Punk Rawk Show

The Sun

Before most people were ready, it was time to return to Hogwarts. Minerva had brought the Sorting Hat home one day, and Christ and Megan were both sorted into Gryffindor. They spent the night with Lily before going to King's Cross Station, seeing as McGonagall had to be at Hogwarts at least one day before the students. Megan was beginning to get slightly...touchy. It was, after all only about a week to the full moon. If the Evans noticed, however, they didn't say anything. Well, Petunia made several comments about it, but no one listened to her, because apparently she said things like that all the time about everyone magical.

When they got to King's Cross Station, Mr. and Mrs. Evans dropped the girls off outside the station, letting them find their own way to the platform. It didn't take long, and they were early enough that there were plenty of empty compartments. They drug their trunks inside one and flopped down. It wasn't too long before more people started arriving, and claiming compartments. Eventually, Christ left to find something to drink. As she was coming back, she saw something that she really wished she hadn't.

A boy with long, dark hair was sitting alone on a bench, glancing through a book, clearly waiting for someone. Right behind him, Christ saw Sirius and James. She was about to call out to them, when she saw them sneak up behind the boy sitting on the bench. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but she heard enough to know it wasn't anything good. All of a sudden, James pulled out his wand and performed a hex that Christ couldn't hear. It knocked the dark haired boy backward off the bench.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Christ asked, very mad.

"What do you mean?" James asked, looking up. "I personally think he deserves it."

"Why?" Christ asked in a dangerous voice.

"Well, mostly because he's who he is," James answered. Christ was surprised that Sirius wasn't speaking up more.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Christ asked. She didn't give James a chance to answer. "You know, it's know wonder Lily refuses to go out with you." She turned towards the boy on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," the boy replied gruffly, getting to his feet. After closer inspection, he asked, "Are you new to Hogwarts? I don't remember seeing you before."

"Yeah. I'm Christ Reynolds, by the way," Christ answered, extending her hand.

"Severus Snape," the boy replied. As he finished saying this, the whistle blew.

"Should we continue this conversation on the train?" Christ asked. Snape shrugged. When they climbed on the train, Christ continued, "I'd offer you a seat in our compartment, but something tells me that I'll have trouble getting back in."

"Why'd you stick up for me?" Severus asked.

"I really can't stand it when people bully others," Christ answered, shrugging.

"Well, you realize that you are now on their hit list?" Severus asked.

"I doubt it. They'll just be mad at me for a couple of days, couple of hours, maybe. Then they'll be back to their normal self until the next time I get sick of their normal selves. And then the cycle will start back over all over again," Christ said.

"Uh-huh," Severus shrugged, doubtfully. "Whatever, I've gotta go. See you around." With that, he walked off. Christ stared after him for a second, then shrugged and walked back to her compartment.

When she got there, she saw that she was right. There was just enough room for her to squeeze in between Megan and the wall in the compartment. James, Sirius, Remus, and a boy that must be Peter had decided to join them.

"Why did you have to do that? And I want an honest answer, not just bullshit," Christ said, sending James and Sirius an icy smile.

"What have you been doing now?" Remus asked, as Lily asked, "Just what did you do?"

"Do you want to tell them?" Christ asked. James shook his head vehemently, while Sirius tried to pretend like he didn't care. "You know, if your not proud of something you've done, maybe you shouldn't do it." Her tone could have froze hell over.

"You were hexing Snape again, weren't you?" Lily asked, a disgusted look on her face.

"Um," James said, trying to come up with an answer that wasn't a lie, but that wouldn't get him in much trouble. "We only hexed him once?"

Lily's eyes narrowed. James visibly shrank farther back in his seat. "You just attacked him? What was he doing to you?"

"Uh, well," Sirius started. He glanced frantically at James, who could only shrug back helplessly.

"Why do I even bother?" Lily said out loud, although it was clear she was talking to herself. "I think he might have changed, but of course he hasn't. Why the hell do I even bother?" She walked out of the compartment. Megan and Christ glanced at each other, and then Megan got up and followed.

"Now," Christ said. "Back to the original question. Why did you do that?"

