* - - first you gotta learn (james potter)

[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Aubrey had so many things on her mind and now wasn’t the time to have all of those thoughts on her mind. She had recently broken up with Scorpius Malfoy and kissed Frank Longbottom at the Masquerade Ball and when it comes to Aubrey it puts a lot on the young blonde’s mind. But she needed to clear her mind; today she would be trying the animagus spell out for the very first time with her good friend James Potter. She sighed softly as she got off of her four poster bed, already dressed in her school uniform, minus her cloak as she headed on out of the Gryffindor Common room. It had been planned to meet James at the Room of Requirement after all.

She spent the walk to the Room of Requirement trying to clear her mind the best she could. She knew that if it wasn’t cleared she’d probably screw up the spell and she knew that if you screwed up the spell, well it wouldn’t be pretty and then her and James would be in major trouble if they had to bring her to the Hospital Wing, but she knew that, that couldn’t happen. They could get expelled if it was found out that the two of them were working on becoming animagus.

Soon she was outside where the Room of Requirement was located. No door had appeared yet as she had planned on waiting for James to show up so that they could decide together how the room of requirement should be for the two of them. She leaned on the wall opposite of where the room was located and silently waited for James to show up. She tried her best to not be so noticeable when others walked by but it seemed that many of them had been off in their own world, perhaps thinking of the upcoming Holidays and the Yule Ball.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James didn't know if Aubrey was waiting for him or not, but he was excited about this lesson to get things done faster. Tugging on some casual clothing for a change cause he knew that he'd be ripping it up if he didn't do this transformation right. That was the whole point though was to transmogrify clothing too so that it wasn't in the way when you did change into your animal form. Normally the form that was given to your patronus, and James's patronus was still a mystery to even him. Some would say it was a bear, but he was pretty certain the last time he had looked it was a mountain lion when he had cast it in defense against the dark arts.

Such a rudimentary defensive charm, and now here he was pacing the hall in hopes that Aubrey was waiting for him where they needed to be. Remembering the exact meeting place was easy, but if he had to just find out she had stood him up on this so-called exercise he wouldn't be happy. Being late was never one of James's strong suits, but at least he did show up on time usually. Finally walking up the staircase that had taken him to the wrong floor...again, and had jumped off to land on the seventh floor platform. Finally clutching on to the railing nearby he managed to upright himself as he looked back over his shoulder at the rather threatening drop. Surely someone would have saved him if he fell?

Nah, he could save himself and use that free-falling charm to make himself as light as a feather, but had to be careful with how he used it. Finally reaching Aubrey and almost tripping over himself as he waved her down, smirking as he did this the whole time. "Aubrey, how long have you been waiting? And what on Earth are we going to make the Room of Requirement be today? Probably something with a wide-open space so we don't knock over anything with enough transfiguration lessons to make us get it down right on the first try," he chuckled as he mentioned this but did think really hard on the fact that they wanted to learn transfiguration into an animal faster than normal. Perhaps the room of requirement would grant them their boon if they asked nicely.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Aubrey, how long have you been waiting? And what on Earth are we going to make the Room of Requirement be today? Probably something with a wide-open space so we don't knock over anything with enough transfiguration lessons to make us get it down right on the first try,” Aubrey roller her eyes at the first part. You’d think James would know by now that he had a tendency to keep her waiting and at times she found it rather annoying. She tired her best though to not complain; after all, he did at least show up right? And then there was that saying ‘better late than never’ perhaps it was something that James lived by. “Well we’ll definitely need space, that’s one thing for sure. And any books on animagus the room is willing to give us. Some nice chairs to sit in would be nice…

[/color]” she started off as she began to walk back and forth. “Perhaps a refreshment area in case we get thirsty or hungry from working so far. Butterbeer would be nice oh and chocolate to help us out after all it’s best for when we are worn down.[/color]” and of course chocolate was delicious, there was no denying that.

But soon after she walked back and forth in front of the wall three times a door magically appeared. “Well shall we go in?[/color]” she asked lightly as she looked over at James. She hoped that he was find with what she thought up for the room, she figured it should suit the two of them quite well. Or at least she hoped so.[/justify][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James soon looked at Aubrey and shrugged his shoulders as he took on one of those cool poses smirking as he just watched her thinking. "Just choose a room with pie in it and I'll make sure it ends up being used in a very fashionable way. Just be warned you'll be wearing it by the time we're done or some form of food," he said to her smirking softly. Even with the snack food there, James still had that mischievous glint in his eyes, and luckily he wasn't threatening her with anything else like the tickling jinx. Of course that was too easy and he'd rather do something that she'd actually want to fight back against him with. James was just having a little bit of fun as he nudged her shoulder lightly with his fist softly to give her a slight prod towards the room.

