"WE GOT IN! WE GOT IN!"
It were the loud shouts from the common room which woke the girls up that morning. While Marlene kept snoring lightly from where she laid in her bed, Lily and Jenna walked out of their dorm and went down the spiral staircase, yawning and rubbing their eyes sleepily.
They weren't alone it finding the noises curious. Some of the other students had been awoken as well, heading down into the common room to see what was going on and what the shoutings were all about.
The Gryffindor common room was lightened by the morning sun, beaming through the room as two boys with dark hair danced around crazily, jumping up and down boisterously by the notice board.
Lily rolled her eyes, walking back upstairs immediately. Although Jenna walked forward, trying to see what had gotten them so hyped up. She couldn't exactly tell what they were saying as they shouted at the same time, their loud voices mingling together into a bunch of nonsense.
"What's goin' on?" Jenna asked sleepily, holding back yet another yawn as she reached them.
"We got it! We got in the team!" James exclaimed, holding Jenna by her shoulders and shaking her frantically.
"Woah! Woah!" Jenna pushed him back, feeling dizzy. "You both got in?"
"Why do you sound so surprised, Jenny?" Sirius smirked, finally ceasing his triumphant dance moves.
"I'm not surprised. I'm just disappointed," said Jenna grudgingly, crossing her arms.
"Well, I got the Chaser spot, and Sirius became the second Beater of the Gryffindor team," said James with a proud grin.
Jenna offered him a warm smile. "Welcome to the team, J.P. I'm actually proud of you."
"Of course we would've gotten in. Honestly, we're better than half people on the team," James said smugly. "Mark my words; I'll be the next Gryffindor Captain."
"Not if I become the next captain," Sirius said with a challenging grin, pushing James by the arm, who pushed him back in return, this time harder. It soon turned into a wrestle as the two boys laughed and tried to bring the other down.
The more time Jenna spent with them, the more she realized that Lily was right. Those two boys were too immature for their age. So letting out a sigh, Jenna returned upstairs to her own friends, getting ready for the day.
***
James and Sirius's excitement in the common room was nothing compared to their first official Quidditch practice later that week, in the afternoon. But this time, instead of shouting and doing foolish dance moves, they flew through the sky fearlessly on their brooms, showing off their wondrous skills.
While Sirius made sure to swirl and turn dangerously yet gracefully in the air, James zoomed through the sky at full speed, his balance and confidence awing everyone on the team. It was as though he was born to fly.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter, as soon as they had heard the good news about James getting on the Gryffindor team, bought him a new broomstick and sent it to him, which he made sure to show off in the Great Hall in the middle of breakfast. He talked about it loud enough so that everyone could hear him, specially those sitting at the Slytherin table.
The look of jealousy had been visible on Severus Snape's face as he glared back at James, full of hatred and envy, before he left the Great Hall with Lily to get to the Potions' classroom. Jenna didn't understand why Lily would still be friends with someone as prejudice as him, but she didn't say anything and held her tongue back.
Micheal Collins, the Gryffindor captain, was certainly happy with his team players this year; all very skilled, even though most of them were pretty young. Although there were many occasions when he truly wanted to kick James Potter and Sirius Black off the field when they started to disobey orders and instead show off on their brooms by swishing around and doing risky dives only to impress the audience sitting in the stands.
Peter and Remus came to see their Quidditch practices most of the times, but those two weren't the audience that James and Sirius were so deliberately trying to amuse.
Jenna couldn't help but to notice that ever since the beginning of their third year, Sirius and James had gained their very own fan club; there were a few giggling girls that came to watch all their Quidditch practices, cheering and gasping whenever the two boys made dangerous moves in the sky.
Not only girls, but even the Gryffindor boys admired those two and looked up to them, and this certainly didn't help the case of James's big ego and Sirius's arrogance.
***
"I would very much like to start the lesson if Potter and Black could just pay attention!" Professor McGonagall's voice came, as sharp as a whip, causing Sirius and James's heads to snap up abruptly.
Sitting at their usual seats in the Transfigurations class, James had a book open on his lap under the table as he and Sirius talked over it in excited whispers, though they immediately fell silent after McGonagall called up to them angrily. James closed the book and quickly pushed it into his bag, turning to face the angry teacher.
With one last warning glare at their direction, Professor McGonagall began the lesson.
"Today, we will be learning how to turn a teapot into a tortoise, and vise versa," she said with a firm voice that always managed to silence the whole class effortlessly. "In Transfigurations, the most important part of performing a spell is the wand movement. Now watch carefully."
She then took out her wand and pointed it at the blackboard, drawing a shape on the board from afar as though with an invisible chuck. The drawing looked like the shape of a shell.
"This is the wrist movement required for this spell," McGonagall went on, once again turning to face the students. "Now, for the incantation —"
"Excuse me, Professor," a voice cut her off. McGonagall turned her head toward the source of the voice, surprised to see that it was Sirius who had his hand raised.
"Yes, Mr. Black? Do you have a question regarding the lesson?"
"More or less," said Sirius, dropping his hand at the permission to speak. "I wanted to ask when we will learn more advanced subjects. Like... I dunno... maybe human transfigurations?"
