Taming the True Fire (HP)

By Friday afternoon, the group of 'night readers' had shrunk a little since it was the day before the full moon, and Remus didn't feel well enough to go around the castle after dark. Additionally, Peter had caught a nasty cold, and as a result, he was sneezing every two minutes. Since the invisibility cloak did not block noise, they decided it's for the best if he also stayed behind. 

"I wasn't really sure the cloak could cover us all, anyway." – concluded James while he, Sirius, and Catherine were walking back towards the Gryffindor Tower together with the rest of their class. Just before they turned into the corridor leading to the portrait of the Fat Lady, James swiftly retrieved the cloak from within his schoolbag and the three of them disappeared under it, passing through the secret passage behind the picture of a young golden unicorn.

"Are you sure this is the quickest route to the Library?" – asked Sirius, lifting his wand higher to illuminate the countless steep stairs, spiralling down. 

"Should be." – said James, carefully holding the hems of the cloak to prevent them from tripping on it – "It leads straight to the ground floor, and then we have to climb just one floor up to reach the Library."

"Just for the record, I'm not climbing up these stairs on the way back." – insisted Sirius.

"Keep your complaints for yourself, please." – Catherine shushed him – "Don't forget people can still hear us."

"There's nobody here." – said Sirius, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs – "Nox!"

Extinguishing the light of their wands, the three Gryffindor students squeezed through the hole behind a marble statue of a centaur, close to the Great Hall, and froze when they almost bumped into - or more likely, walked through - the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff House ghost, who was passing by at that very moment. 

Standing in the dark, holding their breath, the second-years waited for a good five minutes before they finally moved towards the Grand Staircase, trying to walk as close to the walls as possible. They had almost reached their goal when the last door on the left opened abruptly. 

"You just wait, Rolanda! This is the best Gillywater Infused Gin, you have ever tried! I swear by the glow of Gringotts Galleons!" – shouted Professor Slughorn joyfully and headed towards the dungeons with a rather unsteady step. 

"This is the staffroom." – whispered James, pointing at the still-opened door – "Let's have a peek. It seems that the teachers are having a party of some sort."

"Don't!" – tried to protest Catherine, but due to the small space under the invisibility cloak, she was forced to follow the boys inside the long, panelled room. It indeed appeared quite festive. Numerous luminous globes in different colours were floating in the air. The mismatched, dark wooden chairs were arranged at the far end of the premise, and a long table covered with finger food and drinks was settled at the centre. Gentle music emanated from a peculiar-looking box, located on the top of the wardrobe, next to the door. Hagrid naturally dominated the landscape, while the teachers were split into groups of two and three, sipping from their glasses and chatting with each other. The three Gryffindors carefully navigated between the people inside until they reached the far end of the table where only two people were standing – Professor McGonagall and Professor Thorne. 

Catherine noticed with surprise that the usually stern-looking and strict Transfiguration teacher appeared a bit flushed. Her eyes were fixed on her DADA colleague with genuine interest. Carter Thorne, true to himself, was dressed in impeccable midnight blue robes tailored with a meticulous precision. His long, slender fingers, adorned with a few rings, were subconsciously tracing the runes embroidered along the edges of the robes. 

"It's a true story, Minerva!" – Thorne said, laughing – "To this very day, my brother believes the Forest Pixies have a huge appetite for his elf-made wine and even got into an argument with Newt Scamander about it."

"You're most certainly a splendid storyteller, Carter." – McGonagall complemented him – "I'm glad you insisted on organising this little soirée for us."

"My pleasure! It's a pity that Dumbledore couldn't attend, though." – Thorne mentioned, fidgeting with his wine glass. 

"True, but he needs to travel a lot these days… with all the odd incidents in the South." – whispered McGonagall – "You've heard, right? What they did to the poor Muggles."

"I've heard." – nodded Thorne – "It is indeed despicable. I hope whoever's behind that spend their lives in Azkaban."

"Dumbledore believes there is link between some recent incidents. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic doesn't want to put real efforts into an investigation." – sighed the witch. 

"Sounds like them, alright." – mumbled the wizard – "Your glass is empty, Minerva. Would you like to try my Felix Felicis Bliss? This cocktail is the only reason people invite me to their parties."

"You never stop joking, Carter." – giggled Professor McGonagall, lightly touching the DADA teacher's arm. 

