CHAPTER 36
I watched as the girl with dark brown eyes blinked back at me, the dark auburn hair swaying softly as it fell down to her waist. With her thin lips and heart-shaped face, she was someone I had never seen before. But she was me.
"What do you think?" I heard Remus say from behind me, and I gave a small shrug. The girl in the mirror moved with me, and I couldn't help but frown at the action. She frowned too.
"It's alrig- oh." I paused, taking in my voice. It had changed as well- it had risen in pitch and had become a bit softer. I almost sounded like Luna, except for the sturdiness my voice had under it. I wonder what it would sound like if I sang. Hm. Sirius laughed at my startled expression, and I stuck my tongue out at him. That only made him laugh harder. Rolling my eyes I stood up, frowning when I realized I was now only an inch or two shorter than Sirius, who normally towered over me.
"I'm tall." I muttered, glancing down my body. I had also lost a fair amount of weight- I had never been fat, to put it, but my thighs had never not touched and my stomach wasn't flat- but in this body I was skinny, tall and... flat-chested. Damnit.
"All in all, it's not that bad. You don't necessarily look like a Longbottom, but your eyes look similar enough to Frank's and Augusta's that you should be fine."
Glancing back at the mirror I nodded, letting my eyes trail over the new body before I sighed. "When will the potion wear off?"
"Two hours, or so- we used a smaller batch, so it should be fine. I would suggest getting used to it, though, as you'll need to look comfortable in your own skin to pass as someone else." Mrs. Weasley clucked, looking amused as I straightened my posture, trying to look less-awkward. Mrs. Weasley, thank goodness, had offered to come over if the male species became to difficult to deal with- I was incredibly grateful she had showed up, as I would need help with some of my clothes to transfigure to my new size.
"Why not you go walk around, then?" Remus suggested, smiling at me. I nodded quickly, nearly tripping over my own feet as I left the room. It was definitely a weird experience, not being quite used to my height yet- I had shot up from 5'6 to about 5'11 at least. Walking down the stairs, I smiled slightly when I saw Caiden sitting on the couch with Lucy, flipping through a book with a content expression.
"Hey, Caiden." I agreed, once again startling myself with my voice. I must've startled Caiden as well, though, because his head had snapped up, staring at me with wide eyes for a few seconds before he screamed; "REMUS THERE'S A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE!!"
"Wait, no- Caiden!" I laughed, walking over. But he didn't listen, instead jumping behind the couch defensively. Lucy yawned. I shook my head.
"Caiden, it's me- Lily! I took a potion."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Caiden asked suspiciously, peeking out from behind the couch with a skeptical expression. I rolled my eyes.
"Caiden, c'mon bud. If I was a stranger would I know your name?"
"It could've been a lucky guess! Or you could be a Death Eater!" Caiden piped, and I shook my head, probably feeling more amused than I should've.
"I promise I'm not a Death Eater, Caiden." I said , when I felt something poke my back.
"Than who are you, Miss?" A new voice, and turning around I groaned as I saw Fred, staring at suspiciously. Great.
"Oh, c'mon-" I started, cut off when Fred moved his wand up to my face, blue eyes looking playful despite the smirk on his face. I glared at him. The bastard definitely knew who I was.
"You're insufferable."
"You know you love it." Fred chuckled as he put his wand back in his pocket, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he brushed past me to get to Caiden. I felt my cheek heat up from the contact, and grumbling quietly I rubbed at it, watching as Fred picked Caiden up from behind the couch, reassuring him that I was indeed his sister. Caiden stared up at me warily before deeming that we were telling the truth. Lucy, who was still on her perch on the couch, watched us all with amusement, as if she found this all to be a rather intriguing play she was observing.
"Why'd you change?" Caiden asked as he looked at me, his arms wrapped around my waist.
"Um.." I wasn't too savvy on informing my brother I was going back to school- he was still told that I would be spending the year with him, and while I knew it was wrong to hold it back from him, it would be easier to make my leaving look for like an urgent necessity than a dangerous plan. I was figuring out a plan in my head when Fred broke in.
"She's trying to give a bit of a scare to the other Order members, you see?" He said, looking down at Caiden with a friendly smile. "It's all a big prank she's helping me out with."
"Oh... well why didn't you tell me! I thought you said I could help you!"
"Well, now you can." Fred chuckled quietly, crouching down so he was face to face with Caiden, who was pouting. "Why do you think we did you first? Now you can help us with the others."
"Ohh." A look of understanding crossed his face, and I grimaced. I didn't exactly want to spend they day running around attempting to pull pranks on people. Especially of one of those people were Mad-Eye.
Caiden glanced up at me, taking in my appearance before crinkling his face up in distaste. Well.
