Transformations and Transfiguration
By: Jasmine
Chapter 8
"Transferee"
James entered the common room, yawning though he'd eaten enough to feed a whole village just minutes before. He ruffled his hair, striding toward his backpack in their corner, picking up his things and replacing them in their proper places before turning to Sirius, who was waiting for him. The two set off for class, taking secret passages and stopping by the kitchen again for a few muffins before class began. They were stuffing their faces with food when two familiar voices caught their attention. "Oh god, I can't believe he's coming. When'd he say it was again?" said Lily in an excited tone.
"In a few days, actually." Jasmine replied just as giddily, grinning at her friend and hugging her. Sirius and James stopped at the corner, listening hard. "He said he'd be transferring, too, and that he's been taking Hogwarts classes all year in hopes of being in the same year. I think he's going to be in Gryffindor, definitely. It'd suite him well." She glanced at Lily, her smile growing as she watched Lily's face turn slightly pink. "You of all people must be ecstatic." Lily looked up at her and the two giggled.
"I haven't seen him since the summer." said Lily blissfully, her eyes attaining the same glazed look they'd had while in the classroom with James. She sighed longingly, hugging Jasmine tighter. "I can't wait to see Jake." James chose that exact moment to choke on a bit of muffin, coughing loudly. Sirius thumped him hard on the back, bending down to see if he was okay. James waved him off, raising his head to find Lily and Jasmine glaring at the two. "You know it's not polite to eavesdrop." Lily said menacingly, her emerald eyes blazing.
James stared, wondering how they were going to get themselves out of this predicament. Sirius, however, bravely gazed on at Lily. "Who's coming?" he asked boldly, looking from Jasmine to Lily and back. Neither gave an answer, Lily looking slightly nervous, glancing at James, and Jasmine glaring at Sirius due to his audacity. "Well?" Sirius added, tapping his foot slightly. He was acting as if he had all right to know what they were talking about.
"If you must know," Lily began quickly, irritated. Sirius nodded. "His name's Jake Stevens, and the rest isn't any of your business, so shove off." With that, Lily and Jasmine strode away, not even looking behind them at the shocked James and disgruntled Sirius, who rolled his eyes much like Jasmine before heading toward class, James following after a moment's pause.
"They're hiding something. It's so obvious." Sirius muttered during History of Magic later on that day, flicking his miniature paper football across the table, hitting a brunette Ravenclaw girl, who spun her head around, trying to glare but too tired to do anything but yawn widely and put her head back down, returning to her nap. "Accio." The paper football zoomed back into Sirius's outstretched hand, Professor Binns noticing none of this, droning on.
"I'm going to find out what it is." said James suspiciously, his eyes never leaving Lily, who was once again holding the letter, reading it over again for the thousandth time that day. Then, James noticed her hand slip into her pack, returning with something folded in its clutches. He strained his neck to see what it was, jumping when Peter snored loudly beside him, making him slip into his seat again. James glared daggers at him before leaning in his seat again. Sirius waved him off, leaning back in his own chair.
Lily slowly unfolded the paper, her crimson hair blocking James's sight. She cocked her head to the side slightly, as if losing herself in the picture's depths. James leaned to the side even more, falling out of his seat as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Sirius bellowed, taken by surprise, before walking away without a second glance, losing interest in James's dilemma.
Jasmine and Lily were walking a few feet ahead of James, Sirius, and Remus, the immense crowd of students causing Peter to fall behind. "I've got to figure out what that paper was." said James, watching Lily's fingers as they placed the paper back into her bag. Sirius shook his head sympathetically, taking out his wand and pointing it at Lily's knapsack. He muttered a few words and caught the paper as it flew out toward them, Lily and Jasmine oblivious. "You're a genius." said James, snatching the paper away.
"It's all in the hair." said Sirius cockily, putting a hand through his hair as he did so. A blonde girl behind him squealed in delight, fawning over him and falling into her brunette friend, who was still sleepy from the previous class. James hastily unfolded the paper, ogling intensely at it before looking up, a look of disbelief on his face. Sirius stared. "What?"
"T-there's..." he paused, folding the paper over again. "Nothing on it." He crumbled the paper up, throwing it behind him without a glance as to who it was he'd hit. Mae caught it, shrieking with delight, looking up as if thanking the lord for such a gift. Her expression showed that she could ask for nothing more than to have trash thrown at her by the James Potter.
James's eyes hadn't left Lily the whole day, on the watch for any clue as to whom this Jake Stevens might be. Sirius advised him countless times to let it go, but he just wouldn't. He ended up stalking Lily for the next few days, getting yelled at numerous times for doing so, almost walking straight into the girls' lavatory a few times as well, and having shoes thrown at him for doing so.
Two weeks of school had passed without notice, and James sat at the Gryffindor table one day at dinner, his spoon swirling around and around in his mashed potatoes, the rest of his food sitting untouched, awaiting consumption. His food, however, didn't have their wish fulfilled for it disappeared before James's eyes. He stood to return to the common room, thinking he'd knick something from the kitchens later, only to be pulled back down by Remus, who was pointing ahead. James glanced in the direction of Remus's finger to see Professor Dumbledore standing tall before his students.