"Well, you see," James started, looking dejected since Lily had left. "It's this feud between Gryffindors and Slytherins. It dates all the way back when the school was founded."

"Yes, that explains a lot," Christ said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You know, if we hadn't gotten Snape first, he and his little gang would have been in here already hexing us," Sirius pointed out.

"At least you could say you were defending yourself then," Christ retaliated. "It's pitiful that you think you have to attack two against one who isn't even paying attention."

"She's got a point, you know," an icy voice from the compartment door put in.

"You just had to grace us with your presence, didn't you Lucy?" Christ groaned without turning around.

"Ah, but of course," he responded. "I couldn't let one of my friends get attacked without retaliating."

"Awfully big word for you, isn't it?" Christ asked. "How did you manage not to choke?" She finally turned around. Standing in the doorway, besides Lucius, there was Narcissa and Regulus Black, Rabastan Lestrange, Severus Snape, and a few others. "Never go anywhere without an entourage, do you Luc?"

"Do you think the big words impress us or something?" Lucius asked.

"Well, if you knew what they meant, they might. However, simple-minded Slytherins like yourself wouldn't care," Christ said, her smile obviously fake.

"Just what is going on here?" Christ heard Lily ask from the hallway.

"Ah, mudblood, just in time," Lucius said, allowing Lily and Megan to get through.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Lily spat.

"Why don't you make me," Lucius said. That was just what he wanted. If Lily shot a spell at Lucius, then, according to the Reynolds Family Rules, Christ had to defend him. He didn't care if she was two years younger than him, that girl had power.

"Don't do it, Lily," Christ warned, knowing exactly what he was planning. "Why don't you all just leave?"

"Make us," Narcissa said, twirling her wand. Suddenly, she stopped idly twirling and fired a spell into the compartment. It glanced off Christ, and would have hit her full if she hadn't transformed at the last second.

Christ smirked. "I do believe we will. Your Narcissa, right? I'll say this for you, you're well named." With that, she started firing curses, and blocking others almost as fast. Sirius and James joined in, happy about getting to fight Slytherins and not get in trouble with the girls for it. Remus refused to join until he was hit with a tickling hex. Once he had removed it, he started in with full force. Megan had backed up Christ. Lily looked torn about what to do. Everything in her head was screaming that if she wanted to keep her prefect badge, then she shouldn't join. However, Lucius had just called her 'mudblood' one to many times. She joined the fray. Peter got off a few curses as well, although he was better at shielding than at hexing and cursing. To the Slytherins surprise, Lucius just stood there. It was taking all of his will not to join the Gryffindors. He couldn't help it. The Family Rules were really kicking in. When Regulus grabbed his arm, motioning for him to start hexing, he simply shook his head and left the carriage.

Suddenly, Slytherins started to fly from the compartment one by one. When the last one was gone, Christ closed and locked the door, placing an Unbreakable charm on it.

"What was that about not fighting until fired upon?" James asked, grinning. He had missed the first hex that had hit Christ.

Christ pointed to the thin trickle of blood on her arm. None of them were too hurt, thanks to Peter's skills at defensive magic. "That's what happened," she said, smirking slightly. "Fired upon."

"Oh," James said, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Well, that was fun, anyway," Sirius grinned, triumphantly.

"Fun? You think fighting for your life is fun?" Lily asked.

"It's not like a bunch of fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years can do much harm," James shrugged.

"Yeah, they could," Christ said. Sirius nodded. "I bet I could think of at least four different ways to kill you, all without the Avada Kedarva curse." She said it so simply it was as if she was commenting on the weather. Sirius didn't look surprised, although that was were it ended. Even Megan's mouth was hanging open. "What?"

"Well, how many people do you know that could do that?" Remus asked. Christ was about to answer, when Remus added, "Wait, don't answer that. Your entire family, I know. I however, only really know you 2." He pointed at Sirius and Christ, who both shrugged.

