Transformations and Transfiguration

By: Jasmine

Chapter 13

"The Forlorn and the Forgotten"

"Jake!" Lily cried excitedly, wiping a tear from her cheek. She'd just seen Jake stir and realized he was coming to. She'd relentlessly stayed at his side throughout the night, wiping sweat from his forehead. Jake looked up at her and gave her a painful smile, his eyes still unfocused. "Thank god you're awake. I was worried sick, you prat!" She playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry..." Jake muttered, sitting up straight in bed. He looked around to see he was in the hospital wing. He then set eyes upon Lily, her expression obviously demanding an explanation for his behavior the previous night. He cleared his throat, rubbing his head where he'd hit it. "Sorry." He said again, this time sounding like he really meant it. "I—I just couldn't stand to see you with him... I shouldn't have acted like that." He lowered his gaze, staring at his knees.

"It's all right, really." Lily assured him unconvincingly. The next few minutes flew by in silence, which was broken only when a bell chimed outside signaling the end of the hour. Lily stole a glance at the nearest clock and gasped. "Oh my! It's nearly one in the morning! I should get going. Madam Pomfrey says you have to stay the night just to be sure you're alright. I'll see you in the morning." Then, she dashed out the door before Jake could utter any word of protest.

"That was kind of weird." Sirius said between barks of laughter, having just heard what happened in the maze. James glared daggers at him irritably, Jasmine holding her breath to keep James from doing the same toward her. She and Sirius were ecstatic, having been the couple who'd come out of the maze in the least time. "I never thought he of all people would've gone unconscious because he hit his head on the wall... I would've expected that from you."

James's fierce glower intensified. "You're not funny, you know that?" He muttered, twisting a spare quill between his fingers recklessly. Pieces of it littered the floor and his suit. He'd not changed out of them all night, having been too preoccupied with Lily's last words to do anything more but lose himself in his own melancholy mind. She'd shoved him off instantly as if it'd been his own fault of Jake's misdemeanor and rushed to her boyfriend's aid, completely forgetting of the odd night they'd had.

Not that it bothered him, of course. He was over Lily Evans, or at least, that's what he'd told himself that night. She was his. She was Jake's. There was no use crying over spilt ink. He'd had his chance, five years of it in fact, and he'd wasted it making her life a living hell for his own sick amusement. He was over every one of her perfectly placed freckles upon her flawless ivory skin. He was over every strand of flaming red hair that grew from her skull. He was over losing his way in Lily's forest-like eyes, very deep and profound, like her wise and knowledgeable mind. Yet, if he was sure he was over it all, why was he sitting there thinking about her like he used to?

James closed his eyes, as if begging for strength. He had no clue what to do next. He couldn't just tell her what he felt. She was bound to another by word of mouth. She was his until informed otherwise, or rather until she informed him otherwise because it didn't seem Jake'd be breaking it off with her any time soon. Sirius seemed to have sensed James's uneasiness because he calmly said, "Fancy a walk, Prongs?"

James's eyes snapped open and stared into Sirius's for a moment. Then, he nodded his head, straightening his glasses and stowing up to the boys' dorms to get his invisibility cloak. Sirius quickly apologized to an uninterested Jasmine and left her playing a game of wizards' chess with Remus. The two left without a clue as to what they were going to do next.

Lily found herself sitting atop the Astronomy tower that night, having no memory of walking there or even of deciding to go there. Her feet had just carried her through the corridors until she came upon the midnight sky. She gazed intently above, passing the time with a little game of star-counting. She wanted to see if she could count more than she'd done last time she was up there. However, realizing she couldn't remember how many she'd counted last time, that game was out of the question.

Boredom enveloping her after mere minutes, she whipped out her wand and began a new game, pointing at the stars and turning the ones she'd already counted a bright red, in contrast to their serene glowing blue. "276... 277... 278... " She counted on without even a glance at the once more chiming clock to her left.

"329... 330... 33—" Lily suddenly halted her muttering, having heard voices sounding from the doorway. She froze, slowly swirling around to face the voices, wondering who else in their right mind would be up at this hour. The door creaked open, shielding the figure that stood behind, adding to the intensity of the moment. Then, the figure having been exposed by the moonlight, Lily staggered backward until she came into contact with the wall of the tower, a soft gasp emitting from her dry lips.

Sirius and James stumbled through the dark corridors of Hogwarts, cursing at any portrait who called out to them. They'd not realized how they'd grown so, having not used the cloak for quite a while. "Sirius, that was my foot!" James spat in a dead whisper, elbowing Sirius in the stomach painfully.

Sirius took a great intake of breath, snapping, "I did not step on your foot this time, James! I'm all the way over here!" He rubbed his side where James had jabbed it.

James paused, contemplating. Then, he whispered, "Sorry. That was me." He laughed nervously.

"You stepped on your own foot!" Sirius exclaimed in a silent incredulous tone. The cloak shook precariously, indicating James's nod. Sirius let out his breath slowly, rolling his eyes irritably. "Prat." They strode on in silence, each wondering why in the world they'd decided to go for a walk in the first place. Sirius had gone because it'd seemed that James wanted to just get away, and he'd always tried to be there for his best mate. James went because Sirius suggested it, and considering he was in no mood of lying in bed for hours, he thought it'd be more productive.

