Advanced Wizardry

Chapter three Newfound Magic

Kit, are you awake yet? Nita questioned. She was sitting on her bed paging through The Standard Book of Spells Grade Five.

I am now, came his groggy reply.

Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but I wanted to ask if the...Marauders, I think Sapphire called them, had returned, Nita said.

Kit sat up and inspected the room. The four other beds were now occupied. They all seemed exhausted, so much in fact, that all except Remus were asleep.

"Where were you guys all night?" exclaimed Kit in a whisper.

Remus gave Kit a weary smile. "There's no need to whisper; I'm the only light sleeper here. They all sleep like rocks."

"Fine, but where-" Kit started to inquire again.

Remus interceded in a tired, yet polite tone, "Forgive me, Kit, but I really need to rest now."

He did look worse than Kit had ever seen him. "I understand," Kit conceded. He glanced at his bed and decided that he would be unable to fall back asleep, thus he put on his new school uniform and went down to the common room. Sapphire and Nita were sitting by the fire. Sapphire's eyes were bloodshot.

"Did you sleep at all?" Kit asked Sapphire.

She shook her head. "How could I when I was worried about Remmy?"

Nita grinned. "You two really care about one another, huh? How long have you been seeing each other?"

"We fancied one another since we started school, though we just started dating this year," she responded. "Shall we go to breakfast?" Kit's stomach growled. She laughed, "I guess that's 'yes.'"

Kit and Nita followed her into a gigantic room open to the sky with four long tables covered in empty golden plates and goblets. They stared up in wonder.

Sapphire laughed merrily at their surprise. "The ceiling is bewitched to resemble the sky outside," she explained as she sat at one of the tables. Kit and Nita seated themselves beside her.

Soon more students poured into the hall, including James, Sirius, and Peter. "How was your nap?" Sapphire questioned.

"An hour wasn't long enough," whined Peter.

"What are you complaining about? It was fun!" Sirius joyfully declared. "We discovered two more secret passages!"

"And it's better for Moony," James added.

"He's been happier since you started accompanying him," agreed Sapphire.

"It was brilliant of us to think of a way to go with him, and even more astounding that we actually managed it," James vaunted. Sirius nodded in agreement.

"You're such saints," Sapphire told them sarcastically, thought it was obvious she was merely teasing.

James grinned in response.

Nita was becoming increasingly frustrated. She hated to be kept in the dark! Kit, on the other hand, was more irritated by the conceit of Sirius and James.

All of a sudden the plates were laden with food. Nita gasped in shock and Kit's expression became ravenous.

Once the meal, which was exceptionally delicious, was finished Peter voiced, "What's our first class?"

Sirius glanced at what must have been a schedule because he promptly replied, "Transfiguration."

I wonder what it's like, said Nita silently.

I guess we'll soon find out, Kit responded. They followed the rest of the Gryffindors in their year to a classroom where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. Sapphire sat at the front of the room next to a pretty brunette and the Marauders, minus Remus, sat at the back. Kit preferred to be out of James and Sirius' company, and he barely knew Peter; therefore he sat next to Sapphire. Nita shrugged, waved to the boys, and placed herself beside Kit.

The brunette must have seen Nita wave to them because she observed, "So, you already know the Marauders?"

Kit nodded. "What do you know about them?"

The girl shrugged. "Not much; just who they are. There's Sapphire's beloved Responsible Remus..." This caused Sapphire to blush slightly. "...Pathetic Peter, James the Jock, and Seductive Sirius."

Nita turned around and looked at Sirius. He seemed nice and he was very attractive. Is he really seductive? Nita wondered.

Kit must have had a similar thought because he questioned worriedly, "Why do say that about Sirius? What has he done with girls?"

"I believe the proper question is what hasn't he done," the brunette gravely replied.

Sapphire looked at her. "Stella, you make Sirius seem horrible when he is extremely kind to his friends, including me."

The girl, who was presumably Sapphire's best friend Stella Lation, answered calmly, "I never said that he wasn't. I just meant that she," Stella glanced at Nita, "should be careful."

Kit's protectiveness of Nita kicked in again. Maybe she's right and you should be cautious, he said to Nita.

He felt Nita's amused response. I can take care of myself.

I hope so, Kit thought to himself.

"Settle down everyone," Professor McGonagall ordered. Once all was quiet she instructed, "Today we are going to turn candles into logs, so everyone please go get a candle and decipher how to transfigure it."

Nita and Kit both fetched their waxy candles and reseated themselves. Nita began flipping through her Transfiguration book and took out her new wand, not having the slightest idea as to what she should do. Kit, whose specialty was inanimate objects, did not bother with his book. Instead, he spoke to the candle in the Speech.

You don't want to be a candle, just placed into a dusty candleholder to be lit with a match and burn away forever.

Well, then what should I be? the candle asked.

