"I'm going first, and you lot aren't to start until I've finished."
The room burst into argument.
"Rose, no, be serious-"
"Absolutely not-"
"What do you think, we're some kind of idiots, just going to let you-"
She waved her wand and muted them.
"No. If something goes wrong, I can't let it happen to you. This potion is my responsibility. A captain has to go down with her ship."
Sirius broke the charm.
"Absolutely not. Rose, if something does go wrong-"
"Then you go straight to Dumbledore. You conjure me a stretcher and take me right to the Headmaster's office. The password is 'candy floss'. One of you run for Pomfrey and another to McGonagall. You don't take no for an answer. James can break the charm and tell Dumbledore what happened."
"Rose, I won't let you."
"Sirius, you don't let me do anything. I do what I want. Now if I have to stun you, or tie you to a chair, I will do it. But I'm taking this potion first, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"Want to bet? I don't think I-"
James put a hand on Sirius' shoulder.
"Come on, mate. We don't have all night, and she's not backing down. Odds are she'll be fine. And if she's not, then we have to be here for her. It's the best plan,"
Sirius clenched his jaw, but put his hands up in surrender.
"All right. Fine. You've got me."
Rose smiled a little bit sadly.
The bubbling cauldrons had been replaced by four goblets that somehow still radiated heat. Rose looked at them, nervously.
Remus came up beside her.
"This is awfully brave of you," Remus began.
"I'm ninety percent sure that this is totally right. Bravery is usually on one's side when the odds are good," she stated.
"Still." He replied, shrugging. "Good luck." He offered her a hand. She hugged him instead.
"Thank you, Remus."
James came up and pulled her in tight for a bear hug.
"I know you did this right, Rose. Don't sweat it."
Always next to James came Sirius.
"Gods, I wish you would listen to me for once."
"I listen to you a lot," she replied.
He shook his head, hiding a grin.
"Not what I meant. But Rose, you had better be right."
"I'm always right."
He couldn't wait any longer, and pulled her in for a kiss.
She hoped it wouldn't be their last.
Ellie came a moment later. She was shaking a bit.
Rose hugged her tightly.
"Listen, if I'm about to die, Ells, I need you to look out for Sirius and the rest. And tell my parents and my grandparents and all of my family that I love them. Tell my friends that I'll miss them. Tell Oliver Tray that I hate him, and hex off Vanessa Riddle's nose in my honor. Make sure it's permanent. And you... Gods, Ells, we've had the best times. So many years. Thank you for that by the way."
"Don't mention it. It was my genuine pleasure," Ellie replied, looking close to tears.
"Good. Well, if I do die, goodbye. And since I probably have just wasted everyone's time, thank you for listening. And thanks to you lot for making this year the best of my life."
There were several mutters of thanks and welcomes.
Rose picked up her bubbling chalice. The potion smelled like her, vanilla and mint. It was colored a deep brown, like dark chocolate, and seemed like it was the same texture as chocolate fondue.
She took a deep breath, flashed a grin at her friends, and brought the heavy metal cup to her lips. She began to drink, aiming to finish the whole thing in one go.
While everyone was busy watching her, Sirius slipped away to the table and picked up his goblet, downing it before anyone could stop him.
He finished a moment after Rose did. Caught in the act.
"Sirius, no! What the hell are you thinking, you could- oh!"
She had begun to feel very strange, indeed.
It felt as though her insides were liquidizing. She fell to her knees and began to shake uncontrollably.
Sirius moved to join her side instantly, although he too was on the ground in a moment, before he reached her.
Her shaking continued, but as she shook, her body began to do strange things. While her clothes receded, she sprouted deep brown fur that matched her hair, which shortened while her nose grew long. Her body got much smaller, and a tail sprouted behind her legs.
In a matter of moments, a brown dog was lying on the ground in front of Ellie.
She was fairly large, going up to about Ellie's waist (though Ellie was a small bit below average as far as height went). It had long hair, and seemed to be related to some kind of border collie.
The dog had a deep brown coat, highlighted with a softer shade around her legs, chin and eyebrows. Her nose was white, as was a little spot on her chest, the tip of her tail, and two of her paws. She looked up at Ellie and then cocked her head curiously to the side. She stood carefully, lifting her paws as though the carpet under her feet felt strange. Then she fell into a bow and bounced back up, her tail beginning to wag.
The minute that she noticed her new limb, she spun around, either trying to get a good look, or trying to chase it.
Ellie laughed at her for a few moments, until a massive black form came prancing over to the collie.
