Transformations and Transfiguration

By: Jasmine

Chapter 7

"Almost"

"What time d'you think it is now?" said Lily monotonously, staring out the window at the darkening sky, her hair blending in almost perfectly with the scarlet rays lining purple clouds. She shifted herself on the bed carefully, turning over her pillow as she lay flat on her stomach, her feet waving in the air.

"I dunno. Probably around six thirty or seven's my best guess." James replied, his tone as dull as Lily's had been. He lay spread-eagled on the ground once again because Lily had threatened him hours ago, and considering she was in a very touchy mood and had her wand, he wasn't about to object. He himself was bored to death, having used up all of his interesting jinxes.

Lily now had streaks in her hair that would lose color until they turned white and then return to their usual flaming red over and over again, and she's shout odd phrases without notice or occasion. She was familiar with the jinx and therefore knew that its affects would wear off with time, but it was irritating and her throat was getting very sore.

James no longer had hair but a head full of neatly trimmed grass, and Lily had taken the liberty of removing all the weeds. His nose had been expanded to an abnormal size, and his eyes were not two different colors, his eyelashes glowing in the dark. He was also sporting very pink robes, their neon color nearly blinding.

Both were very sick of reciting incantations and clear out of any safe ones to recite anyway. James's eyes lit up as an idea struck him. He sat up, turning toward Lily in joy, but just as he opened his mouth to state his idea verbally, Lily cut him off with a curt, "No."

James laid back down, taken aback and disappointed slightly by her impetuousness. He immediately inquired curiously, "Why do you hate me? From what I can remember, I was never rude enough to deserve what you do to me." He paused for a breath. "And besides, so far I've shown nothing but love towards you."

"You must go get your memory checked, Potter, because it was you, not me, who tripped me before we even began Hogwarts. All I'd done was beat you to the snack line." Lily replied, sitting up and gesturing for James to come join her on the bed. "And as far as the whole love thing goes, we've only been in school for a few days, so would your feelings be known as love or lust?"

James furrowed his brow, trying to take all this in and come up with an equally cunning reply. They sat in silence, Lily, thinking the conversation was over, beginning to play with a fluffy cushion. James was lost in his own thoughts, unable to convey them into words. He pathetically replied, "There's nothing wrong with trying to find love."

Lily spun her head around, gazing straight into James's eyes, losing herself in their mischievous glow, the specks of gold almost entrancing. "I don't agree with that. You don't find love in someone, rather you find you're able to love someone. Love isn't something you search for because then you'll end up falling under the spell of lust, dating only for pleasure. Love isn't something that can be found, anyway. It's something that finds you at the most unexpected times."

James stared, her wisdom taking him by surprise. "Then, how am I supposed to know if I'm in love or not? I mean, am I going to think this one girl is extremely hot, or...?" His voice faded into silence.

"I'm not really sure how you'll feel because I myself have never fallen in love. I do know, though, that once you find your special someone, you'll have no doubts. There's be no confusion. You'll just feel like everything's going perfect in your life. Basically, your soul mate will make you complete." Lily finished, gazing off into space dreamily, a far off smile lingering upon her pink lips. She closed her eyes, smiling sweetly.

James stared, speechless. It was odd. He felt he could slightly relate. He wasn't sure when it'd happened, but he didn't feel an ominous shadow looming over him anymore. He felt a warm sensation inside, urging him forward, pushing him closer to Lily. Closer until her face was barely inches away from his own. He leaned in, the inches becoming centimeters, the centimeters becoming millimeters. He could feel her soft breath on his face. He was moments away from her lips when—

SLAM! The classroom's door blasted open. Lily's eyes snapped open to find Jasmine standing in the doorway, the door hanging off one hinge, and James plopped on the floor upon his back, the bed's sheets falling with him. "sorry. Had to burst it open. Stupid Black and his stupid pranks." She smiled at Lily, who beamed, going over to hug her best friend. Both glanced over at James, who was hopelessly attempting to detangle himself from the sheets. "Oy, Potter! You coming?" Jasmine called, laughing. She rolled her eyes as Lily shook her head, and the pair strolled out, leaving James to find his way out of the blankets.

When he'd finally freed himself, he was alone in the classroom. A faraway howl echoed through the open window. "Sorry, mate. Can't happen tonight." James muttered, smiling at the gleaming moon. He got to his feet, straightening his robes and putting his glasses back on, quickly repairing one of the shattered lenses. Seems he'd fallen much harder than he'd felt after all. He left the classroom toward the Common Room to find Sirius.

His feet carried him on, his eyes not seeing where he was going. What had gotten into him? He'd done that once before, but it'd been more abrupt, a more unexplainable emotion. He'd even been able to forget it moments after. But the feeling he felt now was different. It felt lingering, twisting around in his stomach, making his breath stop in his throat. He wasn't really sure what it was, but he was determined to find out.

