And Life Was Good

Boy, did I learn. I learned the other colored Sparks in ten minutes. I also learned the Charms hand techniques, which most people forget the second they learn them. Those techniques enhanced most of my spells, Charms or not, much to both Sirius's delight and chagrin.

For example, the day I learned the Tap-Dancing Charm. Sirius and I were in the Room of Requirement, and he was explaining how the charm worked.

"Now, Sanya, this charm is more powerful with a strong Parapeleelies flourish, if you remember what that is. I certainly can't. That's, Tarantallegra and Parapeleelies flourish. I will be your 'test subject'."

I concentrated hard. Here was a chance to get back Sirius for that annoying lock on his trunk. "Tarantallengra!" I cried, moving the tip of my wand in a complex figure eight with a swirl at each end then pointing it at Sirius's legs.

The next second his legs were out of control. I had to help Sirius down into a chair before he fell, as his quickly moving feet were never in the same place long enough to support his weight.

As soon as Sirius was safely on the chair I flipped through Bri's pages, with Sirius urging me to go faster. "Bri, I need the counter-spell to the Tap-Dancing Charm. With hand techniques." Ah, the marvels of magic, I thought as writing filled the page.

"There is no particular spell to reverse the effects of Tarantallegra, but rather Finite Incantanum is the spell to go by. To specialise the effects of this incantenum, you must perform an un-Parapeleelies flourish, or a Parapeleelies flourish backwards." I read off to Sirius.

"Well, then perform it, and quickly!" Sirius cried at me.

"I'm going, I'm going. Finite Incantanum!" The un-flourish was harder, but I mastered it on my second try.

Slowly Sirius stopped massaging his sore legs. "Sanya, I'm glad for you that you've mastered the hand techniques, but do me a small favor? Avoid having me on the receiving end of those techniques. Please."

I laughed. "Sirius, we might have a problem there. We can't just go kid- or cat-nap Ms. Norris and have me practice on her!"

A few months into the year I was on Third year lessons. Sirius turned out to be a marvellous teacher – patient, calm, and fun. One day I was trying to learn the Repelling Water Spell.

"Right, this new spell is the Repelling Water Spell, to repel water from magicked objects. Even people, if the spell is powerful enough You'll first try on this cloth." He held up a bright, multicoloured scrap of fabric that had just appeared on a table. The wonders of the Room were at work. "Okay, here it is. After you try the spell we will pour water –" a pitcher of the mentioned liquid became visible. "— Onto the cloth, over a basin." The basin popped into existence.

Wow, Sirius is getting good at the concentrating on making things appear. "Sounds good." Sirius passed the 'test subject' to me. "Impervious!"

No glow or shimmer appeared. Neither had I felt anything other than a weak sort of pulse in my wand. Hmm. Not a good sign.

Sirius didn't seem to notice that nothing had happened. He reached for the fabric piece, and magicked it into the air above the basin. I watched as he poured the water. Instant failure. The cloth was soaked instantly.

"Ah. Didn't work that time, I'm sorry. Try again." He dried the fabric with a flick of his wand and a muttered word.

I pointed my wand at the offending object. "Impervious!" This time the sensation was different. Magic pulsed through my wand a lot stronger than last time, and I knew that it had worked this time.

It had. Sirius had poured the water over the cloth and the stream of water flowed down to, then around, my 'test subject'.

"Nice work!" He seemed genuinely happy for me.

"Thanks." I glowed. Every time I mastered a spell I fell into a short euphoria.

"Remember what I said about enchanting people with this spell? Next time James threatens to push me in with the giant squid you can enchant me."

"Oh, I dunno. I heard you look hot when you're sopping wet." Sirius had, by now, picked up on some of my Americanisms, so using 'hot' was fine.

He blushed slightly, more to my reference to the last time when he was sopping wet in front of a lot of people than to him being 'hot'. I don't think he really thought about it.

"Ah, well, we were just fooling around. James didn't mean to send me flying halfway across the lake. Good thing the giant squid were feeling helpful that day."

I sniggered at this image. "Giant squid rescues Sirius Black from certain death." I said it in a big 'headline' voice. "It was a sunny, warm summer day. Sirius Black would have died that day, if it were not for the giant squid in Hogwarts Lake. Black would have preferred to stay out of the dark and murky water, but his best friend, James Potter, had other ideas. Black, Potter, and their band of friends were practising the Expeliarmis charm on each other. Potter accidentally cast a very strong charm on Black, sending him flying halfway across the lake." My voice held a reporter tone of voice.