"All good Dark families teach their children it," Sirius said, shrugging again.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Can't have them all using underage magic, now can we?" Christ said. "We can't teach them how to pick up after themselves, even though they can't use Banishing and Summoning charms, because we have house elves for that, but we can teach them how to kill. Not just defend. Kill." Everyone was somber for a moment. Christ decided to do something about it. "Green acres is the place for me!"

Megan grinned and joined in. "Farm living is the life for me!"

"You take that awful city life! Honey, I love ya, but give me that country side!"

Megan tuned in again, singing the female part. "New York is where I'd rather stay," she sang, dragging out the 'new' and accenting the 'york.' "I get allergic when I'm smelling hay! I love this window's pent house view! Honey, I love ya, but give me Park Avenue!"

"The chores!" Christ continued.

"The stores!"

"Fresh air!"

"Bellaire!"

"You are my wife!"

"Good-bye city life!"

Together, they sang, "Green acres we are there*!"

"What the hell was that all about?" Sirius asked, staring at them.

"Just comic intervention," Christ said, shrugging.

"Yeah-huh. Sure," Lily said.

"What, wasn't it funny?" Megan asked innocently. "If you don't think that one was, you should hear some of our others!"

"Really now?" Remus asked, eyebrows raised.

Megan nodded. "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale," she sang.

"A tale of a fateful trip," Christ joined in. From there on out, they sang together. "That started on this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailor man, the skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour. A three hour tour."

"The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost. The Minnow would be lost. The ship set sail on the shore of this uncharted desert isle. With Gilligan. The skipper, too. A millionaire, and his wife. A movie star, and the rest, are here on Gilligan's Isle!"

"Should we sing the next part?" Christ asked. Megan nodded, so they continued. "Now this is the tale of our castaways. They're hear for a long, long time. They'll have to make the best of things, it's an uphill climb. The first mate and his skipper, too, will do their very best. To make the others comfortable on the tropic island-ness." Here they broke off into parts. Megan started, "No phone!"

"No lights!"

"No motor car!"

"Not a single luxury!"

They came together again. "Like Robinson Crusoe, it's primitive as can be. Now join us here each week my friend, you're sure to get a smile. From seven stranded castaways, here on Gilligan's Isle*!"

"Just how many of those do you know?" Lily asked, amidst applause.

"Quite a few," Christ said. She started another, "Sunday, Monday, Happy Days." Before she could continue, however, Lily threw up her hands.

"Fine! I admit defeat!" She exclaimed.

"I always win," Christ smirked.

"Sure you do. And for the times you don't, you just get selective amnesia," Megan said, smirking right back. Christ huffed.

"I am insulted!" She exclaimed, trying not to laugh. Megan just nodded, a grin on her face, looking like the cat that had swallowed the canary.

"I do believe they are as bad as you two," Lily said, shaking her head, and motioning towards James and Sirius, who grinned.

The rest of the trip to Hogwarts was like that. Absolutely no one could calm down after the song, and everyone was hyper. They were practically bouncing off the walls when they finally got to Hogsmeade Station.

Christ, Megan, and the rest climbed into one of the carriages. At her first glimpse of the castle, she was awestruck. No matter how many descriptions you had heard, or how many pictures you had seen, nothing did it justice. It just wasn't the same as seeing it in person.

"Impressed much?" Sirius asked, grinning. All Christ could do was nod. However, the speechlessness had worn off before they got to the actual castle, and she was back to being hyper like the rest of them.

"Hello, I was asked to meet you specifically," McGonagall said formally, meeting them at the top of the steps to the Entrance Hall. Christ raised her eyebrows. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm sure your friends can show you around." With that, she turned around, and turned into a hallway.

"Probably going to meet first years," Remus said. "Well, follow us." He started walking, and turned into a doorway. Christ followed. She gasped as soon as she had stepped inside.

The place was huge! Her mouth was hanging open as she looked all around. Then, Lily nudged her, and told her to look up. When she did, she was in even more awe. You could actually see the sunset. She was very impressed.

She managed to make it over to the table, and sit down between Megan and Sirius. James sat beside Sirius, with Remus and Peter across from them, and Lily across from Christ.