When he'd arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, he did not know, but James kept his pace steady, turning only when Sirius waved at him from the corner. He took his usual seat next to Sirius in a soft velvet armchair, unaware of the gazes coming his way. "So...?" said Sirius slowly, an interested and amused smile playing about his face. Even Peter look up from his barely even started essay, which was surprising considering it was already a day late. "Anything happen between you two? Because Evans seemed exceptionally happy compared to how she makes you two's relationship out to be."

"Almost." James replied quietly, looking anywhere but at Sirius. He wasn't sure if he wanted to share his feelings with just anyone, not that Sirius was just anyone. Peter was still there, and James had no intention of sharing his deepest emotions with him.

Sirius, noticing where James's sight was set, said quickly, "Peter, there was some Ravenclaw girl looking for you." Peter looked up from his unmoving quill, the ink blot under it growing across the parchment. "Yeah, dark brown hair, honey brown eyes. Ring a bell?" Peter was up in an instant, squeaking an apology before running off. "There. Now—"

"How'd you know there was a girl looking for Peter?" James interrupted, his eyebrows raised, but a bemused smile resting on his face none-the-less.

Sirius shrugged casually. "I didn't. Made her up. Y'know how Pete gets if he hears someone's calling him, especially a girl." James laughed. "Anyway, are you going to tell me now or am I going to have to ask Evans myself, because you know I will."

"No, no. I'll tell." James said, waving his hands in front of Sirius's face. He then launched into the story, leaving out nothing except where the two had slept. He had a feeling Sirius was quite aware of where that'd been, and if he wasn't, then James wanted to keep it to himself. "Then the door was nearly blown off its hinges by—"

"You kissed Evans?" Sirius cut in, not caring for any other details. The expression upon his face was a mix of shock and amusement, his sapphire eyes glowing.

"Almost." said James, looking away from Sirius and to the ground. "Almost." he repeated as if regretting having ever had that conversation with Lily. He'd been content with their hourly arguments, all ending in nothing but counter-jinxes and trips to the infirmary occasionally. However, that talk of their put everything he'd ever believed in jeopardy. He now questioned things that hadn't changed forever, the reason behind his hatred toward Lily being on of the few.

"Tough luck, Prongs." said Sirius sympathetically, leaning back in his chair. James sighed, glancing over at the girls' dormitory's staircase, oblivious to the snickers coming from people who'd just noticed his appearance. His nose had deflated back to normal size on its own, and he'd turned his robes black again, but he'd forgotten about his hair, not having ruffled it in hours now.

The portrait hole swung open to reveal a disgruntled looking Peter walking into the Common Room. Once he'd reached their corner, he said angrily, "She wasn't looking for me. Now, she wanted to see Peter McBillons of sixth year." One of the boys who'd been laughing at James a moment ago gasped and ran for the library, the snickering turning toward him now.

"Just my luck." said Sirius in a mock-sympathetic gesture, turning back to his books to finish his Potions essay. "Hope Moony's doing alright." he mumbled, James and Peter nodding in silent agreement.

A week passed without notice, and James hadn't said a word to Lily and vice versa. This was very odd behavior for the two, and even people they'd never spoken to before were coming up to them and asking if everything was all right. For some, their only source of entertainment was now gone.

James sat in the Great Hall one morning gulfing down his toast, surprisingly able to somehow squeeze juice in as well. Remus was reading a book that'd been propped against an empty jug, and Sirius sat ahead of James, taking huge bites as well. It seems they were holding an unannounced contest, noticing not the disgusted glares when they filled their mouths so much they wouldn't close or the post owls flying into the hall.

Only when Jasmine squealed did James choke on his gigantic bite, making Sirius stand up in victory, fists in the air, until he too began choking. A few people laughed, but James and Sirius were much too busy glower at jasmine to care. "What the devil's with that girl?" Sirius muttered, his eyes narrow. James shrugged, his expression similar.

"What happened, Jasmine?" Lily asked, wanting to know what had caused the sudden uproar in her best friend. Jasmine, too excited for words, thrust the letter in Lily's face. Lily took it, her eyes scanning the page. They were becoming wider, as was her smile, with every line. When she was finished, the two girls locked eyes and squealed one last time in joy before dashing out of the Great Hall in a flurry, giggling the whole while, leaving plenty of people worrying for their sanity.

James and Sirius looked at each other, both of their eyebrows threatening to disappear into their hair in bewilderment. "What d'you think that was all about?" said James slowly, returning to his food and biting each bit carefully before swallowing.

Sirius shrugged. "Guess we'll have to ask them during class." He glanced at their schedule. "We've got History of Magic first, anyway, so that shouldn't be too hard." He finished, folding his schedule up and replacing it in his pocket.

"Joy."

Wooh! Finished Chapter 7. Wow, that was an easy one, and turns out this is going to be one of my favorites. You know that line of Lily's about the finding love thingy? Well, I thought that up AGES ago and wanted to put it in somehow, so I guess I'm happy. Thanks to all of you for your great reviews! Keep 'em coming:)

Jasmine

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