Sirius scowled. "It wasn't his fault."

I smiled and said angelically, "Never said it was."

Out of all my studies, I was best at Potions. I usually had everything that used wand magic right on the second or third try, but I never messed up with potions. There was the Revealing Solution, a potion that would show any hidden messages or pictures if spread on the surface of the thing hiding whatever you want to reveal. It was a fairly complex potion, involving many steps and careful precision.

First you have to boil pig's blood for exactly 23 minutes, then stir two times around clockwise with a left bat's wing and let sit for four minutes, then stir two times around counter-clockwise with a right bat's wing. Immediately put in crushed lamb's brain and beetle shells. Wait till brew turns pale green and emits dark green rockets. It will do this for exactly three seconds and then after it stops rocketing add the granite statures. Leave it for nine hours, over night, and the next morning you must pour it into copper vial and add essence of Light-Truth. Solution should be pale green and silver rings by now. Keeps up to three years.

When I had finished the Revealing Solution, Sirius announced he would be testing it on a particular object.

"Just because I have faith in you, Sanya," He started in a grin that suggested he had absolutely no faith in me at all, "I will test your potion on a especially prepared parchment, which had defied most of the Revealing Solutions it has been set up against. Here, hand over your vial."

Glumly I did as directed, thinking Oh great. He hates me, I'm sure of it.

Very carefully he dipped a wooden stick down the vial, and wiped the substance that clung to it off onto a paper. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Sirius started to say something, but suddenly writing spread across the paper.

Sirius looked very surprised. "Wow. Just . . . wow. Sanya," He said, looking very serious, "I am seriously amazed at the efficiency of this potion. I mean, usually you do wonderfully, but this is just amazing. The only other people that have been able to Reveal the parchment are Professor Dumbledore and the Potions master. Wow."

I stared at him. "Really? It's that good?"

"Yes." There was no teasing hint in his voice or eyes.

"Sweet!"

And that was the end of that. Potions was my speciality.

To finish my First Year it took a little under two months. Second Year was done in a little over a month. So far, the Third Year was going well. I supposed I was the only student in Hogwarts who was enjoying History of Magic. The history pages of Bri were full of illuminated pictures, just like a mediaeval manuscript, and as I read the words, the pictures began moving in front of my eyes. I actually saw the goblins marching against the Wizengamot, watched the tickling flames lick around Wendelin the Weird at her stake, and witnessed the anxious huddle of warlocks raising their hands to vote at the 1692 Confederation.

One sign of my fast progress showed late Wednesday (or very early Thursday morning), during my Astronomy lesson. I had just finished a difficult chart predicting Neptune's moon travels, and as Sirius looked it over he whistled.

"Wow, Sanya, this is good. It shows you're almost as smart as I am!"

I rolled my eyes and hit him lightly. "Little big-headed, are we?"

Sirius had the habit of keeping his lesson papers to himself, only giving me the little that I learned in the Room of Requirement. He kept forgetting that I had a day's worth of free time on my hands, while he had lessons. So I developed a routine that mainly consisted of waiting outside his classes until the bell rang, then finding Sirius and badgering him for my next spell paper. It was quite fun to see the look on his face, the on that said 'again!'. And yet he never learned to give me more lesson papers the night before.

Most of the teachers thought this humorous, and as long as I didn't go into their class while they were teaching it was fine. All except the DADA teacher, Professor Avery. He was at the very least a supporter of Voldemort, if not a Death Eater. He often gave me glares and sour looks out the window in his classroom door. I heard him pick on Muggle-born students and he avoided Auror's children. Curious, I kept track of him and found out he often went of late night 'walks', some of them lasting many hours. I'd say that was suspicious behaviour.

I became used to James and Sirius's little 'harmless' jokes. Of course, I didn't go anywhere near them without casting a special charm that was a cross between Bubble-Head and Shield, but the charm wasn't hard. My moment of being cautious was well worth it when I deflected a few curses and objects that the Marauders were trying out, such as Heat-Seeking Dungbombs, Jelly-Neck (a variant on Jelly-Legs), and Fanged Feet Curse, a curse that would make your feet grow fangs and start biting everything they come in contact with.

On the second of December, I was called to Dumbledore's office. Perplexed, I rose up the staircase, wondering what on Earth he could want.