Catherine watched with disgust as Thorne smiled confidently and turned towards the table with the intention of mixing whatever Felix Felicis Bliss was. Then, she realised his smile suddenly disappeared, and he stared right at the place they were standing. The young witch felt a subtle movement next to her and saw Sirius, who had just managed to shove an egg puff into his mouth. She stomped hard on the boy's foot, and made a quiet motion to James, pointing at the door. 

Fortunately, they managed to reach it without an issue and used the moment Professor Slughorn returned with the promised gin to dart out of the staffroom. They didn't stop until they entered the complete silence of the Library on the first floor. 

"Nice job, Sirius!" – snapped James, pulling off the cloak and glared at his friend. 

"Well, it was an entertaining conversation. I craved a snack." – shrugged Sirius.

"And you decided to help yourself right under his nose?" – hissed Catherine, her eyes, shooting daggers. 

"He probably thought he was imagining things. And you missed out because the food was great." – Sirius remarked unapologetically. 

James exhaled loudly and turned toward Catherine.

"Let's just pretend nothing happened. What was the name of the book we were looking for?"

"Animagi: A Complete Guide by Beaumont Marjoribanks." – answered the girl – "I hope it's indeed in the Restricted Section."

The three students silently walked to the back of the library and stepped over the rope, separating the Restricted Section from the rest of the hall. 

"Lumos!" – the light from the wands illuminated the old books, tightly packed on the dusty shelves. 

"Forbidden Alchemy… The Unholy Grimoire…Blood Magic…" – Catherine was mumbling, scanning the titles of the books closest to her. 

"Here it is!" – exclaimed Sirius in about fifteen minutes, taking out the thick brown volume from the top shelf he was browsing through. 

"Finally!" – rejoiced Catherine, sitting on the floor – "Let's see how we can become Animagi!"

James and Sirius joined her, their wands casting a dim light on the silky, glossy cover of the book. The young witch impatiently flipped through the pages.

"Now, let's see!" – exclaimed the black-haired girl, reading the paragraph at the top of the page – "Those who wish to become Animagi need to possess an extreme discipline of the mind in addition to substantial magical knowledge. The ample risks, associated with the transformation and the myriad of ethical and legal challenges it raises determine the strict approach of the law vis-à-vis future and present Animagi…"

"Yeah, we already know that, get to the point." – hastily said Sirius.

"The process could prove to be a painful endeavour and even lead to fatal consequences if any of the steps is not performed with a sufficient due care." – Catherine continued reading – "The wizard or witch who wishes to become an Animagus needs to keep a leaf of a Mandrake plant in their mouth for a month, and each day during that period, they shall use the incantation Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

"The hell! How would we do that? Shall we pull it out when we eat?" – asked Sirius concerned. 

"Shh!" – James hushed him and looked at Catherine. 

"After the month had passed, the leaf should be used as an ingredient for the Animagi Potion. The incredibly rare ingredients and the complicated brewing process of the potion deem it worthy to be the subject of a completely different academic work; therefore, we shall not go into further details regarding its specific practicalities of preparation but rather delve deep into the theoretical foundations of the ingredients and their combined effect…" 

"What is that supposed to mean?" – James frowned. 

"It means, he provided neither the list of ingredients nor the instructions on the preparation of the potion." – Catherine whispered, disappointed.

"Does it say anything else?" – asked Sirius, looking closely at the page. 

"Yeah, there is more…" – continued the girl – "The potion is to be drunk outside during a thunderstorm to ensure a connection with the natural world. To complete the transformation, it is necessary to use the incantation, Arcanum Anima. The shift into an animal should be retained for one minute to allow the witch or wizard to be able to change into animal form at will and for the duration desired by the Animagus. This particular step might take years to accomplish. Many initiates give up at this point due to the extreme discomfort a wizard or witch experiences during each unsuccessful transformation attempt, once he or she has drunk the potion but before managing to remain in animal form for the required duration of one minute."

"I must say this sounds more complicated than I expected." – James admitted. 

"First things first, we shall copy the instructions we found and then look at how to make the potion." – reasoned Sirius. 

"We can't just sit here in the middle of the night and write this down." – said Catherine anxiously – "Hold my wand." 

While Sirius obliged his friend's command, the girl took the book, placed it on the floor, and tried to rip off the page she was reading. The book screamed piercingly.

"Fuck!" – swore Sirius – "I knew it was too easy. The books are enchanted. Let it go and get out of here before someone comes."