"Now, for an announcement. We have two students transferring here from the United States. Miss Johnson, Miss Reynolds, if you'll please stand up," Dumbledore said from the front of the room. Christ and Megan did, and they both waved to everyone in the room before sitting back down. "On with the Sorting," Dumbledore added, sitting back down himself. Quite a few first years were sorted. Then, Dumbledore stood up again.

"I would like to remind all of you, especially a select few," he said, staring, for the briefest of seconds, at the Marauders. McGonagall stared longer. "That the Forbidden Forest was named that for a reason. I do believe, however, that there have been no new additions to the 'Things Banned in the Corridors' list, although for a complete list, you will have to speak with Mr. Filch personally. Now, enjoy." With that, the plates filled, and everyone began eating.

Secret

The next day, Megan and Christ woke up before Lily and the other girl in their dorm, Alice something. They never had caught her last name.

"Lets go down to the common room," Megan whispered to Christ. Christ sat up, and started getting dressed. Megan was already dressed. She always did get up too early, in Christ's opinion. They silently made their way down to the common room, so they wouldn't wake up the other girls.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you. What was the law?" Christ started, after they had sat in silence for about 10 minutes. It sounded very cryptic to anyone who would just happen to walk in, since they would have absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

"It was saying that any...you know...that went to a regular school, would have to go to a...special facility for the week around the full moon. Dad went up to Montana, where it was going to be located, to check it out. He said," Megan was explaining. All of a sudden they heard a creak on the stairs, and she stopped. "I'll tell you later."

Sirius, James, and Remus came down the stairs. They looked shocked to see the girls in the room.

"What are you doing down here?" James asked, obviously not at his smartest. Christ hoped it was due to lack of sleep, and that he wasn't like this all the time.

"Plotting against you," Christ smiled innocently.

"Well, that's nice," James said, heading towards to portrait hole. "Hey, wait. What?" Apparently, what Christ had said had finally been comprehended.

"Just kidding," Christ said, rolling her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Down to breakfast," Sirius yawned. "Wanna join us?"

Christ and Megan glanced at each other. "Sure," they both answered. They stood up, and all of them left the common room. On the way, they met Peeves.

"Why hello," he said, being quite friendly. The Marauders were even better at causing chaos that he was, so they got along very well.

"Hey, Peeves," Sirius answered, grinning. He was definitely the favorite, followed by James. Peeves didn't like Remus all that much, probably because he was the only student to ever got the best of him. Peeves thought that Peter lacked the proper mischievous spirit.

"And what are you doing this fine day?" the Poltergeist asked.

"Trying to find some breakfast, and showing some friends around the castle. By the way, this is Christ and this is Megan," James said, motioning to each girl in turn.

"Are they trust-worthy?" Peeves asked, meaning, 'Can they prank?'

"Of course," Sirius asked, acting insulted. "Why would we hang around with anyone who can't?"

"Well, James likes that Evans girl," Peeves pointed out. "Anyway, must be going. I've got lots of first years to make lost!"

The group continued on their way. When they got to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall handed them their schedules.

"You know, I never expected to see you up this early," she commented to Christ, who grinned.

"This is probably the first and last time, don't worry," Christ said, sitting down to eat breakfast.

The rest of the school slowly trickled in. "I didn't think any of you were ever early risers," Lily commented when she sat down next to Megan.

"As we told Aunt Minerva," Christ said. "It's probably the first and last time."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Gryffindor losers," Lucius said, coming into the Great Hall. He had the same group of Slytherins with him that he had on the train yesterday.

"What, you have to have a dozen people and a room full of teachers before you can attack people two years younger than you? That's sad," Christ said, glancing at him, then turning back to her breakfast.

"I take it you think you're an expert?" Lucius asked.

"On you being sad? Probably," Christ answered, not looking up.

"Why aren't you getting mad?" Narcissa asked. The girl always was slow.

"Because I'm not stupid enough to use magic in front of the entire staff," Christ said, smiling sweetly. "However, you are more than welcome to go ahead."

"And why would she do that?" Regulus asked, shoving Narcissa's arm down.