"Ah, hello, Sanya." Fawkes flew over to me. "No doubt you are wondering why I have asked to see you. This time it's about those books you lent me."

Oh my God, I forgot about the books!

"What do you think of them?" Said Dumbledore, his eyes boring into me.

"I think they're true."

Dumbledore nodded.

"And I don't know what happened to me. I'm not in there at all. You'd think that Sirius might mention me, if not Lily or the others– OH MY GOD! By lending you the books, I've given them all away! The Map! Are you going to expel them or report them or anything?"

Dumbledore smiled at the stress and shock on my face. "No, no, I will not do anything. I will not give them away. But, I warn you, you must try to stop them from doing anything illegal."

"Er, like becoming Animagi?" That's what I said out loud, but something more important was banging around inside me head.

Or Sirius's 'prank' on Snape? OMG I hope he's not thinking of that right at the moment!

"Well, anything else. I have another question about the books. From what you tell me, you live in 2004. Now, here, it's 1976 In the last book, which is Harry's current year, it's 1996. I have several theories, but would like to hear yours."

"On the different years? Well, I suppose it's like the Time-Turner. In that theory, it shows that Time is One. Past, Present, Future. It's all one and just depends where you are and what you're doing. Also on how much of a magical atmosphere you have, and what basic elements of magic and nature you're affecting. All is One."

Dumbledore was looking at me with the strangest expression on his face. "Sanya, I believe no one else could have explained it so well."

Whoa. Wait a second here. Dumbledore is saying that even he couldn't beat that explanation? I couldn't even understand half of it! Now this is weird.

"Uh, thank you." I stammered.

"You're welcome. Now, I understand that you have been doing exceptionally well on your schoolwork. You're half way through the Third Year course, yes?"

"Yes, sir. I'm learning a lot of Transfiguration, and a lot about animals. I'm best at Potions."

"Hmm, quite so. You're free to go. And Sanya," He raised a finger as I turned to leave. "You are always welcome here."

I left.

',',',',',',',',',

Winning over the Marauders had proven difficult. It would have been almost impossible to be welcomed into that tight-knit group, except Sirius and Lily were willing to accept me as their friend. James would have been literally impossible to charm, but since Lily favored me, James decided to try and charm me in order to impress Lily with his consideration of newcomers. Remus was the kind of person who was nice to everyone, and Peter followed Sirius and James in their actions and decisions. So, I was accepted into their group as a friend, if not trusted with their secrets.

Wandering around the school, I saw many people that I recognized. Snape and his gang of Slytherins, Alice who-would-be-Longbottom, Frank Longbottom, and a few others. I was really amazed at how pretty Dorcas Meadows was, and how young Professor McGonagall looked! Then there was Gaspard Shingleton, who didn't wear glasses (that was surprising), and a very young Kingsly Shacklebolt. I saw Marlene McKinnon, Edgar Bones, and Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Fabian was in my year, Gryffindor. It was a really weird experience for me to see and meet all these characters that I had only read about in fiction books. A magical experience, you might say. And, of course, there was always Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother, who was a Slytherin fourth-year. I noticed that Sirius avoided his brother at any cost.

I also set some goals for the year. Normally in Muggle school I avoid making school-related goals as I avoid death, but these goals were a little different. My major goals included charming the Marauders, learning to be an Animagus, and finishing six years' worth of magic in only one year so I could be in the same year as most of my friends.

I had mostly finished the charming, but soon realised that my goal to join the sixth year was over-the-top. For one, even if I could learn six years' worth of magic in one actual year, I probably wouldn't be allowed to jump two or even one year. Maybe I could take advanced classes, but I would have to take the O.W.L.s early and I had noticed that either the British education system or the wizarding education system disliked to separate students from their peers. With that in mind, I lowered my standards to being introduced into the fourth year in September 1977. Also I had done nothing about my goal to become an Animagus. Of course it was illegal, but I had decided sometime in the future I could register to become one and just fake it. So with that in mind I read books on Animagi in my spare time (of which I had a lot) and how to become one, and read the journals of people who became Animagi. It was a slow process, and I could understand how it took James, who was the best student of his year, five years to figure out. But I was making progress, albeit slowly.

Bri was very helpful, after I had convinced her it was only slightly illegal and that I took all the responsibly for her actions. She relayed parts of the Marauder's journals to me,

And so my days, weeks, and months passed.