James was absolutely right. Transfiguration was hell, even two weeks later.
Ellie could practically feel the eyes of Professor McGonagall tearing through her skull, sensing the mandrake leaf resting under her tongue. She could perfectly picture the interrogation that would follow.
Whether it was just her, or the other four too, it didn't matter. It all started as the room went silent. Professor McGonagall would turn around and purse her lips, just the way she always did, and it would all be over for them, their futures down the drain, their lives-
"Miss Claybourne. Miss Claybourne? I'm sure you're aware that class is over?"
"Huh-oh, yeah, absolutely, Professor. Just taking a moment to-erm collect my thoughts is all," Ellie supplied, while Rose began to pack up Ellie's things for her. She did that a lot. Couldn't stand to slow down enough to wait for her to do it herself. Rose walked out carrying both of their bags and Ellie caught up in the corridor.
"Finally lost it, have you?" Rose asked, forging the way ahead to Charms. "Or have you just got James Potter on your mind?" Her tone was lower, as the boys were right ahead of them. Ellie lifted her bag to hit Rose with, but she dodged and ran up to catch up with Sirius. Ellie followed begrudgingly, fixing up her hair subconsciously.
As she was walking from behind them, she noticed that they were talking quite closely, their hands almost touching. Sirius said something and she laughed softly and replied with something sarcastic in response.
James dropped back to lace his trainers, and was suddenly at Ellie's side. She stopped to wait for him, forcing a group of fourth year Hufflepuffs to move to the side of the corridor.
"Hi, didn't see you there," James said, looking up and grinning.
"Hey," Ellie replied. Some of the Hufflepuffs giggled. Ellie shot them a glare. One of them actually tripped because of it. James laughed and raised an eyebrow. Ellie just sighed. It was one of those days.
"Your hedgehog looked quite like a pincushion in Transfiguration by the end of class," he complimented.
"Thanks. So did yours," she replied, even though she knew he must have been exaggerating her talent. Her transfiguration had been off lately, as she was distracted by McGonagall.
"It still squeaked when I tried to put a pin in it. A bit off-putting, if you ask me," he replied modestly, standing up, the rest of the group now a long way ahead.
"Definitely off-putting. I wish we had more time to practice though. I can never get the hang of it in only one try," Ellie complained, running her hand through her hair.
"Well, if you really think so, I know a place where we can work," James offered, as they neared Flitwick's classroom.
"I could always use a bit of practice," Ellie replied, stopping before they came into the room.
"Well then, meet me in the common room before dinner. I'll have to grab some hedgehogs from McGonagall, but that shouldn't be too hard. She loves me," James grinned.
"I'd love to," she accepted.
"Good. I'll meet you there," He grinned, turning on the spot to enter the classroom and join Sirius and Remus who were whispering.
Ellie followed him and pointedly avoided looking at Rose who was raising an eyebrow.
Charms went by quickly and without much fuss. Professor Flitwick was one of Ellie's absolute favorites, a short little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books just to be seen from the second row. Charms was her favorite subject too. It came quickly to her, mostly because it was what her mother was best at. They were learning hovering charms today, how to float heavy things a few inches above the ground. Something that she had been doing out of the cradle.
Next came Herbology, then Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies for Ellie, and Ancient Runes for Rose. Then lunch, where, unknowingly, they sat with the other girls from their dormitory for the last time. Following that was double potions, rounded off by Defense Against the Dark Arts. After class, Rose was on her way out to the grounds and their usual study spot when she noticed that Ellie wasn't following.
"Where're you headed?" She asked, Ellie standing dead in the center of the hallway, starting off in the other direction.
"Erm- well, I'm meeting James in the common room. He's going to help me with Transfiguration," she explained.
"Oh, well, okay, I guess. I'll just, be outside, I suppose, if you finish before dinner," Rose replied, clearly a bit upset that Ellie hadn't warned her, but trying to hide it because she knew that Ellie had a life outside of their friendship.
"Sounds good," Ellie replied, not noticing at all.
Rose left, leaving Ellie to her lesson.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The castle grounds were absolutely gorgeous at this time of year.
The sun was beginning to set earlier, but it wasn't bothering Rose yet, as she made her way to a tree on the grounds overlooking the lake to begin her homework.
The smell of the air, the smell of autumn, was absolutely her favorite, and she took in several deep breaths before brushing some fallen leaves out of the way. The tree was large, probably many hundred years old, and was very tall, but perfect for climbing. She wasn't in the mood today, and besides that, she was in a skirt, so she simply sat down in her usual spot in the roots, almost a chair, made for her, that she always studied in.