"Because, dear brother, as our cousin has shown repeatedly, she isn't all that smart," Sirius explained calmly.

"Well, at least I'm smart enough to know which side my bread is buttered on," Narcissa sneered.

"Do you even know what that means?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Narcissa shot back, although she didn't look all that sure.

"Uh-huh sure," Christ said sarcastically, turning back around to eat breakfast.

No matter what the Slytherins did, she wouldn't turn back around. James and Sirius continued until they saw Professor McGonagall coming over, and then they turned around to act like they hadn't been doing anything.

They started goofing off, and, somehow or another, started discussing the merits of time travel.

"I can see it now!" James joked. "We go back to Merlin's time, and kill a fly. We get back to this time and here comes McGonagall. 'Just what have you four done to make this happen?' People's skin will be blue and pink, and trees will grow upside down, all because we killed that fly."

"Yeah, I'm sure that is what will happen!" Christ said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you never know!" James said, trying to defend his story, but knowing it didn't really make any sense.

"Yeah, that's what caused everything to change colors. I, personally, think it would be because you go back in time and sneeze in Merlin's potion," Christ said, getting up to get ready for class.

"Well, I guess that could be it," James said grudgingly.

"Just what are you planning?" Lily asked. She had been talking to a friend from Ravenclaw when she saw them start to leave. She had hurried over because she still wanted to talk to Christ and Megan.

"I believe those two," Megan said, pointing at Christ and James. "Are planning to go back in time to kill Merlin's pet fly and sneeze in his potion, making everyone blue and pink and trees grow upside down." Christ and James both nodded, looking quite proud of themselves. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well, we didn't expect you to like it," Christ said, pretending to pout. "And we know that you couldn't ruin one potion or kill one fly to make everything change."

"At least you have a little," Lily started, but James cut her off. "Yeah, you'd have to ruin everyone's potion or kill every fly. Do you realize how messy that would be?"

"Just what are you doing?" McGonagall asked, coming up behind them.

"Nothing, I swear," James answered. "Really!" He exclaimed when she looked doubtful.

"Really, Professor, they were just plotting how they could go back in time to make everyone pink and blue," Peter explained.

"Thanks, are you trying to get us in trouble?" Christ asked, trying not to laugh. Peter just grinned innocently. "We were just joking. You know, someone says something crazy and then the next person builds on it, and then the first one adds a little more, and before you know it, you've got upside-down trees, and pink and blue people!"

"I should give you both a detention. Or at least take away house points," McGonagall said.

"But we don't have any points!" Sirius exclaimed. He pointed to the hourglasses, all of which were empty.

McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Fine, I guess it can wait until we do have some. You had better do good in your classes today to make me forget about this!" With that, she walked off.

"You know what we should do tonight?" Sirius exclaimed, when she was out of earshot.

"What?" Remus asked. He was the only one paying enough attention to what was being said by everyone in the group to realize that anything had been said. James was staring at Lily, who was ignoring him. Christ and Megan were having a frantic whispering conversation. Peter just looked lost in his own world.

"We need to have a 'Welcome to Hogwarts' Party!" Sirius said, grinning.

"Isn't that what the Welcoming Feast was for?" Peter asked, pulling himself back to present day.

"No, no, no. That was in general. We need to have a party for just Gryffindors, mainly because no one else can get into the tower, to show Christ and Megan just how awesome Hogwarts really is!"

"Yeah. It's damn fun when you're stuck in detention for a stupid party," Lily pointed out. The boys didn't seem to hear her, however.

"We could smuggle stuff in from Hogsmeade, and while we're there, we could get some stuff for our private stores!" James was whispering excitedly to Sirius, Lily long forgotten. If truth be told, Lily looked a little put out that he could forget about her so easily.

They finally reached Gryffindor Tower again, and went inside to get their books for the first lesson, Potions.

"I wonder how this class will be," Megan said, distractedly.

"The teacher, Professor Kale, is really biased towards Slytherin," Lily said, digging for her book. As she said this, the other three girls they shared the dorm with walked in.

"Yeah, I heard," the one with light brown hair was saying. She stopped when she saw the other three already in the dormitory.

