding in the least bit sympathetic. She seemed to be very angry with him lately for being able to turn himself into a rat. She picked up handful of Chocolate Frogs, opening them carefully so that they wouldn't go hopping all about the room.
"Are you better now?" he whispered, tipping her head up slightly to look her in the eyes. She smiled and sniffled again. "You're lessons don't do much, Padfoot," she said, pouting at him "They don't?" he asked. "Except make me feel like an idiot," she added thoughtfully. He raised his eyebrows. She glared at him, "All you do is turn yourself into an animal. That does very little to help me." she said. He grinned sheepishly, "Well I thought you liked it," he said. She looked at him witheringly, "Oh yeah, Black, a real turn-on, that is," she muttered, picking up her books and making to leave to room. Sirius tailed her, grabbing her arms and turning her around, kissing her rather unexpectedly on the lips.
"Better?" he asked, pulling away after a few long moments. She yawned, "Yeah, but I'm still not a bird, am I?"
Easter holidays came with the dreaded amount of work. Fifth year students were given an essay in every subject, two in Transfiguration and Potions, and a practice test about goblin wars and witch burnings of the Middle Ages. Treasure was sitting next to Sirius in the library, giving very dirty looks to her parchment and quills.
"They're not going to do it for you, Tres," Lily said, walking in and looking very angry that James was following her. He seemed to have forgiven her for the Twitchy Ears hex. She looked as though she wanted to jinx him again.
Treasure sighed and picked up her quill, beginning to do the practice test. She found that it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. "I can't believe that I'm doing my homework on the first day of holidays," she grumbled, finishing the multiple choice questions easily. Lily smiled and began highlighting text for her Charms essay.
"Was it Eadric the Evil, or Bregan the Berated who caused the war over Princess Priscella the Pungent?" Treasure asked.
"Neither," Lily said smartly, "It was Uric the Unbearable." Treasure shot her best friend a very nasty look indeed. James was the only one who was not doing any of his work, it was evident that he would rather play with a tiny Snitch he'd taken from the last Gryffindor victory. Lily kicked him violently under the table as she got up to look for another book. James glared and rubbed his leg, stuffing the Snitch into his bag and beginning his Charms essay. They all worked in silence for nearly a half hour, and Treasure sighed triumphantly as she reached the essay part of the test. "Nearly there!" she said, sharpening her quill and dipping it back into the inkpot. They were joined by Remus and Laurel, who both walked in rather red in the face. Treasure looked up as they sat down. "Remus, you have lipstick all over your face," she said, tossing him a mirror and a handkerchief. Laurel grinned wickedly from behind a large book of Potion ingredients.
"Finally!" Treasure said, exasperated, as she pushed aside her test paper to dry. She rubbed her face tiredly, they'd only been working for an hour and she was exhausted already. She pulled her Transfiguration assignment towards herself, determined to finish both of the essay tonight, and start her Charms essay. "This has got to be illegal," Lily muttered, adding the final period to her Charms essay and beginning her practice test.
"Oh, Evans, are you overworked?" James asked, shooting her a grin. She didn't bother to answer, deciding to gather up her books and move to the opposite side of the table. Sirius laughed at the look on James' face.
It was well into the night before they were kicked out of the library. Treasure had successfully managed to finish both of her Transfiguration essays, and was nearly done with Charms. She was very proud of herself indeed, and intended to finish up her Potions homework and Divination the following day. That would leave her with Care of Magical Creatures, which was one of the easiest subjects considering it consisted largely of making sketches; and Astronomy, which consisted of star charts.
Sirius was rather annoyed, Treasure had barely talked to him all day, so intent was she to finish all her homework. He sat grudgingly in the library, and the only reason that he had progressed so far with his work was because he didn't want to leave Treasure in the library.
