Transformations and Transfiguration

By: Jasmine

Chapter 16

"Extraordinary"

Lily settled herself to the other side of Jasmine, having finished only half of her meal and getting very sick of being in between her and Sirius as they played footsy under the table. If they wanted to play games, she might as well not be in the middle because it was adding to her already high level of annoyance.

Just as she raised a fork to her mouth to continue her long-awaited meal, two owls whizzed into the Great Hall through a small prick of a window in the corner of the room, both headed toward the Gryffindor table. Lily dropped her spoon in alarm as both birds landed hard ahead of her, knocking over the jug of pumpkin juice. "What the...?" She muttered to herself as she watched the birds fight, each trying to get Lily to open their delivery first.

Lily's hand shot out and grabbed the one nearest, which happened to be the larger bird with a letter as well as a parcel. The larger bird hooted triumphantly before taking off, leaving the other bird slightly more miserable but still expectant all the same. Lily ignored all this, though, as she tore open the letter and read:

V is very very extraordinary...

Jasmine, having noticed exactly what was going on, elbowed Sirius to make him stop and turned excitedly in Lily's direction, asking, "Is it another gift?" Lily nodded, handing Jasmine the letter and moving on toward the strangely wrapped parcel. The other two had been wrapped in usual gift wrapping, but this one was wrapped in black wrapping paper that was spotted with numerous colors of the rainbow, its ribbon atop stripped with colors that clashed greatly with the wrapping.

Lily tugged at the ribbon, which came loose and was thrown aside hastily. When she opened the parcel, however, she had to dig very deeply to find the present. Set right in the middle of the parcel was a small black velvet box, its opening lined with a golden streak. Lily opened it ever so slightly, gawking at the contents within. "Jasmine. Look."

Jasmine turned her gaze to the box and gasped, pointing at it and muttering, "Isn't that what you...?"

"Yeah." Lily said, removing a delicate golden bracelet from within the jewelry box, admiring it. Before she shut it, however, he noticed a piece of parchment folded up very small and scrunched into the side of the box. She pulled it out gently and unfolded it, reading:

...because you're one of a kind.

Jasmine then gasped, realization dawning upon her face as she held the box in her palm as if it were glass. "Lily. Have you read the inside of this box yet?" Lily shook her head, causing Jasmine's jaw to drop. "Well, take a look." She shoved the box under Lily's nose as gently as was possible while in haste.

Lily glanced at the miniscule words embroidered into the small box: Sir Raphael Delanue. She then glanced back at Jasmine questioningly. "What's it mean?" She inquired, having no clue what such a name could mean to her.

Jasmine's gape became cavernous as she replied, "Sir Raphael Delanue was one of the world's best jewelers. He would handpick every jewel and cut the shape on his own. Every piece of jewelry was unique, as he never recreated one." When Lily still looked confused, Jasmine continued, rolling her eyes in the process, "Sir Raphael Denalue is dead, Lily. That means that this piece of jewelry is priceless, one of a kind, not another in the world like it!"

Lily's expression changed from love-struck on astonished in a heartbeat as she herself gawked at the piece of jewelry she held so tightly in her hand. She relaxed her grip, gently replacing it in its proper position inside the box, feeling like royalty. "But who would spend so much money on a mere birthday gift for me?" Jasmine shrugged, still under shock of having been able to hold such an item in her lifetime.

Lily was brought back to reality by a very hard peck on her hand, at which time she jumped, her head spinning around only to notice the second owl that'd sat neglected for the last ten minutes, waiting for Lily to pull off the letter so it could fly away, which it seemed very keen to do now that it'd noticed it was not very wanted. "Sorry." Lily muttered apologetically, slowly advancing toward the owl.

The second the letter was off its leg, the owl pecked Lily one last time, making her gasp angrily, and flew off without another hoot. "Damn bird." Lily muttered to herself, rubbing where she'd been pecked twice. Then, she unfolded the second letter, her eyes scanning across it back and forth. Her elated expression slowly faded, making way for a wide-eyed, shocked, melancholy one to take its place.

"What is it?" Jasmine asked concernedly. Unable to convey her thoughts into words, Lily handed Jasmine the letter, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand. She took a deep breath as she watched Jasmine read, her eyes becoming wider and more sympathetic.

Dearest Lily,
I hope you are well, dear. We've got some not-so-great news, though. First and foremost, our greatest apologies for not sending you a birthday gift. We would've, had it not been for your father's withdrawal from work. It seems his boss was cheating him and forcing him to go against the law and sell illegally shipped in goods. It was your father's choice, either sell the items and get paid, or quit, and I am very proud of your father's decision and stand behind him fully.
The not-so-great news was not that, though, Lily. We've barely any money left and thought we should let you know that we might not even be able to send you to Hogwarts next year due to our lack in money. Your father and I are really very sorry if this disrupts your education, but we've already enrolled you in your sister's school, and you'll start this coming up September if we're unable to come up with the money for Hogwarts.
We really are sorry, darling. For everything.
Yours Truly,
Mum

"Oh, Lily..." Jasmine began sadly but found she was at a loss for words. She knew how Lily felt, having just been the happiest in her life and then have to go down to the saddest, but she knew she was unable to relate. Before she could say another world, Lily stood and left the hall, leaving her gifts behind. Only James noticed her wipe a tear from her eye as she left the Great Hall.

"What was that all about?" Sirius inquired incredulously, staring after Lily, as was the rest of the hall.

Jasmine shook her head, muttering, "Take all her stuff up to the Common Room." Before running after her friend, completely forgetting the letter as well. Sirius's hand immediately shot out the second Jasmine was gone, and he took hold of the letter, reading it through before handing it to James, gaping.