It was a shaggy black mess, massive, with ears raised to a point and a thick tail. It was entirely black, a deep, glossy shade, although his eyes were grey.
He came up past Ellie's waist far enough to make her feel nervous, but he approached Rose with utmost caution, tentatively reaching out as she did, and the pair rubbed noses.
Rose let out a happy bark, which seemed to surprise her, as she barked again as though testing out her voice. Surprised, Sirius barked in reply. Soon the pair were chatting loudly while only speaking in barks and whines.
Ellie and James looked at Remus, and the three of them burst out laughing.
Rose licked Sirius's nose, and then quickly morphed into herself again.
She gasped when she was back to normal.
It was most peculiar. Now that he was human, you could see the general likeness between her and the dog.
"Bloody hell, that was-"
"Absolutely brilliant," Sirius shifted back right behind Rose and grabbed her waist, dipping her low and making her laugh.
"Remind me to copy your potions essay. You really are right about everything," he grinned, leaning down for a kiss. She returned it, but quickly came back.
"Wait just a moment, you're not out of the woods yet. I told you not to take that potion! You could have died!"
"At least I would have died with you."
"Don't get all romantic on me! That was dangerous!"
"Danger is my middle name."
"No it's not." James grinned. "Its that star guy. Remus, what's he called-"
"Orion."
"Orion. That's the one. Like the fairy."
"Oberon's the fairy, you daft dimbo," Sirius responded indignantly.
Ellie moved beside Rose as the other two happily argued about the manliness of Sirius' namesake.
Rose sighed, but couldn't seem to shake her grin.
"I'll never be able to properly punish him for that," Rose sighed.
"You don't need to. Having James Potter as your best friend is bad enough," Ellie replied, laughing, as Sirius turned himself into a dog again and began to chase his tail.
"Rose-" Remus called from across the din Sirius and James were making as Sirius jumped up and tried to lick his friend's face.
Rose threw a glance at the clock, and realized that they were running out of time. There was plenty, but still, she made it a habit to always be early.
Time constraints worried her nearly as much as Sirius' recklessness did.
"James, Ellie, you've got to do it now. Come on, Sirius, change back."
Sirius returned and donned an anxious look.
"So," asked James, looking doubtfully into his potion. "What are the odds that we aren't going to die?"
"Fairly good, considering Sirius and I didn't. But there's always a chance," Rose disclaimed.
James looked deep into Ellie's eyes for a moment, and she couldn't do much but gaze back.
Then he broke away, and she barely avoided cursing out loud.
"It's been nice knowing you all," he mused.
Ellie didn't say anything.
She relied on the fact that she wouldn't be dying at the moment, put her trust into her best friend wholeheartedly.
"Bottoms up," James grinned, as he swallowed his potion, Ellie finishing hers a moment later.
"Merlin," he gagged when he finished. "Not exactly pumpkin juice, is it?"
He too seemed to begin to experience the change, and from the outside, Rose could now see how bizarre it was. Limbs slowly twisting and contorting, facial features stretching and warped.
She turned and buried her face into Sirius' robes.
"I can't look," she mumbled, the sound muffled against his chest.
He rubbed her back subconsciously until it was over.
When she looked back, she had to do a double take.
For a moment, she thought that there were two of the exact same creature before her, that her vision had somehow gone double.
Then she realized that the creature on the left was missing antlers, not a stag, but a doe.
Ellie and James, too.
Ellie cocked her head and looked at James, and then changed back to herself, the process growing quicker with each successive change.
"Rose, are you sure you got it right?"
"Ellie, the transformation couldn't have gone wrong. There's no way."
James turned back into his human form. Their clothes changed with them.
"Well, you know what that means," he grinned, eyes searching for Ellie's.
"It doesn't have to mean anything," Ellie replied, determinedly indifferent.
James pouted a bit to her back, but shook off his rejection.
"It means that we aren't going to die tonight! And that we've only got twenty minutes to Christmas!"
"What's that got to do with anything? We're just going to bed anyway," Rose replied, yawning.
"It's the spirit of the thing," James replied. "Presents and such in the morning! What do you say we take them into the common room to show them off once they're opened?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Remus grinned. He felt just as relieved as he looked, though still a bit haunted by Peter.
"I'm probably just going to get socks again," Rose replied, smiling. "Not really much to show off."
"I don't know if I'll be awake by morning," Ellie replied. "You might all have to wait until afternoon."
They all laughed at her.
"Why don't we get you to bed so that the rest of us don't have to wait so long?" Sirius suggested.
