A/N- New chapter! Yay! Thank you for the reviews last time! I LOVE reading them ❤️
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"So…"
Dany had been preparing herself for this conversation ever since her Potions mishap at the beginning of the week. Marlene and Lily were sitting at the foot of her bed, looking at her expectantly.
"So…?" Dany repeated with a slight change in inflection.
"You and Sirius huh?" Marlene looked far too smug for Dany's liking.
"Me and Sirius what? Potions partners? That is correct. Ever since the beginning of the year, actually. I'm shocked it took you so long to notice, Marls."
Marlene scoffed and chucked a Niffler shaped cushion at her. "Bint. That's not what I meant."
"What did you mean, then?" asked Dany, snuggling with the cushion.
"You too look awfully chummy these days. Fess up. What's going on?"
"I really don't know what you're talking about, Marls." This time, a cushion came at her from Lily's direction, shaped like a blue heart. "Lils? What the fuck?"
"Why don't you tell us?" Lily Evans had an oddly determined look in her eyes.
"There's nothing to say," replied Dany with a sigh. "It's the Potions assignment and the fact that we all hang out together much more. There are just more situations for us to talk."
Neither girl looked convinced but dropped the subject nonetheless. Dany locked herself in the loo, taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. What in Merlin's name was happening?
"Today we shall be practising Human Transfiguration. If Mr. Potter and Mr. Black will permit us to concentrate on the lesson by ceasing their incessant tomfoolery." The vein on McGonagall's forehead was looking particularly pronounced. Sirius and James just grinned at her and stopped doing whatever they had been doing. "Now, each of you are sharing a seat with someone. This person shall be your partner for today. I will be appointing permanent partners depending on how you perform. Your task will be to change your partner's hair color. Please focus on a color distinctly different from your partner's original hair color and perform the spell we read about last week. Begin."
Marlene turned towards Dany, grinning at her widely. "So what color would you like, Dany?"
"Nothing neon, thanks," she replied with a laugh.
"Gotcha. I'm leaning towards a fuschia, myself." Marlene wiggled her eyebrows and prepared herself for the spell.
It was no mystery that Transfiguration was one of the most difficult branches of magic that existed. And NEWTs level Transfiguration was borderline torture. It was a blessing that they had someone like McGonagall teaching them, otherwise, Dany knew that there would have been several casualties before the end of the first week. Even then, the class wasn't doing spectacularly at this particular spell.
"Crinus Muto." Dany concentrated on the vivid pink color that Marlene had suggested. Nothing. Not even a change at the tip of a single strand.
Marlene hadn't fared much better. She was trying in vain to get Dany's jet black hair to show some sort of change. Lily and Dorcas were in front, their wand movements getting more and more aggressive. The only people who appeared to be having no trouble whatsoever, were James and Sirius. In fact, by the end of the week, both boys had successfully changed each other's eyebrows into vivid shades of orange and purple. This only encouraged Lily to try harder, and with severe sleep deprivation showing on her usually flawless complexion, she managed to change three of her eyelashes to a bright blue. Although, by the time she left class, she was so exhausted that she slept through the rest of her classes that day.
"Lily's way too competitive," whispered Dany, when Flitwick wasn't looking. The redhead in question resembled a lump of flaming hair resting on a rather soggy piece of parchment.
"I think it's James that brings out this side of her," replied Remus, eyeing the drool warily. "She's usually much more easygoing."
"Merlin! She's like a leaking tap." Sirius had joined the conversation from behind the two of them. Dany pursed her lips, trying to hold back a giggle. "Did she sleep at all last night?"
Dany shook her head, turning only when she saw Flitwick busy at the other end of the class. "She hasn't slept in the last three days trying to master the Transfiguration spell."
"She's that worked up about it? Godric! She needs to calm her farm." Dany raised an eyebrow at Sirius' bizarre phrase. "You know what I mean."
"Anyway," he continued. "It's not like everyone else has mastered it. But you don't see them forsaking sleep because of that."
"Are you really daft? Or are you just so spectacularly sarcastic that it flies over the heads of us lesser mortals?" Remus snorted ungracefully at Dany's remark, while Sirius just narrowed his eyes at her.
Dany decided to work in the library after classes that day. She still hadn't progressed with Human Transfiguration, and the comment by Sirius during Charms had just stung a little more than she would have liked. So she thought it would be helpful to hit the books. Surprisingly, she found Remus and Peter there as well.
"Wotcher Remus, Peter." The two boys looked up from their books and waved her over.
"What're you lot doing here, then?" she asked, peering into her own book.
"Human Transfiguration," said Peter with a groan.
"Really? I thought you guys would have no trouble with that," said Dany, feeling slightly prickly.