"I would like to have all of your attention, if you please." He said in a booming voice, nodding at Professor McGonagall, who promptly left the Great Hall. He turned towards the student body again, and resumed his speech. "I am aware that we all are well into this year of Hogwarts; however, I'd like to inform you all of a new program we're hosting. We will be transferring one of our students, Felicity White, to an American Wizarding school, in return for one of their students. If my may present Mr. Jake Stevens." He began clapping, the rest of the hall joining in, drowning out James's gasp.
The Great Hall doors swung open to reveal a tall boy standing next to Professor McGonagall, who was holding the sorting hat. The two strolled up to the front of the hall, Jake pushing a few strands of brown hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. He looked over at the Gryffindor table, spotted Lily, and smiled quickly at her. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I thought it would be proper if we gave him a normal sorting ceremony, with the exception of the Sorting Hat song due to time limitations." Professor McGonagall stood on her tip toes, Jake bending down slightly, and placed the hat on his head. Instantly, he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, and he went and took a seat next to Lily. "There, now. We all welcome you, Mr. Stevens." Jake nodded at him, mumbling something in return. Dumbledore turned his gaze toward the rest of the students. "Now, because Mr. Stevens hasn't heart a Sorting Hat song, I thought we'd improvise with the Hogwarts school song. Everyone, now!"
The hall burst into song, each each to a tune of their own:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts,
Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Teach us something please
Whether we be old and bald
or young with scabby knees
Our heads could do with filling
with some interesting stuff
For now they're bare and full of air
Dead flies and bits of fluff
So teach us things worth knowing
Bring back what we've forgot
Just do your best we'll do the rest
and learn until our brains all rot!"
The students applauded, Dumbledore the loudest, his smile illuminating the hall. "Now, off you go to bed. You've got a whole day of nothingness ahead of you to enjoy!" He said cheerfully, waving them off. A few people laughed.
James, however, was staring at Lily, who was now hugging Jake, her gesture being returned. "It's been too long." she muttered into Jake's shoulder, moving back and beaming at him. "I still can't believe you're coming to Hogwarts. You'll fit right in, I'm positive." Jasmine nodded, grinning as well.
"I sure hope so." said Jake, his accent already setting him apart from the rest, showing off his American routes. He grinned at the two girls, towering over them. "So... Want to show me my new common room? You guys are in Gryffindor, too, right?" Lily nodded, leading the way out of the Great Hall and through the many staircases and corridors toward the portrait of the Fat Lady, not noticing James following close behind.
"Well, here's where you'll be living for the rest of the year." said Lily, showing Jake around joyfully. Jasmine proceeded to the girls' dormitories, saying she was deathly tired and faking a yawn, waving at the two before leaving. She winked at Lily inconspicuously.
Lily turned around to find Jake barely inches away from her face. She looked up at him, wondering how she'd managed to stay sane without him. "I've missed you." He whispered, lowering his head toward hers.
"That's good." Lily whispered, smiling as well. "Then the feeling's mutual." Jake laughed softly, as did Lily. His hand gently moved up to her face, pulling it closer, his brown hair obscuring his eyes but not his vision. They were seconds away from a kiss when James cleared his throat loudly, casing Lily and Jake to jump. "Potter...?"
James strode over to Jake, stretching his arm out in a friendly shake. "Hello. Name's James Potter." He introduced, forcing a smile. So this was the boy who had Lily's interest for the time being. James took precise note of every one of Jake's actions, keeping them in mind for later on.
"Oh, so you're the infamous James Potter?" said Jake, heartily taking James's hand and vigorously shaking it. "Lily's told me all about you. And that other black-haired boy must've been Sirius, and then Remus, right?"
James nodded slowly, glancing at Lily from the side of his eye, wondering what Lily had been telling this boy. Unable to come up with a cocky reply, James said, "Infamous?" His question hung in the air, an uneasy emotion flowing through Lily's eyes. She looked between the two, wanting to be anywhere but here. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on because she'd never seen the boys act like this in her life, but it was making her uncomfortable.
"Of course!" Jake replied, hitting James playfully on the shoulder. "You're the one who makes her life a living hell, right?" James's eyes narrowed slightly, pondering how on earth Jake could say that so easily. If he'd been in Jake's position, he'd already have jinxed himself to no end. Jake seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he added, "How about you leave her alone from now on?" His eyes had becoming considerably darker.
"I-I'd better get going to bed." Lily cut into the boys' thoughts, her voice higher than usual. She stood on the tips of her toes, kissing Jake lightly on the cheek before running toward the girls' staircase, stopping at the bottom steps. She turned and said, "Goodnight." Her eyes were set not on Jake but James. She then disappeared into darkness.
Finally introduced Jake. It took me long enough. Well, not exactly true because I thought him up a few days ago. I just had a feeling that I was going too fast and the story was going to end too quickly, so I decided to add a little twist in. What do you guys think? Let me know in a review!
Please Review!