James, too, read it through. His expression, though, was not shocked but solemn, his jaw set. Then, he stood as well and said, "Sirius, I think I know what the last gift will be." He and Sirius were then the third and fourth to leave the Great Hall without announcement, leaving the rest anxious to know exactly what was going on. Sirius, however, ran back inside merely seconds later, having forgotten to pick up everything before heading out.

Jasmine found Lily up in the girls' dorms, tears staining her tinged cheeks as she cried, curled up in a ball, her hair messy and her robes thrown upon the ground in a heap. Jasmine lowered herself onto the bed lightly, putting her hands around her best friend, rocking her back and forth lovingly. Lily sniffled, crying into Jasmine's shoulder. "They're such liars." she sobbed.

"What?" Jasmine asked, trying her best to keep her tone soft and gentle, but taken aback by the sudden comment.

"All they're doing is apologizing. They didn't even tell me about how they're going to get food for themselves!" Lily replied, backing away slightly so she looked Jasmine in the eye. She rubbed her face hastily, wiping away the tears. "I can't believe them. All they care about is my school, they should be caring about getting food on the table."

Jasmine remained quiet, realizing what Lily was trying to say now. Lily remained quiet for a while as well, staring at the blanket, but not really seeing. She was deep in thought, her eyes unfocused. Then, she hit her fist on the bed suddenly and looked up saying, "I've got to go back."

"What!" Jasmine cried, standing abruptly, stunned.

"It's the only way. They're just going to use the last of their money on me so they can finish this year of Hogwarts for me, and then what? All of it's going to be wasted anyway because I'm not allowed to do magic unless finished with Hogwarts. I might as well just go, save them the money and the trouble." Lily concluded decisively, now standing and beginning to pack her things.

"Lily—No—But—You can't go!" Jasmine stuttered, unable to come up with anything even relatively important enough to get Lily to stay.

"Jasmine, it's either that or—" Lily stopped packing sharply, her hand halted in mid-air. Then, she shut her trunk and ran over to Jasmine, inquiring, "Where's the bracelet?" Her eyes were wide and set.

"I told Sirius to get it... But—" Jasmine stopped in mid-sentence as well, realizing exactly what Lily was about to do. "No! No, no no. Lily, you can not sell the bracelet! I—I won't allow it!" She finished and crossed her arms over her chest as if that ended the matter.

Lily glared heatedly at Jasmine for the first time before muttering, "Fine. Then I guess I'll just be leaving, then. Tonight, it'll have to be. I'll go talk to Dumbledore right now." Lily strode over the the door, throwing it open madly and trudging down the stairs. Jasmine groaned, holding her head angrily before following her out.

"Lily, no!" Jasmine called out furiously, running after her best friend. But Lily was ignoring her, making a dash for the portrait hole. However, just as she reached out to the handle, it swung open wildly, causing her to jump backward in alarm and knock into Jasmine, both falling over. "What the hell?" Jasmine muttered, irritated.

Sirius stood in the doorway, staring at the two skeptically. He then held a hand out for each of them, helping them up. Jasmine bent down to straighten her robes, and when she looked up, Lily was gone. "Dammit." She muttered, turning and striding back to set herself in their usual couch, shooing off the previous residents, who huffily stalked off.

Sirius followed her, sitting down as well. "What's going on?" He inquired, his tone and expression very serious.

Jasmine held a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes to calm herself before responding. "Lily's parents are broke. They're using the last of their money to get Lily through her fifth year of Hogwarts before she ends up going to a muggle school back in London with her sister Petunia." She cringed her nose at the thought. "But Lily's decided to leave tonight so they don't waste anymore money on her. I tried to stop her, but she just wouldn't listen." She opened her eyes to look straight at him.

Sirius nodded grimly before looking Jasmine straight in the eye. His mouth barely moved as he said, "I've got to tell you something." He closed his mouth and took a deep breath. "I've been keeping it from you for a while, but I think it's best if you know." Jasmine's eyes narrowed in an accusatory fashion, but Sirius said, "It's not about us!"

Then, he explained everything. About Jake, James, the gifts. Everything. When he was finished, a shocked silence followed, ringing in both pairs of ears, but neither could come up with something more to say. "So the gifts were all from James?" Jasmine finally spoke up.

Sirius nodded, but added, "But you can't tell a soul. If we interfere, it might get even more messed up. It's best if we let them find out on their own." Jasmine nodded in agreement and the two turned their heads toward the crackling fire, watching it glow into the stormy night.

Wow. I actually like this chapter. I've got a great idea for the next, and I'm pretty sure most of you have guesses as to what it's going to be, but it's very unexpected, so be ready! Oh, and yes, the story is coming to its climax, but this is NOT it, for all you story-analyzers. The climax isn't until seventh year, but I'm not going to elaborate so much on sixth year, so it's going to come soon... ok, that made no sense whatsoever, so I'm just going to answer a few reviews before I finish up...

Steelo:
Oh no I hope the end doesn't turn out like terribly surprising cause that just might ( I don't even know where I'm going with this I'm just exagerating ) flip anyway are lily and james gonna end up together in the end ( please make them) well got to run bye

Yes, Steelo. James and Lily are definitely going to end up together in the end. It'd be a horrible, and very against the rules, story if they didn't, and I definitely wouldn't be the writer because I'm a huge James/Lily ship supporter.

That's the only question review, so I'm just going to end by thanking all you wonderful revieweres out there. I wouldn't've been able to do this without you all! You helped me get out of my writer's block! Well, I'm very sleepy, so I'm off. It's 3:39 AM right now. I guess I get my writer's blasts int he wee hours of the morning and midnight. Well, sayonara and happy trails!

Please Review!