Chapter 9: The Room

Cressida spins in a slow circle.

The room which neither James nor she have ever been in before has just appeared to them. The room itself is moderately big, perfect enough to be spacious, but still small enough to feel comfortable in. Against the far wall is a fireplace, already lit and burning. On either side of it is a bookcase, but instead of books, an array of objects line the shelves. In front of the fireplace, a small red loveseat is angled to open the floor but still be warmed by the heat. There is a small table and chairs near the lounge, but the rest of the room is empty. The walls are cobblestone and the floors a rich, dark wood.

"I love this place," she whispers to herself. It feels like a place she'd want to come to after a day's worth of lessons. "James, where are we?"

James meanders around the room, a finger pushing his glasses further up the ridge of his nose. "No idea," he mutters. "That door appeared out of nowhere, didn't it? I'm not going crazy."

Cressida shakes her head, a baffled but pleased grin coming to her face. "We should study here." Spinning around, she faces James. "Please?"

"I don't know, Cress," he begins to protest. "This could be someone's hideout, or somewhere the snakes come for their death-themed meetings."

Not swayed by his argument, Cressida slides forward. "Now I'm sure you're someone else who's taken a Polyjuice potion. Where's your adventurous side today, James? You'll walk into the Forbidden Forest, which has a name meant to warn people, but a cosy room you get frightened of. Where's the logic?"

Finally, she sees the usual draw of his lips return. "You sound like Sirius." Folding his arms, James takes in the room once more. "You're right. This place looks cool."

Cheering silently, Cressida prances over to the table with James on her tail, placing the charms books aside which they would study later if they felt like it. With a heavy exhale, the boy joins her, pulling a heavy book out of his satchel. 'Intermediate Transfiguration'.

"We'll start off with switching spells." Opening the textbook, he then reaches into his bag but comes up quickly empty-handed. Cressida waits to hear what he clearly needs to speak. His hands clasp on the table neatly. "I may have forgotten to bring anything to practice on."

Cressida scoffs, shaking her head. "You are such a simpleton. Fortunately…" Her chair scrapes against the wooden floor and James' eyes trail after her as she wanders over to the cabinets of assorted things. Picking out a rubber duck and a candle, Cressida brings them back over to the table, placing them on opposite ends. "I've done this before, maybe once in class."

Xx

Cressida crouches in front of the fireplace, the rubber duck burning slowly in the middle of the orange flame.

"You're such a pyromaniac."

Cressida glances over her shoulder with a small smile as James shakes his head at her. "It's just interesting to watch," she defends. It isn't like she goes around burning stuff often. "What are you even reading?"

"Just reminiscing classes." The only sound is the flip of paper and the occasional crackle of the fire. "How late do you think it is?"

"Late enough that the cloak would be handy to have."

They've stayed well beyond the anticipated study time, moving from the table to the lounge where James still sits with the book in his lap. The fire still burns easily with no need of tending and the pages of the transfiguration book continue to turn rhythmically. Truthfully, Cressida's eyes are sore from tire, but part of her is scared to leave the room, wondering if they'd ever find it again. She's already gone over exactly where it is, trying to plant its spot in her memory.

A sudden sense of displacement settles in her bones. Dreary-closed eyes open once more and begin searching for the source of discomfort. Nothing seems out of the ordinary at first glimpse around the room until she looks more closely at James. The page-turning has stopped. "James?"

He doesn't respond, fixedly reading the pages in front of him. Cressida creeps forward as he breathes out sharply, leaning back against the lounge. His eyes finally divert from the paper. "I have a crazy idea."

Cressida takes the few extra steps hurriedly this time, sinking down onto the seat next to him. Reading over the page, there is no chapter heading so she flicks it back two pages before focusing on the boldly imprinted ink. "Animagus," she reads aloud. It doesn't take more than a second to put together his plan. And it only takes ten more for her to realise why he'd want to do such a thing. Snatching the book into her own lap, Cressida swiftly reads over the paragraphs.

They had learnt about Animagus back in their third year. The ability for one to turn themselves into an animal at will – though the choice of animal is never given. Even then, Cressida recalls thinking how difficult it would be simply memorising the steps and as she reads over them again, she wonders how anyone ever does it.

"James…I'm not sure about this."

James takes the book back, placing it to the side. "Think about it. First of all, it'd be the wickedest thing to just turn into a freaking animal whenever we want, but it might be the solution to our monthly problem."

Cressida presses her tongue against her teeth. "It's not a 'problem'," she mutters. Problem. That's not what Remus is, and she despises the word being associated with him. "This isn't some prank. Don't you remember what McGonagall told us? How utterly wrong it could go." Cressida sits up straighter, fingernails digging into her covered knees. "Being stuck half-human half-animal? Not to mention we have to have a mandrake leaf in our mouth for a month straight."

James doesn't respond to her for a while, simply eyeing off her expression. "You're contemplating it, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," she groans. Why wouldn't she? As mad of a plan as it sounds, to be an animal whenever the full moon shows would give them an advantage beyond compare to help Remus during his changes. No more waiting in the tunnel with no way of knowing if he's okay and only hearing his howls. But that would also be on the assumption that they'd become animals strong enough to deal with a werewolf. She could become a skunk for all they know. "Let's see what Sirius thinks."