"That's James and Sirius," snorted Remus. "Those two are absolute marvels at Transfiguration. Peter and I are merely 'lesser mortals'." He winked at Dany and she flushed slightly at his reference to her earlier remark to Sirius.
"Minnie doesn't show any favoritism but she's really proud of Prongs and Padfoot," said Peter with a sagely nod. "They might be her best students ever."
"Well, that's… nice." Dany paused for a second. "But it doesn't help me in any way."
"We could study together if you like," said Remus with a chuckle. "Working together might help."
Dany shrugged noncommittally. At this point, she was willing to take whatever she got. And surprisingly, she really liked studying with the other half of the Marauders. She already quite liked Remus, and Peter was really sweet and funny once he got over his initial nerves. While with James and Sirius, it was like witnessing everything on center stage, here she felt like she was relaxing in the lounge, no pressure and nothing even remotely extroverted. And she didn't feel as exhausted as she did when she had to hang out with the others.
It was on their third day studying together that Dany was able to make some progress.
"Crinus Muto." Dany gasped as the ends of Peter's light eyebrows changed into a bright green. "I did it! I can't believe I finally managed this! This is incredible!"
She squealed in delight but quickly settled down when she saw Madam Pince nearby. Miming an exaggerated scream, she hugged Peter tightly and the blond boy flushed slightly.
"Thank you both so much," she whispered, leaning over to hug Remus. "I would have taken so much longer without you both."
The next Transfiguration class saw everyone assigned permanent partners for the rest of the year. Dany was put next to Remus and she grinned at him happily. Lily was with Benjy Fenwick - a Ravenclaw, while James sat with Mary. Dorcas and Marlene were partners, as were Sirius and Peter.
"I will now ask each pair to perform the spell we have been working on these past few weeks," said McGonagall, eyeing everyone sternly. "Please begin, Mr. Fenwick."
Benjy flushed as he wasn't able to change Lily's flaming red hair to anything remotely different. Lily, on the other hand, changed both of his eyebrows to different colors - green and blue. McGonagall nodded and handed Gryffindor 5 points for the impressive bit of Transfiguration. Next came Remus and Dany. Taking a deep breath, Dany concentrated and changed Remus' sandy hair into a delightful magenta. Remus, in turn, gave the tips of her hair a silvery tinge. James transfigured half of Mary's hair blue and the other half green, earning 5 points from McGonagall and a furious glare from Lily. Mary was much more hesitant and only succeeded in making James' jet black hair a dark brown. Dorcas and Marlene were both successful as well, each giving the other pink eyebrows. Finally, it was Peter's turn. Sirius had changed his friend's normally blond hair into a zigzag of red and black with a lazy flick of his wand, receiving 10 more points for Gryffindor. Dany watched with bated breath as Peter swallowed nervously. With a low but confident chant, he waved his wand and Sirius' hair changed into a pale green. McGonagall nodded her head and walked to the front of the class while Sirius and James clapped Peter on the back. Dany caught his eye and flashed him a wide smile, to which Peter flushed in pleasure and grinned back nervously.
Sirius watched Peter and Dany's exchange curiously. Since when had the two of them become such good friends. He knew that Dany didn't just go around sending such smiles in any random direction - those were reserved for people she knew well. He had been on the receiving end of a couple of those smiles, so he knew how rare they were. Once the bell rang for the end of class, he was about to walk after her when James pulled him aside and handed him the map before running off.
Luckily, Sirius could make up for lost time by seeing where Dany was headed on the map. He gave it a quick tap and ran in the direction of the library.
"I see you've made a new friend." She turned to face him and her initial look of surprise dissolved into a grin.
"I have…?" She gave him a delightfully bewildered look.
"Didn't know you and Pete were so close," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "He practically wet himself when you smiled at him in class today."
Her mouth dipped down into a slight frown. "Careful. Or people might say you sound like a arse."
"I just… didn't know you two were friends," he added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Remus, Peter and I studied the spell together. So."
"I see."
Sirius chanced a look in her direction. She didn't look angry. But the buoyancy in her walk had faded. And for some reason, that bothered Sirius.
"Where are you off to?" She gave him a puzzled look and pointed towards the library a few feet ahead of them. "Right. Well, bugger that. Let's go to the kitchens. I'm starving."
"Go ahead." She raised an eyebrow at him and pointed him in the direction of the kitchens.
"Come with me."
"What? Why?"
"Come on! All we've been doing these days is study! Let's get some nice desserts from the elves!" He gave her one of his dazzling smiles - the kind that nobody was able to resist. His face didn't betray the nervousness he felt as she contemplated his offer.
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "I don't understand why you're so persistent, though."
"How about you try not over analyzing everything?" He smirked at her as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Come on!"
"You mean there's an entire series dedicated to the Joker?" Dany's mouth flew open in surprise as Peter nodded his head excitedly.