She enjoyed the silence immensely, but it didn't last long.
"Mind if I join you?" It was Sirius again. And as much as she liked the peace, who could say no to that smile?
"Not at all," she answered, moving a notebook out of the way.
She always had many more notebooks with her than what was necessary for an ordinary student. She tended to write down any random ideas she had along with taking meticulous notes during classes.
Sirius worked on an essay next to her, for their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Clarkson, his quill scratching loudly against his roll of parchment. The tree trunk was wide enough that it easily let both of them fit on one side of it.
"I quite like this tree," Sirius remarked, settling into another nook in the roots. "Very comfortable."
"I'm out here every day that the weather cooperates," Rose replied, focusing on her essay.
"Be careful. That almost sounds like an invitation," Sirius challenged.
"Well, you're welcome any time. That is, if you ask Ellie, when she's here," Rose replied, not bothering to look up.
"You're awfully attached to her," Sirius noted, his tone careful.
"And you're awfully attached to James. But what's it to me?" She asked, still focused on her work.
"Well, I was just saying," he replied.
"What was it you were saying?" She requested, looking up for the first time, curiously, into his eyes. Telling him to be quick about it.
"Just that maybe-well, maybe it would be good for both of us to be a little... less, attached. Wouldn't you say?" He seemed nervous. She smiled and tried not to laugh at him.
"Yeah. I can agree to that. What did you have in mind?" She prompted.
"Next weekend is the first Hogsmeade trip. Would you care to dine with me?" His usual style of grandeur was finding its way back.
"What, d'you mean you aren't stuck in detention that day already?" She teased.
"Hey, even I have to have a few days off on occasion," he laughed, and she soon joined in.
"Ooo, be quiet. Here comes Dog," Rose quieted, referring to an owl that was coming towards them from over the lake. It was covering the distance quickly, though a large parcel was attached to its leg.
"Dog?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah. I really love them. Always wanted one when I was little. But when I turned eight, it wasn't a dog, but an owl. My dad wanted to name him Hammurabi and my mom thought I should call him Archimedes, but I picked Dog, because it reminded me of my favorite book, in which the horse was named 'Horse'," she replied simply.
"What's he have?" Sirius asked, curious.
"Probably just some gillyweed that I ordered. My cousin helps run the apothecary, and he sneaks me whatever I ask for when my parents aren't looking," she replied.
The handsome owl landed on her shoulder, dropped the letter in his beak, and held out a leg so that she could untie the parcel. Once it was off, he fluffed out his feathers and wrapped his wings up around him, almost giving the illusion that he had tucked himself up in a blanket, where only his head stuck out, round and fluffy, like a pigmy puff, with large yellow inset eyes. He also had a line running down the center of his face, and the black feathers around the outside of it that almost made it look like he was wearing the hood of a parka.
Rose was reading the letter and stroking the bird, while it hooted quietly and stared curiously at Sirius, almost asking who he could possibly be.
"What sort of owl is he?" Sirius asked. He hadn't seen one quite like Dog before.
"He's a Borean. From Norway," She responded. "I trained him not to come to the banquet hall when he brings me something against the rules."
She opened the parcel and took out a small jar of some kind of plant soaking in liquid, and two chocolate bars."The candy is from my grandmother," she explained, putting one of the bars into her bag to give to her brother. "Shall we split it?"
"And spoil our dinner? Here I thought you were respectable," Sirius replied.
"I am respectable. Just not where chocolate's involved."
They split the candy and headed to dinner, where Peter was already waiting for them at their table, where both Rose and Sirius sat down.
Ellie and James took another ten minutes to appear. Ellie gave Rose a look, and it explained everything.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ellie didn't even make it back to the common room before James caught up to her.
"Oh, hello," she greeted, as he came around the corner, holding a cage with two small animals in it.
"We've got permission to use any of the old rooms on the first floor," James told her, leading the way.
She was nervous and excited, but most of all, just worried about getting her transfiguration grade up.
"Perfect," she agreed.
The room was far past the main staircase, in a hallway that was hardly used, only free of dust on the large teacher's desk, with loads of runes chalked up on the board.
Rose would know what they meant. She was probably studying them now, out on the grounds by their tree.
"Where's Sirius?" Ellie asked, curious as to where James' left hand was.
