NineteenYearsLater

I sighed and went back upstairs, if only to get dressed more than anything. When I came back downstairs, I felt an odd sort of magic in the air, the type that made riots happen. (I knew what that felt like because I had been around a few darker style wizards in my time and a few of them liked to cause riots with their magic.) I looked around and didn’t see any of my friends, so I left for the Great Hall before something happened.

“Lil!” James called to me, gesturing for me to join the group at a spot that was furthest from the doors, “Lil! Come over here!”

I nodded to show I heard him and walked over, only to find that I was seeing something strange. Apparently, one of our group had figured out how to make movies work on our table, without the help of anything but magic. I barely held back a laugh when I saw that they were watching Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. I sat down and ate my way through the food I could get to, ignoring the fact that John was watching me overly carefully. (He seemed like he was worried I was about to snap, but I knew the opposite was most likely true. He was still standing on the precipice, with no way of getting away from it any time soon.)

“James,” I said, turning to him and making him switch his attention to me, “what time would work the best for you? I’m thinking eight o’clock would be the best.”

Everyone’s attention switched to me and the movie disintegrated.

“Oh, yeah, eight is fine,” James said, sounding distracted. He was concentrating on something and I was pretty sure I knew what it was, “just don’t be late, would you?”

I grinned at him, and then decided to explain to the rest of the group, “James and I are trying to up our study time for homework, since we’re both having some troubles and would like to fix them.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you guys in different years?” Albus asked me, always quick on the draw and obviously getting the wrong message from the study session idea.

“Yes, we are,” I said, patiently, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t help each other. In fact, if you could skip a year I probably would have. In any case, James is about as attracted to me as a cat is attracted to a snake.”

James actually heard and understood that, for he couldn’t help but grin at me. We both stood up at the same time and left the hall.

“You sure eight?” James asked me, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I nodded, “Ok, if you say so. By the way, I think we’ll start by talking about animagus and how to turn yourself into one, instead of working on wandless work like last night.”

“Ok, if you think that you can handle that,” I said, knowing it would make him smile, which it did, “by the way, what do you think I’ll turn into?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “it could be anything, just like a Patronus. It is a reflection of your inner self, so it could be any creature. Mine isn’t just a kitten, but any kind of black cat, so I don’t think your animagus stays the same, especially not if you don’t want it to.”

I nodded in understanding and we went to class. I was willing to bet that I just blinked and the day was done, but you can never be too sure about Hogwarts. We went back to the shrieking shack, like the day before, and this time James was the teacher. On my third try I managed to grow a tail, and on my fifth I turned into something. It felt amazing. To be a creature that was stronger than humans, and to know you were amazing, powerful, and gorgeous at the same time was an awesome feeling. I looked at James and let out a loud noise before turning back and collapsing to the floor.

“Oof, well that was fun,” I said, giving him a tired smile. He looked at bit surprised and then he smiled.

“Why am I surprised?” he asked, aloud but rhetorical, “It’s you, after all.”

I grinned again, feeling a bit animalistic still, “So, what’d I turn into?”

“You turned into a white wolf,” he said, still smiling, “and I must say it was rather fetching. Perhaps you should be like that all the time?” I gave him a look and he continued, “In any case, could we try to do the wandless thing again? I’d like to get it as soon as possible.”

I nodded and stayed on the floor, making his wand come to me.

-Two hours later-

“No, all that’s doing is tickling me!” I said to him, patiently boring the feeling of being a guinea pig, “make this spell work for you in the only way you know how. Come now, man, you can do it.”

“Shut up Lil,” James said, through clenched teeth, “just shut up.”

He was trying to levitate me, while also forcing me back. I was able to float for a bit, but after that I would fall to the ground and slide a bit to my right. Suddenly, as if he finally found it, I rose four feet in the air as gently as I ever had. I looked at him in surprise and then found myself flying at him, as if summoned. I fell on him, for he was unprepared for that scenario, and he caught me as if I weighed not a thing. I was curled in a little ball, being held by the guy I had a crush on, yeah, what girl wouldn’t freak out? I let out a surprised noise and he almost dropped me.