"I don't think we're going to fool anyone. She's too.. not-prankish." He decided, and Fred laughed.
"I think you're right, Caiden." He agreed. Rolling my eyes, I slumped against the wall and watched the two in amusement, not quite sure whether I should be offended or relieved I wouldn't have to jump out at Order members. Fred smiled slightly, picking up Caiden and easily lifting him up into his arms.
"Why not you say you and I go grab something to snack on while we think up ideas for pranks?" He suggested, and Caiden nodded, smiling happily.
"We need to tell dad though." Caiden said, and Fred nodded.
"Alright- you go on up and let him know, and then we'll go, alright?" Fred chuckled as he set the boy down again, both of us watching as he raced up the stairs, nearly slipping on a few before he made it to the top. Turning back to Fred, I smiled softly at him.
"Thanks for that."
He shrugged.
"No problem- I need to spend some time with him, anyways- you know, you could come with if you like."
"No- Well-I mean, I should probably stay inside till the potion wears off. Where are you going, though?" I asked curiously, biting my lip. A lot of the wizard restaurants and towns had been occupied by Death Eaters, and Fred and Caiden getting found would be bad. Incredibly bad.
"Muggle diner- Caiden seems to be fond of the shakes." Fred smiled softly, giving a small shrug. "I figured why not indulge the kid?"
Groaning, I shook my head at him. "And Remus actually lets you do this?"
"Why not-" Fred adapted a haughty expression, rolling his eyes, "I am a fully grown wizard. I think I'm able to handle a nine-year old boy."
"Yes, yes, very good- but what I meant was it just seems like a lot sugar."
"And that is where you are wrong, dear Lily- there is no such thing as too much sugar." Fred tsked before Caiden came scrambling back down the stairs, grinning like a cheshire cat.
"Remus says it's fine."
"Then we'll be off!" Fred said cheerfully, clapping his hands together before turning back to me, his smile softening slightly. "You sure you don't want to come?"
"I better not," I sighed softly, returning the smile weakly. "But you two have fun, alright?"
"Alright! Now c'mon, Fred- let's go let's go let's go!" Caiden chirped, grabbing Fred's hand and causing the taller boy to lean down a bit as he was dragged towards the door.
"Bye Lily!" Caiden's voice rang through the house before the door shut behind him.
__
A little while later I sat at the counter in the kitchen, quietly munching on a bowl of cereal. Quite honestly I wasn't that impressed- it made me miss my coco puffs.
The polyjuice potion had yet to disappear, so I was thoroughly enjoying my time watching Order members walk into the kitchen and be startled by the unknown girl sitting on the counter. It was also good practice to lie about who I was- While it was easy to say, "I'm "so-and-so" Longbottom", it was more than a little difficult doing it convincingly.
Tonks was the most fun though- I surprised her enough to make her hair go a pale yellow, and it took a few minutes of dramatic pleading to get her to forgive me for nearly giving her a heart attack.
"The potion still going on, Lily?" Sirius inquired as he entered the room. I smiled sheepishly and nodded.
"Obviously."
"Won't it be wearing off soon?"
"Eventually." I answered with a soft shrug, running a hand through my hair. I had started to get shorter, but that was all that had taken place of transforming back so far. I was definitely starting to miss my own face. Sirius smiled softly, leaning over and pressing a kiss against my forehead.
"It'll wear off soon enough. Wanna go get some ice cream?"
My eyes widened. "What- like now? With the potion still on and everything?"
Sirius shrugged. "Why not? C'mon." He chuckled quietly, nodding towards the door as he picked his jacket up off the back of one of the chairs. Surprised, I followed after him with a small smile. I rarely got time with Sirius, but when I did it usually involved sugar and, upon the occasion, fire.
He may not be the most responsible guardian, but he was definitely the best one.
..................A/N.................
Hey! Figured I'd update before leaving for a Winter Camp for the weekend :)
I've been getting a lot of messages of late, and I'd like to clear just two things up:
1.This is an AU(Alternate Universe) story, so there's gonna be a few different points in the story line and in the HP universe in general. :3
2. I GOT ONE MESSAGE TELLING ME TO PUT LILY AND HARRY TOGETHER. Like as a romantic couple. They are cousins. It's not going to happen, I'm sorry.
THAT'S REALLY ABOUT IT! I will be putting more drama in the next couple chapters- I was just in a really good mood when I was writing this(Merther is officially pretty much canon. HECK YEAH. AND snippets from Heavenly Fire(The Mortal Instruments, anyways?) were on Tumblr today :3 ))so nothing sad or dramatic has happened in the story.. yet.
Hope your guy's month has been well!(Also; 53 COMMENTS ON THE LAST CHAPTER! THAT'S AMAZING!)
Love you all,
Lily