They let their legs carry them on, oblivious to the time or place they'd stumbled upon. "I'm hungry..." James shattered the deafening silence, his whisper like nails screeching down a chalkboard. Sirius nodded swiftly, his lips peculiarly pursed. However, he lead them not to the kitchens, where they'd have been jubilantly served trays and trays of newly cooked muffins and meat pies and such. No, he made his way up numerous staircases, James losing track after the fourth. "What the hell...?"

"Sh!" Sirius quieted James promptly. He tiptoed ahead, James hurrying after, one eye upon Sirius, the other watching the cloak slowly slipping off his head. He gave a quick glance to their surroundings, just to be sure no one was around to see Sirius appear out of thin air. Sirius, however, was long gone by the time he returned his gaze in the previous direction.

"Dammit, Sirius!" James whispered hotly, running up the staircase just ahead, knowing full well where it lead. His thudding footsteps seemed to echo loudly against the stone walls enveloping him, but he clunked on. A miniscule rectangle of brightness shone ahead, not too bright for it was night out, but not as dark as the tunnel within which he now resided. Sirius's silhouette was evident against the opening. "What...?" James began cautiously.

Sirius quieted him again, this time with a look. James stared on in curiosity, his eyes following the direction of Sirius's pointing finger. His sight halted upon a third dark figure, this one leaning against the balcony, taking a step or two with pauses in between. They seemed to be mumbling something under their breath, the voice soft and gentle. James had to strain his ears to make out the words. "319... or was that 317? No, wait. That's 318... Yeah... 318... 319... 320..."

"What the hell?" James mumbled under his breath, turning toward Sirius and trying to make out his expression. Sirius, however, had pulled the cloak over his head, a soft swishing sound signaling his reaction, so James had missed his smirk. Next thing he knew, James was flying across the balcony at Lily, who'd stopped counting abruptly and spun around to see what'd made such a noise.

To his luck, James transformed into his animagus form that instant, his surprise causing this stimulus. "Oh my!" Lily cried, throwing a hand in her chest in disbelief, feeling her heart beat. Her wide eyes then became gentle as she stared at the mighty stag ahead of her, its dark eyes glowing in the night. She took a tentative step closer, her fingers outstretched.

James too took a step backward before realizing she wasn't about to slap him. He cautiously moved forward, closing his eyes as Lily patted him behind his ears. He now knew why Sirius would always transform into a shaggy dog and force him to scratch him behind the ears. It really didn't have a nice feel.

"How did you get up here? Sneaking around the castle under some invisibility cloak or something, are you?" Lily whispered, bending low. James snapped his eyes open, staring. Could Lily possibly know about his and Sirius's illegal animagus forms? But, then how in heaven's name did she know of his invisibility cloak? Maybe she had one of her own and therefore had been spying on him only to find he had one as well?

James, however, relaxed when Lily giggled tenderly, turning toward the balcony again. One hand held her head up, face in her palm, the other still unconsciously petting James. He neared her, slipping under her arm gently. Lily smiled down at the stag before looking up at the stars again. "Look what you made me do. You made me lose count." She giggled again. "Doesn't matter, anyway. It's odd, really. I always come up here and count the stars when something bothers me."

James rubbed his head against her side lightly. "Oh, you want to know what it is?" The stag moved its head up and down slowly. "Okay... Well, tomorrow's my birthday... Yep. I don't think Jake remembers, though. Kind of sad, really. I dunno how I can tell that he doesn't remember. It's just that usually when a guy knows that his girlfriend's birthday is coming up, he just acts sort of different, you know? Sweeter. Kinder. Nicer. More romantic..." Her voice trailed off and James could've sword he saw her wipe a glinting tear from her cheek.

"Anyway, I should probably get over it. I'll just count on Jasmine's superb birthday present. She really is a great friend. Sirius is a really lucky guy, and I hope he knows that if he ever bothers her or annoys her, I'll personally kick is arse." She grinned at the thought, not noticing the tension that had just clouded the once clear air. Her gleaming emerald eyes lowered again and set upon the brilliant stag. "You really are a good listener, you know that?" She laughed at her stupidity and strode through the doorway and down the stairs.

If she'd glanced backward at that exact moment, she would've seen the stag transform into James Potter and Sirius Black materialize out of thin air, a sheer silvery material held tightly in his hand. "Damn." Sirius muttered tensely. "I wouldn't want my arse kicked by Evans. She'll curse me into oblivion times infinity!"

James grinned unconvincingly, his eyes glassed over. Sirius waved his hand in front of James's face, snapping him back to reality. "What's up?" He asked understandingly.

"We've got to go back to London." James curtly replied before following Lily back into Hogwarts, leaving Sirius staring at the spot where James had been a moment before, bewildered. Then, understanding dawned upon his face, and he cursed quickly before running after him, tripping over the invisibility cloak, which was dragging on the ground.

Sorry for the long wait, you guys! I really didn't mean it, it's just been a busy time for me... Guess what, though! I'm a fiiinnnaallliiissstt! lol. I finalized in a Dallas Morning News competition for cartooning and am going on a fieldtrip this Wednesday to see if I won. Wish me luck, you guys!

Oh, and for the next few chapters, expect James to try to outdo Jake but to no avail, and expect Jake to become even more of a prat than usual. There will be a plot unraveling, but you just won't see it until the end...

Please Review!