"I can't!" – cried Catherine. 

"What do you mean you can't?" – asked James, attempting to grab the book.

"Don't touch it! My hand is glued to the page. I can't let go of it." – groaned the girl.

"Then take the damn thing with you!" – shouted Sirius. 

"It's glued to the floor as well! Leave me here! It's pointless for all of us to get in trouble." – the young witch pleaded. 

"No chance!" – stated James and took the invisibility cloak, ready to cover the three of them. 

Catherine exerted all her strength trying to pull her hand free, but it proved futile. She was growing more and more desperate by the second. Suddenly, she saw a slight amber glow around her hand, just like after the fight she had with Greg last year.

'What is this thing?' – she thought moments before the book caught fire and turned into ashes in the matter of seconds. 

"How…" – James attempted to ask.

"Later!" – hissed Sirius, helping the shaken girl to stand up – "Let's go!"

The three of them disappeared under the invisibility cloak and hadn't taken more than ten steps before Mrs Norris appeared, her lamp-like eyes scanning the surroundings. She made a quick circle and pricked her ears, getting closer and closer to the Gryffindors. Unexpectedly, she turned around and darted through the door of the Library.

"Do you think she could see us?" – asked Sirius.

"I doubt it but maybe she heard us." – James suggested while they zoomed across the first corridor that appeared before them, trying to put as much distance between them and the cat as possible. Not before long, however, one of the doors nearby opened and the panting Filch emerged, followed by Mrs Norris. He couldn't see them, but it was obvious that he knew there was someone around because his eyes were darting around wildly. The Caretaker had passed the second-years who were standing dead in their tracks, trying not even to breathe, and was about to search the nearest classroom when footsteps echoes through the corridor.

"Argus, what's the meaning of this?" – the voice of Carter Thorne sounded dangerously close by. 

"Professor, someone had vandalised the Restricted Section of the Library. A book had been burnt."

"Burnt you say?" – asked the DADA teacher, appearing behind Filch. Both of them were now heading back in the direction of the concealed Gryffindors. 

"We shall stay perfectly still." – whispered James – "They won't run into us the way they move."

"Mrs Norris smelled them, Professor!" – Filch said obsequiously – "But she can't see them, I think."

"Mrs Norris… you mean the cat?" – asked Thorne absentmindedly, staring at the darkness ahead. 

Catherine heard Filch's affirmative utterance and looked behind her back. She could barely distinguish the two silhouettes walking side by side. Unexpectedly, two silver lights glowed in the dark. The young witch needed a few seconds to realise what was happening. 

"Run! Now!" – she whispered in panic. 

The three students, still under the invisibility cloak, somehow managed to get into another corridor, then took a few right turns, ending up next to the Muggle Studies Classroom. 

"Why the fuck did we need to do that?" – panted Sirius, getting out from beneath the cloak and wiping the sweat from his forehead. 

"Don't speak." – hissed the girl – "We're not safe at all." 

She leaned against the wall, her brain going through a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Then she again heard a voice, coming from within the walls but at the same time from somewhere deep within the ground. She didn't have time to delve on the mystery. With a rapid gesture, she moved the big portrait of Galileo Galilei and opened the door behind it.

"In here! Now!" – she ordered and the three of them entered a very small room, the size of a broom cupboard, except it was filled with old books.

"Lumos!" – she whispered, her wand illuminating the worried faces of her friends.

"I'm beyond asking you how you knew this place was here," – said James, carefully choosing his words – "but care to explain why we needed to risk being heard and run like there was a demon on our trail?"

Catherine looked at James anxiously and licked her dried lips.

"Thorne is an Air Mage. Didn't you see his eyes glowing?" – she asked softly.

"I didn't have time to see anything." – stated Sirius ironically, then added – "What do you mean by Air Mage?"

"He uses elemental magic." – she explained – "Do you know what this is?"

"Isn't it the primal essence of nature which every witch and wizard was supposed to carry inside them? I've heard people could actually learn how to control it, but I thought it was mostly a legend" – James said thoughtfully.

"It's not a legend, but it's a very dangerous process to learn how to control your element. Many people die without proper instructions, and even if you have someone training you, there's a significant risk. Therefore, Elementalists, the way they call them, are rare and Thorne is one of them. The glowing silver eyes are a mark of an Air Mage." – Catherine clarified in a low voice. 