"Oh, you don't have to stop on our account," Christ smirked, correctly guessing that they had been talking about her and Megan. "We were just leaving."

The other girls watched them leave, and then went back to talking. Christ stopped right outside the door, planning on eavesdropping.

"Come on," Megan laughed. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"And if it's something that's true?" Christ asked, although she did start towards the stairs.

"Then there isn't anything we can do about it anyway," Megan shrugged. They continued down the stairs, and saw the boys waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Sirius asked, finally spotting the girls coming down the stairs.

"We had to convince Christ not to eavesdrop," Megan said, greeting Remus as if she hadn't seen him in five years instead of five minutes. Ever since Remus had asked her out a week ago, they'd been almost impossible to separate for more than a minute.

"Whatever. Let's go, we don't want to be late," Peter said, glancing around nervously. The group left the common room as the gossipers came back downstairs. The group of seven hurried to the dungeons, barely making it in time. The gossipers were late, and lost five points for Gryffindor each.

"Well, another year," Professor Kale smirked as she walked back to the front of the classroom after closing the door. "I'm happy to see some new faces. Maybe you can raise the collective grade for Gryffindor." She was smirking at Christ and Megan, clearly thinking they had to be really bad at Potions to be in Gryffindor.

Christ and Megan glanced at each other. Potions was something they were both pretty good at. Megan was excellent in Charms, while Christ was awesome at Transfiguration. Neither was absolutely horrible in either subject, however. They could pass History of Magic, although it was mostly through out of class work, and Christ tried harder, and therefore got better grades, than Megan. They were both good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy weren't bad subjects, but they weren't necessarily good subjects either. Those were the only subjects they had, they had, because they were the only ones the girls could agree on. It turned out Lily took Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as well, while Remus took Ancient Runes. All of the boys took Divination, and all of the boys but Remus took Care of Magical Creatures. None of the girls really saw what the attraction was with Care of Magical Creatures, but it was a popular choice with most people.

"Well, now that we're all here," Professor Kale said, glaring at the three girls who had come in late. "We will begin. Work in partners today." She tapped the chalkboard at the front of the room, and the instructions appeared.

Christ and Megan partnered up, mainly to prove that they weren't as stupid as the Professor apparently thought. James and Sirius went together, as did Remus and Peter. Lily reluctantly went with the spare gossiper.

The potion they were making today was a Strengthening Potion. It was basically a review for Christ and Megan, but they weren't sure about the rest of the class. From the looks of it, it was a review for them, too. Everyone was still managing to mess it up, however. Peter and Remus had managed to make their potion orange instead of blue. James and Sirius's was yellow. Lily's was the closest, but it was still green.

"How can you be this stupid?" Professor Kale asked Peter and Remus. "This is the exact wrong color. How about after the lesson, one of you sample it. Maybe that will inspire you to try harder." She stalked away, leaving Peter looking positively petrified.

"It'll be okay," they heard James whisper.

"How?" Peter questioned. "It'll just go from bad to worse."

Christ and Megan glanced at each other. "Sirius!" Christ hissed.

"What?" he asked, leaning back slightly, so as not to attract as much attention.

"I'm going to tell you what they should do, and then you are going to tell them," Christ said. "Start with adding another boomslang skin, because they've got double the amount of rats' eyes that are supposed to be in there. They'll have to double most of the rest of it, but not all of it, so check back before you add anything else." Sirius nodded and leaned over to whisper to Remus. Peter was about to break down, so they didn't want to risk telling him.

Meanwhile, as their potion only had to simmer for another few minutes, Megan had started telling Lily what to do, while her 'partner' focused on her nails. Christ noticed James glancing around nervously, obviously concerned about his potion, which was starting to bubble with amazing speed.

"Take it off the fire!" Christ hissed. James immediately did what he was told. It still bubbled, but not as much. "If you add a fourth of a boomslang skin, preferably with a leg, and half of a newt's tail, it'll be fine. When it quits bubbling after that, let it boil for another minute, and then let it simmer until times up."