"What's that?" Treasure said, rubbing her eyes as she paused by a window. Lily and James were walking ahead, arguing again, and Remus had left to walk Laurel to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Sirius paused, shouldering the massive number of books that he was carrying, both for himself and for Treasure. All she was carrying was a few rolls of parchment. He glared out the window, seeing a pitch black carriage pulled by black horses pulling up in front of the school. Out walked a tall woman, with dark hair, wearing fancy robes of black. Following her was what looked like a large cat, it was as dark as her robes. A jaguar. Her skin was moon-pale and she seemed to be walking with -
"Snivellus?" Sirius muttered in disbelief. "I thought he was going out with that cow, Eva," Treasure smirked at her boyfriend. "Then who's this girl he's with?" she asked. Sirius shrugged, a gesture that was done with difficulty, considering the load he was carrying. Treasure made to take some of the books from him, but he refused to give them to her. She rolled her eyes behind his back, and they continued walking. "She's very pretty," Treasure said, watching the woman as they passed by every window. Sirius grunted, his arms numb from the weight of the books. Treasure smiled and took a few from him, so he would be able to see. He glared. They had reached the portrait, and Treasure said the password so the would be allowed in.
"When's the next full moon?" she asked quietly, standing outside the staircase to the girl's dormitory. "Couple of days," he said, putting the books down with a sigh. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him shyly, "You're gonna have to help me for the next two weeks, okay? I need all the help I can possibly get to become an Animagus, so don't slack off on me,"
"We don't slack off," Sirius said indignantly. Treasure grinned, "Fine, then you can't distract me…" Sirius kissed her on the lips, and Violet and Isabelle, who had been sitting by watching, huffed off. Treasure pulled away, "None of that," she teased, "That's why I never learn anything,"
"I wouldn't say that you don't learn anything," Sirius said suggestively. Treasure shoved him away with a barely concealed grin, "Goodnight, Black," she said, running up the stairs and flopping down on her bed with a huge grin on her lips.
By the first Monday of the holidays, everyone in the group was done with their homework. They had found out that the woman who was seen entering Hogwarts two nights ago was a cousin of Snape's, a Kathrynn S. Sabre. She was seventeen, in her final year at a private Salem school for witchcraft, and was visiting for the Easter holidays. It was rumored that she was dating Lucius Malfoy, a member of the Ministry.
Laurel eyed her nastily in the hall way. "She looks like a banshee," she snapped. Of course, this was not true. Kathrynn was anything but a banshee. She had jet black hair that went past her shoulders, and curiously violet eyes. Her skin was pale and smooth, in fact, she looked as if she could be a brunette veela. Laurel detested her.
Kathrynn wore silk black robes, obviously very expensive, and onyx jewelry. She work spiked stiletto boots, and even though she'd only been at Hogwarts for two days, there were legions of boys who followed her around. From the many offers of tours, she must have been nearly as familiar with the castle as Treasure was.
James regarded her with interest, and if she had been anyone but Snape's cousin, he would have gone up to her as an effort to make Lily jealous. But seeing as how Kathrynn was cousin to James' worst enemy, he disliked her.
Kathrynn had not given anyone a reason to detest her, except for the fact that she had a fan club. She was not biased towards the Gryffindor, or any other house for that matter, regardless of that fact that Severus was her cousin. However, she spent most of her time with the Slytherins.
Treasure was too busy with Quidditch practice, which was steadily improving, and her daily Animagus lessons. James and Remus had also stepped in to help her, and it wasn't long before she had two large, black wings. She was elated, "Do you reckon I could fly with these?" she said, flapping them about excitedly. "It would probably be best not to attempt it," Sirius said, muttering the reversal spell and was nearly knocked over as Treasure threw her arms around him happily.
Lily, of course, knew nothing of the fact that James' was helping Treasure, and she would have had a fit if she did find out. She just assumed that Treasure was improving of her own accord.
The girl's were sitting in their dormitory, as tonight it was a full moon. Treasure sighed, looking up from where she was cutting her Hogwarts skirt a good five inches shorter. Lily was watching her, perturbed. "I'm bored, I wish we were Animagi already," Laurel said, toying with the bracelet that Remus had given her. She was seated by the window, watching the full moon sadly. Lily was reading the book of Charms that Treasure had given her for Christmas. Treasure's birthday had just passed, at the end of March, and she was the last one to turn sixteen out of their group. She stitched the loose ends of her skirt up and dug through her diminished pile of sweets, remnants of her birthday celebration. It was turning out to be a very long night.
A/N: Okay, I know that ending sucked, but just wait. The next chapter is gonna be fun, I think…the chapter was stretched out really long, and I think it's rather boring, but whatever…