Change - James F. Potter

Chapter 7: The Burning Feather and The Tree

Apparently good in the bad meant double transfiguration at 8 o'clock in the morning. Transfiguration was a class that all the first-year Gryffindors shared with half of the first year Ravenclaws. Those kids were wickedly smart, even for the first years.

Professor McGonagall had been halfway through roll call when Cassie started to get bored. She had chosen a seat in the back of the classroom with Marlene. She would have sat with Lily, but Lily went to the front of the classroom as soon as she walked through the classroom doors and was quickly joined by Remus Lupin, the boy she had met on the train with Sirius.

Sirius still had not looked her direction, and if he did, he always looked down at his desk with a guilty expression. It was strange because the only time Sirius ever looked guilty was when he had done something that got the pair in trouble.

"Miss Black"

Cassie was shaken from her thoughts and looked to the front of the classroom where Professor McGonagall had called her from.

"Yes Professor?"

Several of the other Gryffindors giggled at her inability to pay attention, James Potter being one of them. Cassie turned her attention sheepishly to the disappointed Professor.

"I suggest," she began in a stern tone like a mother scolding a child, "that you stop chewing your lip before you chew a hole right through it and pay attention to the lesson. Today we will be starting with a simple lesson to make things float. Will you be choosing to pay attention Miss Black?" Her eyebrow raised and it was clear she was expecting a response.

Cassie sat up straight in the creaky chair and raised her hand in a mock salute, "Yes Ma'am. Sorry ma'am" Cassie brought her arm down with a smirk and watched as McGonagall rolled her eyes but nonetheless continued her lesson.

Marlene acted as if this was the funniest interaction she had ever seen and would not stop snickering. It took a good kick in the shins to get her to shut up. This seemed to be Walburga's favorite way to discretely shut her children up. Of course, Cassie would never hit anyone the way she had been, but she knew no other way to get Marlene to be quiet. She settled on a playful hit, well she hoped it was a playful hit. It only made Marlene snicker even more though, so she hoped it wasn't awful.

A long 35 minutes later, the Professor had finally finished her lesson and was allowing the clueless students time to practice for the rest of the period.

Cassie's wand was raised and she was about to say the incantation to make the feather in front of her fly when she was whacked in the head with a smoking feather. At first, she wasn't sure what had hit her and was staring straight ahead like a deer in headlights. Slowly, she turned her head to the side so she was facing her desk partner.

"McKinnon," she said questioningly.

"Black," Marlene replied, still looking shocked at what she had done.

"Do you, happen to know who is in charge of, ah, I dunno, this?" Cassie pointed to the feather that had now fallen to the desk.

"Hehe," Marlene breathed out nervously, "no?" she said it as if it was a question instead of a statement.

"Well, that's a shame cause it was brilliant!" Marlene looked relieved and Cassie waved her wand around even more excited at the sense that she could potentially light something on fire and call it an accident.

There was one year, back when Sirius and Cassie had been performing accidental magic, they had lit the dress of their Great-Grandma Portia on fire. Mother and Great-Grandpa Rigel were not very pleased, but the twins were. That woman was awful. Since then, they had been banned from fire.