"So, why hasn't the room opened up yet then? I'm totally fine with whatever as long as I get to practice this and show off to all the ladies," he said to her. Chuckling softly, but that wasn't his true intention. In fact, if he mastered this form he could do so many endless things with it outside of Hogwarts and keep himself from getting caught again. Only those that knew his patronus would really know his true animal form just as he wondered what Aubrey's patronus was. Since he didn't see it much due to being in a different class at times. That and he had skipped the class when he had learned how to do a patronus, but he still mastered it on his own when everyone was boasting how they had done it on their first try. James hadn't even been taught properly and on the first go he had produced a rather decent one that seemed to almost take the shape of some strange cat.

That was besides the point now as he just stopped nudging Aubrey after like ten seconds since he knew any longer would have annoyed her and he was supposed to act like an older brother to her. "And if nothing what we require is in there but some monster I'll risk it by entering first," he said to her as he heard the familiar shifting from within as the doors started to etch themselves into existence for the two of them.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“ So, why hasn't the room opened up yet then? I'm totally fine with whatever as long as I get to practice this and show off to all the ladies,” Aubrey rolled her eyes at him, he was really impatient wasn’t he? Yet he was the one that was always late when they met up… She always wondered why it was that way. But she shrugged it off since she was quite used to it after all.

“ And if nothing what we require is in there but some monster I'll risk it by entering first,” She glanced over at him. Did he really expect a monster to show up inside? The only thingd she hoped wasn’t in there was Pie. She did not want to leave with pie all over her. She was thinking that perhaps she should keep her wand ready just in case James did try something funny, she was pretty quick at casting a stunning curse and that was all she would need to get him to stop. “I highly doubt there’ s a monster in there, but go ahead and go in,[/color]” she sighed lightly as she followed him through the door that had magically appeared.

The room turned out exactly as she planned it. There was a place for them to sit with a bookshelf full of books about animagus. A refreshment table in the corner and to her relief, no pie. Just some chocolate and butterbeer. Chocolate seemed like the best choice seeing as that was always what the head nurse gave you when you were in the Hosptial Wing. “Perhaps we should find a book first…[/color]” she suggested lightly as she made her way over to the bookshelf.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James was amused that she had a retort for almost everything he did and then as they entered the room he looked towards where she had gestured to. Noticing there was indeed no pie and almost pouted at that fact. Sure, he wasn't really intending on using it on her, but he kept his mind cleared for the task they were about to start on. The first was finding a book on the subject, but James would rather just keep his mind focused right now. Looking at the pile of books that had come with the room and then quickly filed through them. Tossing a few that looked like they were easily able to tell them what to do onto the table without thinking about it as he soon walked up towards it. Looking at the room they had and realized that as impossible as it seemed this room was quite fitting.

Sure he had a date with Natalia later on, but he was going to be glad when it was almost over at the same time. There was just something about her he didn't like at the moment, but that was mainly cause they never really talked much in general. Looking over at Aubrey he merely shrugged his shoulders as she spoke about the room in general, "Well, that was not going to be my first guess, I thought we would be able to have a ghost instructing us," he said to her sarcastically. Sure there was enough food for him to still throw at her, but he was more intrigued by learning more about being an animagus than anything.

Finally just conjuring up a chair and then eagerly sitting on it he looked at her while reading the one book that seemed to have some very intriguing information within. Then he finally closed it, while looking at the rest of the pile, "Well these are all pertaining to animagi, but we need to find the original one to start us off at, but that could take years," he commented.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Well, that was not going to be my first guess, I thought we would be able to have a ghost instructing us,” Aubrey rolled her eyes at James. How could a ghost teach them how to become animagus? That was ridiculous because a ghost couldn’t do magic anymore other than floating around. She had begun going along the bookshelf, running her finger along the spines of the books as she walked along looking for the right one. “Well these are all pertaining to animagi, but we need to find the original one to start us off at, but that could take years,” she stopped as he said this and took a book off the shelf and begun to flip through the pages. “We don’t have to have the first book to tell us what to do James… Nor can a ghost teach us, as they cannot change into an animagus as they are dead. Plus I’m pretty sure all the ghosts in this place would go to the Professors that we are doing something, well, against the rules,[/color]” she didn’t want to say illegal. It wasn’t illegal right? Well of course not, the illegal part would be not registering which is exactly what she would be doing.

