Mischief Managed!

33.

"Lily Evans wants to do something illegal?" he asked doubtfully; surely Lily hadn't thought the whole thing through very well.

Lily shuffled a little closer to him and took James' hands. "Yes, yes I do."

"And you are one hundred percent sure that you want to? Because it's never going to work if you aren't confident, Lily."

"I'm sure," she replied solemnly. "I've been wanting to ask for ages, actually."

James took a deep breath. "Well… The first thing to know is that you can't become anything magical, or you'll never be able to change back."

"Like Mrs. Norris," Lily supplemented helpfully.

"Eh?"

"Well she was having an affair with Filch, and so she turned herself into a kneazle to escape her loveless marriage, and got trapped. That's what Emmeline heard, anyway…"

James blinked. "So it's true, then?" he asked doubtfully.

Lily shrugged, giving him a lopsided smile. "Anything's possible…"

James nodded shortly, and then cleared his throat. "Anyway, no magical creatures. I don't want to lose you," he told her sternly.

If James found Lily's request startling, it was nothing to the look that suddenly filtered across her face. Her thumb stroked his hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, James," she told him softly. "I have the perfect animal in mind…"

Lily sat in front of her floor length mirror and exhaled. It was past midnight, and just across the gallery, she could hear James snoring softly. She smiled slightly, before checking herself.

The key, James had said, was to concentrate, and Lily didn't particularly fancy becoming skewed. Skewing, James had informed her, was what happened when half of you transformed, and half didn't. It was one of the reasons the Ministry kept such a close check on it.

Lily's toes were numb. She wriggled; readjusting her legs so that she sat tailor style, with her feel resting on top of her legs like the Buddhist monk Petunia and she had met once, long ago, as children.

Perhaps if she meditated…

Lily closed her eyes and began to draw soft, deep breaths. In, and out, in and out. James had said she had to make her mind still, and to then focus on the animal she wished to become completely. She had to think as her animal, sense as her animal, be as the animal she wanted to become.

Lily meditated and thought for three long hours. Around her, the castle grew still, the winter wind rattled at her window, and the room grew steadily colder.

Lily opened her eyes.

And froze.

It worked! A part of her cried out with excitement, wanting to rush immediately into James' room, to wake him. Except for the minor detail that she was now incapable of opening doors.

Lily's heart raced with exhilaration, and she took a few tentative steps forward. The room smelt of something almost sickly sweet, which the human Lily knew to be vanilla. Animagus Lily didn't care what it was, but it made her hungry. And sleepy, terribly, terribly sleepy. So sleepy that in fact, she wouldn't have minded curling up on a nice bed of grass and nodding off…

Bollux, the human Lily inside her mind swore. James never told me how to reverse it!

Lily paced the rug nervously. Her first instinct was to run, but Lily knew that this wouldn't do her much good at all. Maybe, if she just stopped, and concentrated like before, she could turn back again.