***

After about three minutes of conversing with the candle Kit had convinced it to morph into a large and perfectly shaped birch log. He was the first one to transfigure his candle and all of the students applauded him.

One pupil even commented, "You did it faster than Potter, and he's the best one at Transfiguration in our year."

Kit glanced back at the bespectacled mischief-maker. James was also clapping, though unmistakable envy flickered in his eyes - if only for a second.

As the day went on Nita discovered that with her specialty of living things she excelled in Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. By the time all of the lessons were over she and Kit had left the staff astonished.

"Professor Sprout's expression was priceless," laughed Kit in the common room later.

"I wish I had a picture of it," Nita agreed.

"Speaking of pictures, did you notice that the photographs here move?" Kit questioned.

"Yes, I wanna ask the Marauders how the wizards here do that," Nita replied. She looked around the common room, but did not see them or Sapphire. "They must be in their dorm checking on Remus. Let's go see."

Kit reluctantly followed her up the boys' staircase and they found the door cracked open.

"How did Nita and Kit do their first day?" they heard Remus inquire curiously.

"Fine," came James' dismissive answer.

Kit and Nita cautiously moved closer to the door so they could look through the crack.

Sirius laughed, "Fine? They were great! Prongs is just sulky because Kit is better than he is at Transfiguration."

"One candle does not make him better than me," James defensively snapped. "Anyway, you're only saying how fabulous they were because you think Nita is hot."

Sirius grinned broadly, yet he made no comment.

Kit's stomach bubbled with rage as Nita's cheeks flushed.

Perhaps we shouldn't be spying, stated Nita sheepishly.

We aren't spying, responded Kit, concealing his anger.

What makes you say we're not?

It's only spying if you get caught, he said. Kit felt Nita's noiseless laugh within his mind.

"I'd leave Nita alone if I were you," Sapphire advised Sirius. She was standing behind Remus, who was sitting on his bed, massaging his shoulders. Unsurprisingly, Remus appeared much better than he had earlier.

"Why would I do that?" asked Sirius, amused.

"Because Kit fancies her," she informed simply.

Kit's heart skipped a beat and he hid his next thought from Nita. How does she know that?

"How do you know that?" Sirius and James questioned in unison.

Sapphire shrugged. "Woman's intuition."

"Well, if that's true he's going to be out of luck because I'm going to ask her out anyhow. He's had years to ask her out. It's his fault he hasn't done it already," stated Sirius.

Kit did not want to admit it, however, he was aware that Sirius was accurate.

Sapphire opened her mouth to argue, but Sirius interrupted her. "My mind is made up, Saphy," he told her firmly.

She sighed unhappily.

Peter remarked to break the room's sudden tension, "Are we gonna plan a prank today?"

"Definitely," responded James with a mischievious grin. "We haven't pulled a prank on Snivellus in almost a week."

Sirius looked at Sapphire and said, "Sorry, but this means that you have to go." He did seem truly apologetic.

Sapphire walked toward the door and Remus followed suit. "I really don't appreciate your jokes on our classmates," he admitted to his friends.

"Suit yourself," replied James before whispering to Sirius, "Of course he likes pranks, but he likes snogging Sapphire more," and Sirius chuckled.

Nita and Kit swiftly backed up behind one of the curved walls on the winding staircase as Remus and Sapphire came out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"I wish that Sirius wouldn't-" Sapphire began.

Remus put his finger over her lips. "Don't worry about it. Everything'll work out the way that it is supposed to," he assured her.

Sapphire nodded, clearly feeling a bit better about the matter if Remus had confidence in it. "Do you want to go to the library so I can give you the notes you missed today?" suggested Sapphire.

Remus glanced at his watch. "Later. Right now the sun is setting, and I know that you love to watch the sunset over the lake."

"Yes, I do, but your grades are important to you."

"They're important," agreed Remus, "but not nearly as important as your happiness."

Sapphire kissed him lovingly. "OK, let's go." They walked down the stairs holding hands.

Awww (gag), Nita and Kit both thought. Once they were certain that Remus and Sapphire had made it through the portrait hole they walked back down into the empty common room. There was an awkward silence. Nita wanted to know if Kit really did have feelings for her, though she was unsure of how to bring it up.

"Sapphire, erm, said some weird stuff," mumbled Nita.

"Uh-huh," Kit answered shortly. He did not want to confess his emotions to her. How would she react? Would it ruin their friendship? Instead, he changed the subject. "Sirius said odd things, too."

Nita's cheeks went slightly pink; she couldn't help it.

When she did not respond Kit asked, "You aren't going to go out with him, are you?"

Her cheeks were red now. "I was considering it," she muttered.

"But, Neets, you can't!" Kit exclaimed.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do," said Nits indignantly. "I'll go out with him if I want to." She turned on her heel and stormed up the girls' staircase.

Kit sighed exasperatedly, Now what am I going to do?