"Thanks," James whispered, turning around to do as instructed.

"Now what do they do?" Sirius whispered, leaning back in his chair again.

"Add another newt's tail," Christ whispered back.

They kept this up until it was time for Peter and Remus to test their potion. Peter looked at their now blue potion in shock. The last time he had seen it, it had been yellow!

"I did adding," Remus told him. "You get to test it." Peter didn't look nearly as reluctant to do that now, seeing as the potion was blue.

"Gladly," he said, ladling out a goblet full of potion. He took a drink, and didn't instantly drop dead, which they took as a good sign.

"Which of you helped them?" Professor Kale sneered at the four groups. Lily and her partner look genuinely confused. "Was it you two?" she asked James and Sirius.

"Honestly, Professor, think who you're talking to," James said sweetly. "We nearly failed Potions last year!"

"Yet your potion is the correct color today," the professor observed.

"Yeah, because it's a review. Really, how stupid do you think we are?" Sirius exclaimed, trying to look offended.

"Alright then. What about you two?" Kale barked at Christ and Megan.

"We didn't help them. You would have heard us!" Christ pointed out. Kale seemed to accept that, because she told the class to bottle part of their potion, label it, and put it on her desk. They did what they were told, and then quickly left the room.

"Thank you so much for the help," Remus said to Christ once they were far enough away from the classroom.

"No problem," Christ smirked. "Anytime. Maybe we should consider different partner combinations."

"No, really? You both rule at potions, and none of us are any good. We need more help!" Sirius exclaimed. Christ and Megan both grinned.

"At least split up between the two tables," James said. "That way you can help everyone without running the risk of someone hearing it wrong, and then passing it on wrong."

"Fine," Megan said, rolling her eyes. "Which of you need the most help? I would assume it wouldn't be Lily, seeing as she would have been fine without her partner."

"I need lots of help!" Peter exclaimed. The others just grinned.

"Who do you want to help you?" Christ asked, smiling slightly.

Peter glanced between Sirius and Remus, who were both glaring at them, although no one but the boys could tell. "Um...I don't care, whoever wants to."

"Well, lets see here," Megan started. By this time they had gotten out of the dungeons and were heading towards the Transfiguration classroom. "Remus, you probably don't need the help. You could go with any of the others, and probably be fine. One of you two, however, probably need help, seeing as you managed to turn your potion yellow! At least you shouldn't go together, anymore," Megan said, rounding on Sirius and James.

"Fine," Sirius said, seeing an opportunity to turn this to his advantage. "Christ and I will be partners, Megan will help Peter, and James, Remus, and Lily, will shuffle around." Remus glared at Sirius slightly, but quickly agreed.

The bell rang for Transfiguration and all of the class quickly took their seats.

"Today," McGonagall said, swooping into the classroom. "We will be working on transfiguring a clock into a bird. Everyone get out your wands and choose a clock. This year, as it's your OWL year, you will be partnered together based on your skills in this class. Hopefully, that will let some of you who aren't as skilled get help from someone who understands it, and will be able to help you more than I will. In my experience, you communicate much better with peers than teachers. You will go to them with questions you wouldn't dare go to a teacher with. Maybe this way you can advance further than if I was the only one teaching you. It will also help those of you who do well in Transfiguration, because when you have to break something down for someone that doesn't understand it, you learn better as well. Lets get started."

Everyone immediately set to work. James finished first. He smirked smugly, letting the little canary sit on his finger. Christ finished about ten seconds later, allowing her golden eagle to swoop around the room. She grinned winningly at James, who pretended to pout.

"Christ!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Kindly get your bird under control!"

"Sure, Professor," Christ smirked, guiding the bird back down with her wand.

Sirius was the nest to finish. After about five minutes, Remus, Megan, and Lily finished, all within seconds of each other. Finally, about a minute later, the first Hufflepuff, Amelia Bones, managed to get it. She actually got it really fast, and probably would have been first or second if she had Transfiguration with any other house, including Ravenclaw.