"Yeah, they started it just about a year ago," he said, explaining a few details to her. "But it's pretty fantastic. I could lend it to you if you'd like."
"Yes! I'd love that, Peter!" Dany threw up her hands in excitement, earning a few stares from the common room.
"Been eating too much chocolate lately?" asked Marlene, sitting down beside them. "It's not everyday we see you so excited, Dany."
Dany flushed in embarrassment and kicked Marlene lightly. "Pete's going to lend me a few of his comic books! He's got a stellar collection, Marls."
"Comics?" asked Marlene, doubtfully. "They're alright, I guess."
"'Alright'? Marls! These are about the Joker!" Marlene stared at her like she had sprouted a couple of heads. "The Joker! You know - he's only the greatest supervillain ever created!"
"Huh?"
"They're like arch enemies of superheroes - these characters who have special abilities, kind of like witches and wizards but in muggle culture," explained Peter.
"Oh! That does sound interesting. I wouldn't mind having a look at one of these comic things one day," she declared with a grin.
"Really? I brought a couple back with me. You can see them now. Hold on. I'll pop up to the dorm and get it!" Peter got up excitedly, and rushed off to the boys' dorm.
"So Peter is a geek as well. I should have known." Marlene chuckled to herself while Dany shoved her lightly in the shoulder. "But seriously, I did think you had a sugar rush. You've been visiting the kitchens a lot lately. With Sirius," she added, cheekily.
"Twice, actually," replied Dany, rolling her eyes. "Sirius is rather annoying really. Just refuses to get something to eat on his own. I mean, he's the one who's 'starving his beautiful arse off'! His words, not mine," she explained when Marlene gave her a quizzical look.
"Hmm," said Marlene, but wasn't able to continue because Peter was back with a couple of issues of Batman.
"Back from the kitchens again?" asked Marlene. Dany glowered at her as she gave her an exaggerated wink.
"Taken to stating the obvious, McKinnon?" retorted Dany, looking pointedly at the stack of food in Sirius' arms.
"Taken to sarcasm much, Wilson?" Marlene countered with a smirk.
"She is in rather illustrious company," said Sirius, stroking his stubble free chin in contemplation. "Guess I've rubbed off on her more than I thought."
"Have you now?" Marlene, wagged her eyebrows suggestively, though it went unnoticed to everyone other than Dany. "So Sirius, has James gotten the date for the final match yet?" She diverted the conversation after receiving a particularly dirty look from Dany.
"Umm… No." Sirius appeared a little sheepish, as if he had been caught daydreaming in class (ironic, because he never looked like that when he was actually caught daydreaming in class). "So, uh, when's the next Potions date?" he asked Dany. Fortunately, or unfortunately, James walked in through the portrait hole at that point, diverting Sirius' attention for the time being.
"Shut it, McKinnon. Or things will get messy in the dorm," hissed Dany, taking this opportunity to elbow her smirking friend in the ribs.
"Marls! The final is on 7th May. McGonagall pulled me out of class to tell me that," said James, his hair even more untidy than usual. Honestly, the boy needed to consider investing in a comb.
"Brilliant!" Marlene grinned at him, but her face suddenly turned thoughtful. "Hang on. That was two hours ago. Minnie needed two whole hours to tell you the date of the final?"
"Don't be daft, Marls!" laughed James. "Had to visit good ol' Hooch to fix up practice times and got to chatting about the World Cup in the summer."
"Who does she think is going to win this time?" asked Marlene, perking up at the mention of the World Cup.
"Wales." James snorted as he sat down by the fire.
"She's always been biased," said Marlene, rolling her eyes. "She'll never concede that the Scots have a fighting chance."
"Dearest Marls," said James, with a patronising grin. "I daresay you're the one who's biased. The Scots barely scraped through qualifiers this time."
Dany watched in amusement as James continued to tease Marlene about her staunch Scottish pride. She had no particular inclinations towards national teams. She had only ever loved Puddlemere, and her loyalties were far too stringent to extend to a different level of competition. Feeling nudge on her left side, she turned to see Sirius staring at her intently.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"You never answered my question," he said, his silver eyes dancing in the light from the fire.
"Your ques- Oh! Right," she said, remembering their Potions assignment. "Friday will be 21 days completed. So we need to continue then. After dinner should be good. But it'll take about two hours to finish the next step. Can you handle that?"
"I can handle everything, love." He winked at her and rejoined the Quidditch conversation, leaving Dany slightly bewildered and extremely flustered.
Haha! Poor Dany. The Marauders can be a bit much sometimes. I wanted to have more of Peter in this story because honestly, its just too easy to simply cast him off as some pathetic side character. How did you like his bit in this chapter? Let me know. Along with any other thoughts you have on the chapter/story.
Cheers xxx