She stopped on a page and begun to read it. Telling of how you got to be careful when you do the spell and you should practice it over and over. Don’t be surprise if it doesn’t work right away as it takes time and practice, but eventually they should be able to turn into their animal form at will and without speaking the spell. “We don’t have to have the original book James… This one looks good, it tells us the spell and that we should practice,[/color]” she said as she brought the book over to him.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James just watched Aubrey standing there and walking to look through all the books as he kept his arm resting against the chair he was near. Waiting for her to pick out the right one since he was too lazy to actually help look in general, but that was usually how this worked out. Pretending he didn't know where to find things always got her to find them for him, but now that he knew she had chosen the right book he flipped through the pages instantly. Then smirked as he pointed his wand at it while doing it, and made sure to say the spell that would have him remember everything in an instant. That wasn't cheating it was merely making use of said spell to his advantage, or as they say, he was using his resources.

Finally just looking at Aubrey he took another gander at it just to make sure he got all the information right despite it just being a copy thanks to the room of requirement. Looking around at the many other books that had many other things to do with transfiguration, James scrunched his nose as he imagined himself as his own patronus. Deciding it was best to do this first, but the instructions were very vague in telling him what to do in the first place. Curiously he saw that nothing happened, until finally he saw his nose turn into a lynx's nose by accident after imagining what he wanted to be. The spell itself was a lot trickier than he imagined, but he really didn't know what to say too.

Yes, he had said the according word to change into the said animal, but it had failed miserably and then changed it back using the reverse spell it listed in the book in case it failed miserably. Luckily he didn't stay that way forever, so he was going to have to be more careful, "Wow, this book is really useful, now we just need to get our transformations down and use the correct wording as well as the correct wand waving technique too," he commented, obviously more thrilled and enthused than earlier...cause he kind of didn't really read the instructions correctly in the first place.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Wow, this book is really useful, now we just need to get our transformations down and use the correct wording as well as the correct wand waving technique too,” Aubrey nodded in agreement as she looked down at the book reading the spell that they would need to do… “Transformis Animagus…[/i][/color]” she knew that those words were only needed during the training… once they would have it down all they would need to do is think about it and viola they would transform into their Animagus form. “Well once we learn it completely and mastered it we won’t need our wands when we want to transform, so apparently the waving technique really isn’t needed it says here…[/color]” she said lightly as she pointed to another section of the page.

To change into an animal at will… oh how Aubrey would indeed love that, it’d be the perfect escape goat whenever needed… Why hadn’t she tried doing this before? Obviously because she didn’t know much about it before.

She then took the book and sat it down on one of the tables before she pulled out her wand and held it out. “Ready to give it a shot? Make sure you concentrate on the spell… and don’t expect to stay an animal for more than a few seconds…[/color]” she said lightly as she looked to James, waiting for him to go first.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

"Transformis Animagus?---Are you sure you didn't-" but he was cut off short as the spell was uttered from his lips as a gesture in fact that his wand had seemed to recognize as him actually casting the spell. That wasn't his intent, but he was already trying out the new spell without any hindrance as he felt his body shrinking in size, but a strange purring came from deep within. Although that few seconds he had said the spell, he was suddenly back to his normal form without a scratch on him, however he did finish what he was going to say. "Read it wrong?" he asked her as if nothing had happened, but he really hadn't felt different at all. Yes, she was right, he hadn't been an animal for longer than a few seconds, but he guessed with practice there would be a lot more time to stay in animal form.

James almost thought this exercise would be a major test of his skills, but it was just mainly about endurance now. If he could bet on how many times Aubrey could try before she got it down, he would say at least three. Or maybe more, what they were learning was pretty advanced stuff even for them. Although, there was a course that did teach students how to become an animagus, or there used to be...however, select few were chosen. Kingsley sure liked to make some strict rules around the place, but he probably thought that Albus's rules were just fine the way they were. No complaints from the eldest Potter sibling, however, just a little lessening of the watch would make it easier to sneak around the castle.

Even with the Marauder's map, certain places won't show up on it, like the chamber of secrets for examples, and who would dare open that place up again? Thoughts wandering, he wasn't going to get anywhere, but he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't feel a thing, was it supposed to hurt? Your turn I'd say you could get it on the first go," he commented, but he knew that they would definitely need a lot more practice to hold the form as long as they could. James was certain his next go he would do better, but remained human for now to see if Aubrey would need help changing back since he found the spell that could easily alter her back to human form forcefully.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

Aubrey watched as James casted the spell without realizing, though he hadn’t held the spell for long so Aubrey really didn’t get to see what his form was, she did hear a loud purring, perhaps some sort of a cat species? She wasn’t sure. “I didn't feel a thing, was it supposed to hurt? Your turn I'd say you could get it on the first go,” The young blond looked down at the book in her hand, there was nothing in it that had said anything about it hurting when you did the spell right. It could hurt if you did it wrong though, or you’d have some of your animal traits when you went back to human form. Aubrey gulped, hoping that, that wouldn’t happen to her. “Well since it didn’t hurt, you must’ve done it right,[/color]” she said softly as she sat the book down at the nearest table before she pulled out her wand.