"Probably off chasing Rose," James replied, smiling. He knew his best friend well.
"Is he- is he actually interested?" Ellie asked, concerned.
"Well, he's had his fair share of random whims, this is the most erm-invested I've ever seen him," James replied. "What about her?"
Ellie just shrugged, not wanting to give away anything that her best friend wouldn't want her to.
"What about her?" Ellie asked.
"Just… She's hard to read is all," James paused, realizing Ellie's loyalty.
"Tell me about it. I never know what to think half the time," Ellie complained. "I tend to trip just trying to get caught up."
"Is that what's always happening?" James asked innocently. Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Ha-ha. Very funny, but I do tend to do that without her help. It's perfectly natural. My mum wouldn't let me in the kitchen when I was little, after this one time when I cut off my pinky finger," she shared, holding up the finger in question.
"It looks all right," James inspected.
Ellie pointed out the scar. "That's just because of the healers. They fixed it up rather well. But now, I'm not even allowed near the kitchen. Don't think my mom will ever let me cook."
He took a quivering hedgehog out of the box, and put a spell on it to keep it from moving.
"It's a bit easier to work on when they're sitting still," he explained. "Give it a try."
She spoke the incantation and waved her wand, but all that happened was that the hedgehog got a little softer, and started quivering more.
"That's not bad," James instructed. "But your wrist isn't flicking nearly enough. Try again," he restored the small animal to its original form.
Ellie tried again and this time the creature changed a little more, the spines starting to turn silver and elongate.
"Better," James replied, nodding a little. "But still a little off. May I?" He reached out to adjust her wrist, and she nodded.
Calm down Ellie, she told herself. It's just to help with your technique.
"Like this," he finished, whispering. Sparks shot out of Ellie's wand, and there was suddenly a perfect pincushion sitting on the table in front of them, bright red and full of shiny pins.
"Excellent," he exclaimed, sounding a bit surprised.
"Well, I do have an extraordinary teacher," she replied, turning around and looking into his bright eyes, behind his square glasses, the ones he only remembered to wear half of the time.
"That you do," he smiled, breaking the moment by stepping away and tending to the pincushion.
"Thank you so much for helping me. I'm really dreading the OWLs," Ellie said gratefully.
"Don't mention it. And don't worry too much. You're going to pass, I can tell," he said, the small pincushion now sprouting legs, a nose, and eyes.
"I hope so. But that still won't be enough to stop me studying, though," she commented, packing up her bag.
"Really? Not even for a few hours? The first Hogsmeade trip is next weekend. I was hoping that you might join me," he invited, carefully picking up and petting the fully restored hedgehog.
"Well, I'll have to double check, but my schedule's free as far as I know," Ellie accepted.
"Good. I expect the Sirius' had the same idea," James replied, again missing his partner in crime.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, most likely. But I assure you, I've got something special in mind," James hinted, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
"Well, it certainly sounds interesting, but it's still a ways away, and we have homework. Have you started Clarkson's essay yet?"
"For defense against the dark arts? No. Can't be bothered to look up the official definition of a counter-jinx," he replied.
"I've got it here, if you like," she offered.
XXx
They spent the rest of the time until dinner studying and trying to write their essays, failing miserably because neither of them could focus well enough to actually write anything. By the time they left for dinner, all James had done was cross out all of the rubbish that he'd written, using up more than half of the parchment.
Back in the great hall, they met Sirius, Peter and Rose, with whom exchanged a look with Ellie that nearly made her laugh.
As per usual, dinner magically appeared, and a few minutes into the soup, Ellie realized that someone was missing.
"Where's Remus?" She asked, trying not to make anyone angry by slurping her soup too loudly.
"Just feeling a little under the weather. Went to the hospital wing for a while," James replied, slurping his soup loudly to account for the sudden silence between Sirius and Peter.
"If you see him, let him know I hope he feels better soon," Ellie said, her kindhearted side showing, not noticing the wary way that the boys began to whisper again.
"We will," Peter assured.
XXXXXXXXXX
I'm having a lot of fun with this animagus thing, and I'm trying to keep it as canonical as I can, hence the whole mandrake leaf thing. I feel like cGonagall totally knows about their secret. As usual, let me know what you think :) Don't let the muggles get you down!
XXXx
post edit: some minor fixes in this one, how did i get away with using 'said' so much the first time around? (Cringe) but the first movie just came on while i was editing this and it made me SO HAPPY OML but seriously, thanks for reading/reviewing!