Jenna looked over at where James and Sirius sat, her eyes narrowing at them suspiciously. She had seen that look on her brother's face way too many time. He was up to something, and she knew it.
"Human transfigurations?" McGonagall repeated. "That sort of magic will be taught to you after the O.W.Ls levels. In your sixth year, you will learn how to change the color of your hair, for instance."
"What about human transformation into animals?" It was James who spoke this time. His Transfigurations book was open before him on the table, and so he picked the book up to show the page and pointed at a certain title. "In talks about Animagi in our book, and we were wondering if we were going to learn more about it."
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Animagi is a subject you will learn about this year, however," McGonagall quickly added the last word when she saw the excited grins appear on James and Sirius's faces, "you will, of course, only learn about the theories relating to Animagi transformation."
"Why?" Sirius asked curtly.
"Because, Mr. Black, becoming an Animagi is way beyond even your N.E.W.T levels. It is an extremely dangerous process. Now, if you could just listen to the lesson at hand, that would do you more good."
Her stern gaze wavered over them, as if daring them to speak. When they remained quiet, McGonagall turned to continue her lesson. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted once more.
"Professor, is it true that you're an Animagus?" James asked, staring at the teacher curiously along with Sirius, never breaking eye contact. Murmurs raised from the rest of the class.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall, growing more and more irritated by each interruption. "It is no secret that I'm an Animagus. Animagi must be announced to the Ministry of Magic. It is illegal to be an unregistered Animagi."
"Can you transform for us?" Sirius asked with a broad grin. Excited looks were exchanged around the class.
Professor McGonagall watched the two boys with hunger in their eyes, thinking it through. At last, she let out a sigh.
"I always transform for my third years to demonstrate the lesson whenever we reach the Animagi topic. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you a bit sooner." McGonagall took a few steps away from her desk, to a safe distance. Everyone was now sitting at the edge of their seats, watching with anticipation glimmering in their eyes.
One moment Professor McGonagall was standing there in her long wizarding robes, but she then transformed and the next moment, a cat sat in the same spot.
The students gasped in awe, some standing up from their seats or craning their necks to take a better look. Jenna was smiling to herself broadly, wishing that her powers could be advanced enough to turn into an animal.
When Professor McGonagall transformed back to her human form, Peter started clapping loudly and the class followed, amazed.
"Very well, that would be enough." Professor McGonagall raised her hands to silence them, though a little smile was formed at the edge of her lips. "Now back to the lesson. Keep your questions for the end of the class, we're already falling behind."
When the lesson came to an end, Sirius and James were first to jump to their feet, quickly packing their books into their bags and dragging Peter and Remus out of the class hurriedly.
"What's with the rush?" Remus groaned, feeling more tired due to the upcoming full moon.
"Just come on. James and I had an excellent idea!" Sirius said with a laugh, running down the hallways with James in the lead.
Once they had reached a secret corridor they had discovered three days ago, the boys finally came to a stop, glad to be somewhere quiet and out of other people's earshot.
"What's this all about, then?" Peter questioned, still panting from the long run.
"It's about this," said James, taking his bag off his shoulder and digging out a large book from inside it. It was the same book he and Sirius were reading under the table at the beginning of the Transfigurations class.
Remus's face fell. He recognized that book. "Where did you get that?"
"The library, of course. Where else?" Sirius scoffed, as though it should've been obvious.
"What is it?" Peter mused, leaning against the stone wall nearby to rest.
"The Life and Dangers of a Werewolf. By Wilbert Slinkhard," James read the words written on the book's cover in silver.
Remus threw his gaze away. He had found the same book in his father's library years ago as soon as he had learnt how to read. What he had read in there was enough to make Remus hate himself for what werewolves had done to humans in the past. The book talked about these vicious beasts and how dangerous they were, saying how they didn't have a place in today's society among other witches and wizards.
"Why would you even read that?" Remus mumbled gloomily, not meeting their eyes.
"Because we wanted to understand what you go through better." James shrugged coolly, trying not to sound too sentimental. "And well... there was also another reason..."
"What?" Remus questioned with a frown, his heart beating rapidly.
"We wanted to find a cure to help you," said Sirius. "We wanted to see if there was a cure, or something —"
"Well, there isn't!" Remus snapped, harsher than he had intended. The full moon set his teeth on edge each time, making him angrier without being able to control it. "There is no mention of a cure in that book, or any other one. Trust me, I've read them all. So you can stop searching."
Remus had hoped that his harsh tone would push James and Sirius away, and make them stop looking more into his condition. He was afraid that if his friends read too much about how vicious werewolves were, they would start to fear him.
But he should've known better. There was nothing that could possibly stand in the way of Sirius Black and James Potter when they set their minds on something.
"Could you just put your furry hormones under control for one second and listen to us?" Sirius retorted, silencing Remus. "Look, we were looking through the book that we suddenly saw something. It's not a cure, but it's something that could really help, and we want to do it."
"What is it?" Remus asked worriedly, looking from one smiley face to another.
"We want to become Animagi," James blurted out with a grin.