“Geez Lil,” James said, looking down at me, “the least you can do is thank me.”

I looked at the ground, “Thank you.”

I felt the smile in his voice as he said, “Aw, look at the little embarrassed fourth year.”

I looked up at him and glared, but all he did was smile sweetly.

“You can put me down now,” I told him, pointing at the ground. He shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” he said, “I thought you wouldn’t mind being held for a bit.”

“Oh, and why’s that?”

“Because you’re grasping my shirt in a death grip.”

I couldn’t help but glare more, “That’s because I’m afraid you’ll drop me because you’re a weakling.”

He gave me a look and began to carry me over to a couch that was more than slightly dilapidated. I gave him a curious look, but he refused to meet my eyesight. He let go with an abrupt gesture, but I had been still holding his shirt, so I remained hanging from it. I gently lowered my legs to the ground and stood on my own, finally letting go of him. When we looked at each other, we couldn’t help but start laughing.

“Well, that didn’t go according to plan,” I said, knowing he meant for me to end up on the couch, “Sorry it didn’t go the way you wanted to and I ended up hanging from your shirt like a monkey.”

“It’s ok,” he replied, “I didn’t mind you hanging off of me. I like being a climbing post for cute monkeys.”

I blushed. (I could never figure out if I enjoyed him flirting with me or not, but I had to admit, whenever he started in with it in this way, I quite liked it.)

“You know that could totally be taken the wrong way,” I said to him, my mouth working at its usual pace of not stopping and thinking around friends. James gave me a grin that could only be described as perverted.

“Maybe I wanted it to be taken that way,” he said, approaching me and forcing me to trip on the couch and sit down, “did you ever think about that?”

He leaned over me and kept on going. I had a feeling something was about to happen when John decided to damn us.

“Sis! Where are you?” He yelled, making both of us jump about ten feet in the air.

I looked up at the ceiling in a, “Why us?” way. James had a look that would be hard put to be described as anything short of murderous, and I was starting to feel like that as well. Why couldn’t my brother handle being alone for more than a few hours a week? I guess that’s what made me do what I did next.

“John,” I said, to the air around us, knowing it would reach his ears, “I really wish you’d go away.”

James and I heard a loud popping noise and any trace of my brother and his magic was gone. I gave James a surprised look, but he apparently didn’t know what I had just done, so I didn’t go into the details.

I knew nothing good would come of making John leave, but I had decided I didn’t care and the rest of the world could go to hell, for what it mattered.

James exchanged looks with me before backing up and going to go check to find John, since he kind of was just looking for me. I knew he wouldn’t find him, but I also knew that the mood, what there was of one, was ruined so I got up to help him.

“He’s not here, you know,” I told him, as he leaned over the banister. Clearly he hadn’t heard me approach him from the back, because he jumped and the railing he had been leaning on let out a crack and broke beneath his weight.

I reacted without thinking and grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking back hard enough to pull him out of danger. I slipped on a rug and fell on my rump, thanking the higher being that James didn’t come with. I looked up at him and found that he was offering me a hand up. I took it and he lifted me up as if I weighed not a thing.

“Who’s a weakling?” he asked me, giving me a look that said he knew that he threw me off by doing that.

I gave him a look, “I still can call you a weakling because I want to,” and with that I prodded him in the chest with my index finger. He gave me a grin that indicated some of the mood had returned, but my mind set had gone elsewhere, so I walked around him and down the stairs.

I walked back to Hogwarts alone, leaving James in my dust, so hasty was I to get back to my room. I didn’t want something to happen, like my losing control. John wasn’t in the common room when I entered, which I had known inherently would be the case, and I just waltzed up to my room and went to sleep in the span of two breaths.