“Transformis Animagus[/color]” she said softly as she waved her wand. She felt a strange sensation, her body quickly grew a lot smaller and she swore she had to flap her, wings? But it was only for a brief moment before she popped back up in her human form. “Woah… that was… different…[/color]” she said in awe as she looked her body. Good, it was all normal not a bit of an animal part left on her.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James was just going to go with his gut instinct that told him to keep trying until he got this, but he watched Aubrey's attempt that was almost much more successful than his own. Looking at the book again, and wondering if he should even bother giving this another go since he looked sort of crazy just pondering the idea of being stuck as an animal permanently. That wouldn't look well on the record, and someone would eventually figure out that he had gone missing if he could have even made it out of the room of requirement. Such forms weren't allowed on school grounds so it would have been hard to sneak around with someone trying to report an animagus on the grounds. Then again, no one would know it was him unless they knew his patronus as that was usually what your form was based off of.

Not just your personality, but the patronus itself was the form you took as an animagus normally. At least, that's what James got from reading the book about this certain quality. Even so, James really didn't have that to worry about anymore seeing as he was saying the spell once again, and hoped that this time he could actually figure out how to hold his form longer than normal. At least now he had a reason to actually impress someone, but there wasn't that many people he could actually talk to right on the spot. Sighing softly he soon spoke the spell again, and then his form seemed to stay for at least a minute this time until he was forced out of his form again. "Well, it's not as hard as it looks, but still takes a lot of practice...also a lot of energy it seems. Good thing there are snacks here otherwise we would have had to try to sneak around the corridors to get something to eat," he stated to Aubrey as he smiled slightly. Implying they would have even left, but he wasn't worried about that right now.

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[AUBREY LYNN MCNEAL]

“Well, it's not as hard as it looks, but still takes a lot of practice...also a lot of energy it seems. Good thing there are snacks here otherwise we would have had to try to sneak around the corridors to get something to eat,” Aubrey nodded, it was a good thing there were snack in there. But she didn’t think that even eating some chocolate would restore her energy. She wanted to go to bed already, it was something they’d have to work on and she was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea to keep trying it over and over in one go.

“I don’t know James, I think maybe we should call it night for now. We can come back tomorrow night? Cause really I think it wouldn’t be a good idea to keep trying over and over in one shot. It’s a complicated spell after all and it’ll take time. Trying over and over in one night would just drain us,[/color]” the young blond said softly as she headed on over to the table, grabbing herself a glass of butterbeer and a small brick of chocolate. She took a swing of the butterbeer first before taking a bite out of the chocolate bar. The chocolate melted in her mouth, it was so delicious. She remembered when she told her mom that chocolate is what they gave them when they were worn down or not feeling well, and she thought it was absurd. But really, chocolate did make a person feel better.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James knew this would be incredibly exhausting when he had signed up for it as soon as Aubrey had mentioned transfiguration classes, and it seemed to be working. Abruptly brought out of his thoughts as she spoke to him and he merely nodded in return. There was really no sense in being up here while they were just training all their energy way practicing a spell over and over for no point but to impress another person. James almost considered giving up this endeavor for something else that he called the marauder's map to guide them safely back through the corridors. Wait, there was a reason Aubrey was a prefect and James was just a person who she could rely on to help her practice this. "Well, I agree, it's better than being stuck with out pants down when anyone could easily walk up to the door as usual. Well, only a few other students know about this place considering it only appears when they are in dire need of somewhere for privacy...now how do you propose we get back without being hounded by the teachers?" he asked her calmly.

James wasn't one for plans, but he knew that Aubrey had something up her sleeve otherwise James would have to resort to secret passages via the marauder's map. Too bad he didn't have the invisibility cloak too, but oh well, things had to come to an end at some point. Lily would refuse the map if he gave it to her, but the plan was to give it to her before he left Hogwarts. Perhaps now would be a good time to do something useful with it, and try to track down whoever was making these attacks happen...well attack. As he had only heard about the one from Hugo, and none other just yet. The headmaster was keeping secrets from them as well as most of the teachers and he didn't like it. Secrets should be shared, not kept in private until the last moment when all hell breaks loose. "So shall we go?" he asked her calmly walking away from the refreshment table towards the door pointing at it.

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