"How do you even know that?" – gasped Sirius – "I thought you were Muggle-born."

"I am!" – the girl was quick to assure him – "In fact, I've heard Greg McMahon explaining all this to Lily recently."

"Should have thought of that… Lord McPerfect is always ready to spread his wisdom." – said Sirius sarcastically. 

"That's not important." – Catherine interrupted him – "What's important is that Air Mages do not need to see you. They can hear you breathe using their powers."

"You think he did that in the staffroom?" – gasped James.

"No, his eyes were normal back then. I doubt he's willing to show his abilities to everybody." – Catherine concluded – "We should be safe here, behind the portrait. It's unlikely for him to use a huge amount of power just to look for hypothetical students out of their beds. Let's wait for a little while."

"At least we have some books here." – said James, looking around and picking up one small green volume – "Enigmatic Elegies by Alaric Enchantquist. It's a very famous poetry book. My grandmother had a first edition. This is not one, however." – he deducted after checking the date on the cover. 

"Give it here. I can still use it." – said Catherine and took out a Muggle pen out of her pocket. 

"Wow! What's that?" – awed Sirius. 

"Muggles use it to write. It's very convenient because you don't need to carry bottles of ink with you." – she explained, then opened the book and started writing on the relatively empty page on the front where Alric had dedicated the book to his wife. 

"Ain't that a little barbaric?" – asked James with a crooked smile.

"I need to put down on paper everything we read in the book before I forget it. I believe you would agree that it's of vital importance to have the right incantations." – Catherine said, quickly filling the empty space with her fine handwriting – "I didn't know you were so much into poetry."

"I just like this one." – the boy mumbled. 

"Okay, I'm done." – Catherine announced in a few minutes and tore off the first page of the book – "You can keep the rest if you wish, James. I doubt anyone knows there were books in here. They seemed to be left a long time ago."

"You keep it." – James insisted – "Perhaps you could gift it to Evans. There is a very nice poem here, she might enjoy."

Catherine looked puzzled at his friend's strange expression but nevertheless took the book, thinking that Lily's birthday was approaching anyway, and she hadn't thought of a present. 

After spending half an hour in the cupboard, the three friends silently opened the door and moved the portrait in front of it. The corridor was completely dark and deserted. Nevertheless, every shadow seemed unfriendly, even though they were moving under the cover of the invisibility cloak. 

Everyone sighed in relief when they reached the Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady was extremely unhappy they woke her up, but she eventually let them in mainly due to Sirius' charm in addition to the password. 

"This is a very inappropriate hour for walking around the castle, young Gryffindors!" – the second-years heard from above their heads upon entering the Common Room. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as the Nearly Headless Nick, the House Ghost of Gryffindor, flew down, looking from one guilty face to the other. 

"I'm sorry, Sir Nicholas!" – Catherine said, making a quick curtsy to him – "We've really learned our lesson and it won't happen again."

The House Ghost graciously nodded his head and left through one of the stone walls.

"It won't happen again?" – asked Sirius mockingly. 

"Well, we'll definitely not burn another book in the Restricted Section." – Catherine said with the most Slytherin smile she had.

It was hard to fall asleep after all the adventures that night. The young witch thought about Carter Thorne and how incredibly unlucky they were for him to possess such powers. Learning elemental magic was rare even for an aristocrat. However, it was mandatory for the Heads of the Main Houses and their heirs, as well as for the Guardians—the private enforcement squad under the command of the Council of the Aristocrats. She was aware that some talented witches and wizards from the outside had also been trained in elemental magic, but Dumbledore was the only example she knew of. 

Unable to find a comfortable position in her bed, Catherine took the poetry book from her nightstand and got under the covers where she could read using the light from her wand. It wasn't long before she found the exact poem James had in mind when recommended gifting the book to Lily. 

In twilight's hush, where magic weaves its tune,

A wizard's heart, beneath the pale, enchanted moon.

A lily blooms.

Petals fair, kissed by the whispers of a spell,

In each tender curve, a secret tale to tell.

Your fragrance in the air swirls.

A bloom, like love, unfolding pure and bright,

In the language of flowers – a ray of innocent starlight.

Mystical lily, with petals soft and rare,

In your embrace, a wizard finds solace there.

Catherine finished reading and smiled. 'Who would have thought the loud, cocky and slightly arrogant James Potter was a gentle soul after all.'