"That's enough," McGonagall said about ten minutes later. The people who had transfigured their clocks were getting rowdy, and no one else had managed it after Amelia, anyway. "You can work in groups of three. As our two new students are already done, we can group up now. Alright, lets start with...Mr. Macmillan," she said, seemingly picking a student at random.

"Um...Amelia? Can you help me?" he asked, somewhat shy.

"Sure, Kevin," Amelia smiled.

"Miss Diggory?" McGonagall called next.

"How about Sirius?" The girl and her friend started giggling madly. Sirius grinned suggestively, clearly used to this sort of thing. Christ and Megan glanced at each other, and rolled their eyes.

"Mr. Pettigrew?" McGonagall called.

"Um..." Peter glanced around at all of his friends that he could chose from.

"I hereby forbid you to pick Potter or Black," McGonagall said, realizing what could possibly result.

"Alright. Remus?" Peter asked. When Remus nodded, he sighed in relief.

"This feels like picking teams for a game," Christ commented, meaning for only Megan to hear, but the whole class did, instead.

"What a good idea, Miss Reynolds," McGonagall said, stressing Christ's last name to make up for her earlier slip. "At the end of the year, to see how much you've learned, we will have a contest. The team that scores the most in theory, history, and practical wins. What, I'm not sure yet. It could be making the other teams do something, it could be house points, it could be bonus, it could be about anything." Most of the students' eyes lit up. Only the few at the absolute bottom of the class didn't like this idea. "Anyway, lets continue. Mr. Thomas?"

"Lily," he stated. Lily calmly nodded, but James looked furious.

"Miss Sanders?"

"James," the girl answered instantly, and started giggling with her friend much like Diggory had done when she chose Sirius. James smiled, but not the same way Sirius had.

"Mr. Birkwood?"

"Amelia," the boy said.

This continued for a while until there were only four people left, and only Megan and Christ hadn't been chosen.

"Mr. Abbott?" McGonagall called.

"Um, the red-head," he said, pointing to Megan.

"The name's Megan," she said, amused.

"Mr. Smith?"

"The other one," he said, pointing at Christ. It was clear that Abbott and Smith didn't get along.

"Miss Abbott?" McGonagall called. A girl who looked almost exactly like the first Abbott seemed to be thinking. Eventually, she chose Christ.

"Miss Adams, you're with Megan. Everyone split up into your groups to get to know each other, and so that you can get help transfiguring your clock," McGonagall barked. Everyone groaned, and no one moved.

"Come on. I'm sure no one here will bite," McGonagall said impatiently. She saw Christ glance at Megan. Before she could do anything to stop it, Megan conjured up a fish bowl full of water, and Christ took a running leap, landing in the bowl as a piranha. She gave what was probably a grin, although it was hard to tell. McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Well, no one but Miss Reynolds. I pity her group. I hope you can get her to act serious for at least a few minutes at a time." The two members of her group looked slightly worried.

"I'm not always like this, am I?" Christ asked Megan, taking a leap out of the bowl and transforming back.

"No," Megan said, shaking her head. Christ looked triumphant. Then, Megan added, "Usually you're much worse." Christ glared at her. "I'd watch it, you're starting to look like one of your least favorite people."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Christ exclaimed.

"Truth hurts," Megan said, trying not to laugh. Christ pretended to pout.

"What have I done?" McGonagall asked, more to herself than to anyone else. She doubted if any of the leaders of the groups would take this seriously. Well, she should take that back. Lily and Amelia would, and Remus would most of the time. Megan might, as long as her group was never near any of her friends. If her group was near Remus', neither would be serious. "I should probably just go ahead and congratulate one of you," McGonagall said to Lily and Amelia. "If they keep that up, it's going to be one of you easily."

"Well," Christ said, walking over to where the other two members of her group were standing. "What's your names? And not just last names, because those are obvious."

"I'm Zachary," the boy answered, somewhat amused.

"I'm Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Beth," the girl answered shyly, entwining her fingers with the boy next to her.

"So that's the reason her brother doesn't like you," Christ said, comprehendingly. At their blank looks, she explained. "The death glares that he was giving you were pretty strong. Anyway, I'm Christ. Now, let's get started!"