They all agreed and finished tidying up, eliminating all evidence that they had ever created an animagus potion in the room, and walking out arm in arm.
They said their goodbyes as they dropped the girls off at the foot of their dormitories, and went their separate ways. Which turned out to not be very separate at all.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How is it possible? I mean, you and Sirius being the same, that's one thing, you're perfect for each other, but James and I? Are you sure you haven't staged this, Rose?"
"Absolutely. Indefinitely. There's no way to mess up that sort of thing. If you think I might have tampered, then try to do a patronus charm. It should be the same thing."
"Rose, you know I haven't been able to cast a corporeal patronus yet."
"Well, then don't cry to me. And for all I know, most women in the world could have a doe as their spirit animal. It's purely coincidence and doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't want it to."
"Yeah. I guess you're right."
"When aren't I?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"But they were the same, Sirius. A matching set, just like you and Rose. And she ignored it."
"It's all your fault, mate. I've been telling you that you need to stop beating around the bush."
"Remus, tell me he's wrong. There's no way that I could have screwed up this badly."
"As much as I hate to say it, James, I think Sirius is right. You kissed her to spite someone else, and haven't acted romantically toward her since. She's a right to be cross."
"Peter, surely you'll defend-"
He cut himself off as he realized his mistake, sighing and then flopping down onto his bed, groaning into his pillow.
"Life is so hard."
"Don't I know it," Lupin sighed.
"Look James, all you have to do is tell her that you like her. Rose's told me any number of times what a hopeless romantic Ellie is. You just need to win her heart with a grand gesture."
"Thanks, mate. I think you're right this time."
"I'm always right," Sirius muttered as he collapsed into bed.
"Not as always right as I am," Remus muttered, sleep already taking him after a long day.
"Not as always right as Rose is." James corrected, lying awake despite how tired he was.
The moon was three-quarters full and looked out onto the grounds across the tower from him. He wondered what he should do to win Ellie's heart. No answer came to him quickly, and so he decided to take the longest possible path.
They were friends, and that was the first step. Now all he had to do was make the painstaking climb out of the friend zone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rose knew that she was lucky. It had gone perfectly. They hadn't gotten caught. Peter had nearly given them away, but he was gone now, hopefully a part of their past that would stay in the past for now.
His lack of nerve had always worried her, but she'd hoped that it wouldn't have come to such a drastic end.
She knew the night's events had worried James, but she was more concerned about what it did to Sirius' ego and Remus' feelings.
All of that can wait for another night.
Rose loved Christmas. The part that was her favorite was the excitement in the air that came along with Christmas Eve, the free nervous energy that made you wonder what you were going to get the next morning. It was the peace of the night before, the cold chill creeping into the stone dormitory and the silent sweep of snow glowing outside of her window. She pulled herself onto the sill and looked out, the high snow swirling softly into drifts by a whistling wind.
While she drifted, lost in thought, she could feel the tugging of her new power on the edge of her consciousness. It waited to be used like a wand, only needing the right activations for her to be changed into the dog. She smiled as she thought of Sirius and his black hound, legs too long and paws too large, an idiotic grin on his mug.
He really was perfect for her. But he wouldn't even hear from his family this Christmas. He only had his friends, which made him all the more alone. She'd had to fight her own mother tooth and nail to stay at school over the holidays, and she had only agreed when Rose had told her that the headmaster himself had requested that the prefects stay on to help out (which he hadn't). She desperately missed her own family and their traditional Christmas Eve dinner, but there hadn't been anything that she could do. It was all right though. There would always be next year.
Her thoughts wandered to her best friend, asleep in her bed next to the window, and of James. She hadn't known that they would end up a pair. And she knew that the idea didn't sit well with Ellie. But Ellie deserved a good guy, and that described James on most days. The only problem was getting her to change her mind.
But that was to be left for another day. As Rose climbed into bed and tucked herself in, she realized that all that she should be was grateful. Grateful for her friends, for Sirius, for good health and keeping out of trouble, and for this Christmas for being such an exceptional one.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Oh my gosh i am a terrible person i had no idea that i'd waited this long to post this part, i am SO SORRY. but anyway, if you haven't noticed yet, ive just gone back and edited the begining of this story, just to brush it up a bit, as my writing has improved quite a bit since i first posted this story nearly a year ago. I also changed the name of rose's brother to nate in case anyone actually cares. Also, seeing as things have drastically improved since the beginning of this story, id like to offer anyone who stuck with it a hugh pat on the back. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing with your thoughts! Don't let the muggles get you down!